Top 10 must – know Friendsgiving Entertaining Tips
This post was written in collaboration with HoneyBaked Ham. All thoughts & opinions are our own! #friendsgiving #ilovehoneybakedham #hamswithfriends
We’ve teamed up with HoneyBaked Ham to share with you our top Friendsgiving Entertaining Tips! Growing up we’ve always had ham on the table, in fact our grandma even calls herself the ‘Ham Grandma’ as it’s a staple and we all love it. Honey Baked hams are delicious and bring that festive holiday touch that just has to be there.
This past weekend was our Friendsgiving and it was one for the books! Everyone had a wonderful time gathering around the table and celebrating friendship, delicious food and great times!
Today, we’re sharing with you how we eliminated the stress that often comes with hosting. Keep reading for our favorite 10 holiday entertaining tips that will help you plan your next dinner party.
(1) Prep and plan ahead
To make things easier when you’re planning Friendsgiving during the busy holiday season, you want to have as much done early on as possible. This means sending out invites at least 4 weeks in advance, planning the menu, coming up with a theme and so on.
(2) Make it a pot luck
Avoid being left with all the grocery shopping, prepping and cooking! This way everyone gets to participate and bring their favorite fall dish and you’re off the hook for having to do it all. Make a list of dishes you’d like to serve and share how many people will be attending.
Put all of the details into a shared Google Doc and email it out as one big, collaborative effort.
Have a friend that doesn’t like to cook? No worries! They can always opt to bring wine, cocktails or help out with the cleaning afterwards.
(3) Purchase ready to serve ham & turkey
This year we ordered a honey baked ham and roasted turkey from HoneyBaked Ham. The ham we went with feeds up to 16 people or more. We had 17 in attendance and there was plenty for everyone. Not only were both the honey baked ham and roasted turkey flavorful hits, they also cut down on both prep and cooking time allowing us more time to spend with our friends.
Did you know that you can pre-order online or by phone a few days ahead of time and then pick-up the day of your event? That means, everything is ready at pick-up, so all you have to do is bake or plate and serve room temp when you get home. So easy! ORDER YOUR HAM HERE: HoneyBaked
(4) Make sure must have Thanksgiving menu items are accounted for
This is where the shared Google doc comes in handy again. It’s important to list out all of the essential holiday fare to make for a well-rounded menu.
(5) Have an activity
This year we went with a rare beer tasting as part of the festivities. This really engaged our guests and made for an even more memorable evening.
(6) DIY touches
Remember, less is more! Focus on festive food, cozy candlelight, and add a DIY touch like we did with the napkins and beer tasting cards. For a sweet touch we took our linen napkins and tied them with cooking twine and then tucked in a fresh autumn mum. Next we took stamps and made the beer tasting cards. These DIY touches show that you care and make it more personalized without having to spend a lot of extra money.
(7) Set the table a day ahead
To reduce stress we recommend setting the table the day before. Break out the china, make sure your crystal is spotless, select what serving pieces you’re going to use. Simple white plates really help the food stand out. Also, we love adding color and texture with natural choices like linen, greenery, autumnal produce and florals. Tis the season!
(8) Keep floral arrangements simple
Affordable and fresh flowers are as close as your local grocery store. We love going to Trader Joe’s for not only the large variety but also low prices. We picked up four bouquets along with some greenery and were able to deconstruct into multiple smaller bouquets and individual pieces for our DIY project mentioned above. Another thing to remember is to keep your floral arrangements low in height when on the table allowing for easier conversation flow.
(9) Playlist
Having music playing in the background helps elevate the ambiance. We had our Alexa on in the kitchen and played the Friendsgiving playlist from Spotify and it kept the mood festive and light.
(10) Celebrate Friendship!
Thank everyone for coming and be intentional in letting them know you’re grateful for their friendship. Before everyone fixed their plates we toasted to friendship and this was a fantastic way to not only gather everyone for dinner but also take a moment to be fully present and give thanks.
Speaking of giving thanks, we want to thank our readers as we truly love connecting with you!
Cheers!
Emily & Barbie
We’d love to know your entertaining tips or any holiday traditions in the comments below!
Thank you to HoneyBaked Ham for sponsoring this post! Disclosure: All thoughts are my own.
