Toast the Host: Friendsgiving Hosting Advice
So, the time has finally come for you to take a massive step outside of your comfort zone and throw your very own Friendsgiving party and celebration. Whereas in the past, during Thanksgiving, you probably would find yourself at your parent’s house, or a close relatives house, this year, whether it be financial, personal, work, or study-related, you may not be able to make the trip back home and so have decided to throw your own Friendsgiving celebration instead. Or you might want to have your own Friendsgiving party in addition to your family get-together.
Now it’s time to join adulthood and host your own holiday party. That means taking over the planning and the cooking and the inviting and the bartending yourself, and having an epic time in the process.
If the responsibility of throwing this year’s Friendsgiving party rests solely on your shoulders, here’s a look at a few handy Friendsgiving hosting tips, to ensure you throw a Friendsgiving party for the ages.
Delegate, Delegate, Delagate – Learn the art of management: Slough off most of the hard stuff onto someone else. One of the best Friendsgiving hosting tips you will ever receive, is to delegate various tasks and responsibilities to your friends who will also be in attendance at the party. Don’t even think about trying to take on all of the responsibilities yourself, otherwise you’ll make mistakes, you’ll feel exhausted, and you simply will not enjoy the party at all.
Give different people different jobs I.E putting one person in charge of peeling vegetables, one person in charge of picking up the drinks and snacks, one person in charge of washing up etc. You yourself will still obviously have to be involved, but if each person has a specific task to stick to, the entire process will run much smoother.
Make sure you inquire about dietary requirements – Do not forget this step. In this day and age, you’re bound to come across individuals who have various food allergies and intolerances, so don’t take any chances. Rather than taking a “wait and see” approach, instead, make it clear on the party invitations, that anybody who does suffer from certain food allergies and intolerances, should let you know in plenty of time, so you can find them a safe alternative.
Choose a theme – Ok, most people choose to go with a Thanksgiving theme for their Friendsgiving parties – pilgrims, Indians, and turkey etc, but the fact of the matter is that as it’s your party, you can go with whatever theme you like. If you want to go with a Disney princess theme, you go wild with a Disney princesses. Just be prepared to have a lot of male guests with uncomfortable, perplexed looks on their faces.
This can include specially designed fancy dress costumes, decorations and accessories, drinking games, snacks and nibbles, music, and more besides. As far as Friendsgiving hosting is concerned, a themed party will go down an absolute treat.
Make sure you keep track of your guest list – Another essential Friendsgiving hosting tip that you simply can’t overlook, is ensuring you keep track of your guest list. Your guest list lets you know exactly who has been invited to the party, which will then allow you to work out how much food to prepare, how many seats you need, and how much booze you need. If one of your guests asks to bring along their buddy from work and you agree, make sure you add them to the guest list as soon as possible, or else you’ll find yourself running out of food and space. If you’re worried the apartment or house may be too cramped, don’t be afraid to say no if people ask if they can invite more people.
Prep well in advance – The stress and difficulty of Friendsgiving hosting can become too much for some people, and more often than not, this is mainly down to a lack of preparation on their part. If you plan on throwing a traditional Thanksgiving feast, or any other feast for that matter, don’t you dare even think about trying to get everything done on the day of the party, because truthfully that is just not possible.
If you have vegetables to prepare, get them peeled and chopped the day before. If you’re making gravy, make it in advance and freeze it. The same goes for the stuffing and the dessert. Basically, if it can be made in advance, it should be made in advance. If buying a frozen turkey, make sure you get it out to defrost at least 24 hours before it needs cooking, if not longer in fact.
Disposable plates and baking trays – Preparing and cooking the food, decorating your place, and getting everything neat and tidy before your party begins is going to be difficult and stressful enough as it is, so the last thing you want is to have to tackle a mountain of dirty pots and pans in the process. Disposable plates and baking tins made from foil are your best friends in this instance as basically once you’ve used them to cook and serve your various dishes, rather than wash them up, you simply throw them in the trash or recycling.