The famous Friendsgivings are Thanksgiving celebrations accompanied by friends, since, for the most part, regular Thanksgiving celebrations are with family (though, it’s not to say that family can’t attend Friendsgivings, or vice versa). These friendly celebrations are becoming more and more popular by the year, and tend to be potlucks, so here are some DOs and DON’Ts to make sure you don’t spoil the party and your friends invite you again next year!
- DO bring a meat dish or a side dish. DON’T bring soup. Everyone is transporting a dish to the celebration, so your soup might be a hot mess by the time you arrive, not to mention that everyone will be serving themselves some of this hot mess and walking to their seat… so it will probably make the host have to clean up spills in the middle of the crazyness!
2. DO bring enough food to share. DON’T bring barely enough for a couple of servings. If your Friendsgivings are any like the ones we’ve been to, there will be 10 or more people there for sure. You don’t want to be that guy that brought 4 tamales (yes, tamales, because we’re in LA), to a gathering of 20 people. STINGY!
3. DO bring your food as warm or hot as possible. DON’T expect to heat or even cook your dish in your hosts’ kitchen. If there’s going to be a gathering like this, you know most of the bottleneck will be in the kitchen. Don’t expect to wedge in there, and have time to bake or heat anything. Everyone will be waiting on you.
4. DO be early. DON’T be late. If your gathering is a potluck like most Friendsgivings are, everyone will be in charge of something and waiting for everyone’s contribution. Everyone would like to enjoy their plate with all the fixings. No point in getting there with your mashed potatoes if you’re an hour late and everyone ate already. This especially goes for those of you in charge of plates and cups!
5. DO bring your own serving utensils. DON’T be looking frantically through your host’s kitchen drawers for a serving spoon. Chances are, they will be using theirs to serve their dish.
6. DO RSVP, DON’T show up with extra people. RSVPing to Friendsgiving potlucks is SUPER important. The host needs to know how many people to accommodate for, how many people to cook for (and they’ll also have to be able to tell all of her other guests how many people to cook for), who’s bringing what, and who not to count on. There might not be an extra seat for your unsolicited plus 1, and if you can’t make it, they’ll need to fill in the holes as far as what else is needed.
7. DO be THANKFUL, DON’T complain, whine, or criticize. What’s the holiday?? THANKS GIVING! Your host worked really hard to cook, clean, accommodate, and entertain. And all the guests spent time and money on their contribution. Don’t like someone’s dish? Don’t eat any more of it. Don’t like the table setting? Get there earlier next time and help set the table! Make sure to thank and appreciate everyone’s time and efforts.
Although these tips aren’t the exact rules to Friendsgivings, these are great common-courtesy guidelines to use when prepping for these gatherings. Follow them, and we’ll foresee many more Friendsgivings in your future!
