Thanksgiving is days away, and your in-laws/extended relatives/parents are coming. Now what? Not sure what to serve? Not sure how to elevate your dining table while staying under budget?
Hosting Thanksgiving can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. We hosted a Friendsgiving in October at our family’s cottage in Wisconsin – so keep reading for all my tips and tricks on hosting friends and family for the Thanksgiving holiday!
The Night Before
Essential Number 1: plan something for the night before. If you have family coming in on Wednesday night, start with a small beverage bar with some festive, signature cocktails. It gives your guests a unique and personalized experience, while using beverages that you might have already in your own home. Because who doesn’t love making company happy AND cleaning out the cabinets?
We went with a Fall twist on these classic drinks: a Boulevardier (The Post Lake Inn) and a Jack Rose (Autumn in Elcho). And of course, for the people who can’t handle their hard liquor (that would be me) a deliciously sweet Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The vanilla simple syrup is a game changer because it smoothes out the hard cinnamon flavor of the Fireball Whiskey. Use apple cider instead of the RumChata and Fireball for a kid friendly non-alcoholic drink.
Type your menu up, print, and find a picture frame you have laying around your house to really step up your game. Then serve with desserts and other tasty refreshments.
Thanksgiving Morning Breakfast
Essential Number 2: serve a light breakfast. What to serve for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning is always a challenge. You want something light but also something won’t let your guests get hangry until the bird is served. We opted for a Bloody Mary Bar with a charcuterie/crudités combination and fresh pastries. Our friends could graze all day while we watched football, played board/yard games, and prepped for dinner.
There is nothing more Wisconsin than an early morning Bloody Mary Bar with cheesecurds and football – and perfect for Thanksgiving! My husband Ryan really wanted to go all out by adding cheesy naan bread, pickled Brussel sprouts, giant celery stalks, and small glass bottles of Miller Light.
The best part about this setup is that the drink station created from last night was all ready to go, so all you need to do is set up your snacks of choice.
Don’t forget the coffee bar! You can have your guests add Bailey’s or RumChata, or just some delicious caramel creamer to help keep your hosting energy high!
Mimosas would be great too, it’s never too early for champagne, right?
Thanksgiving Dinner
Essential Number 3: set up the dinner table as soon as possible. Once we had eaten at least half of our delicious spread, we condensed and moved it closer to the Bloody Mary Bar and decorated the table for dinner. Because we traveled 2 hours to our Thanksgiving destination, I wanted to keep the tablescape fairly simple: an arrangement of flowers or greenery (I went faux because it was one less thing for me to worry about), candlesticks, napkins with napkin rings, and a textured glass to add some variation to the table. You could also add a table runner, I just wasn’t feeling it for this particular setting.
Essential Number 4: don’t break the bank. Everything for our Friendsgiving was purchased from HomeGoods or Target, or found in our home. I tried to keep everything under $200 for hosting 10 people – you will need to get savvy with your TJMaxx rewards or Bulleye’s playground. Or ask to borrow some items from family or friends for the day!
When it came time to eat, we did remove the center plant for the star of the show: the turkey. We actually deep-fried it, and let me tell you I will never eat turkey cooked any other way. It was SO DELICIOUS! Highly recommend!
Essential Number 5: never turn down help. If your guests are able, have them bring a dish to pass! It was great to bring everyone’s family recipes to the table and is a hosting bonus: you won’t be cooking all day by yourself.
The Decor
So where do you find all of these wonderful decorative yet affordable items? The decor I used, or similar, are all linked below. I even added some alternative options if shipping can’t quite make it in time. When in doubt, check out your local HomeGoods, World Market, Target, or even the Dollar store – they have SHOCKINGLY great glassware!
Table Decor
Bar Accessories
Serving trays
Happy hosting!
Hannah
Leave a Reply