How to Pull Off a Magical Friendsgiving

Steal all our tips for throwing a truly magical friendsgiving! We’re talking table setting inspo, food ideas, and extra ways to make the night memorable.

So you’re hosting Friendsgiving and not sure where to start? One of my closest design friends, Lea of Creekwood Hill, hosted a magical Friendsgiving last week, and it was one of those blue-moon-amazing-nights of styling, food, and conversation alongside a talented group of creative women. Read on for table setting inspo, food ideas (including how to create the ultimate charcuterie board), and extra ways to make the night memorable.

Lea’s guest list included Kelly of Maven Events, Jennifer of Sage E Imagery, Morgan of Construction2Style, Mercedes of Mercury Mosaics, and Alyssa of Project Remodel. We arrived at Lea’s in the late afternoon where she had a pot of Harvest Carrot Soup simmering on the stove and the table set in a Kinfolk-esque vibe with white cotton linens, coupe drinkware, and brass candleholders from her shop, Curated Goods. Go surf her shop you guys–the pricepoints are insanely good.

Leading up to the event, we all sort of jumped in and offered to help based on our strengths. Candlelight plays a big roll in setting ambiance, so I made beeswax taper candles for the table and for everyone to take home with them. Learn how to make them with my DIY beeswax taper video! Mercedes designed custom tile vases and filled them with a beautiful autumnal mix. Those bleached ferns!

Kelly created a signature Spiced Cider cocktail and a sculptural floral arrangement in a low slung dish. See the bottom of the post for the cocktail recipe as well as a non-alcoholic version!

Jennifer captured the night through her camera lens. Her ability to shoot in low light is absolutely incredible! If any of your friends are into photography, make sure they bring their camera to record the memories!

Music is another instant mood-setter, and we had Monster Rally going in the background.

Charcuterie Board

Morgan brought an incredible charcuterie board. Here are her tips for re-creating this yourself:

• “[The key to an amazing board] is finding a balance of textures, flavors, and food that contrasts and complements each other.
• Presentation is a big part of charcuterie boards! Natural wood cutting boards, a variety of colors, and beautiful looking items make these boards visually appealing and show off food in a beautiful way.
• Typical foods and key elements that go onto a Charcuterie board has a variety of meats, cheese, olives, nuts, dried fruit, crackers, jam and honey and more to make it just as mouth watering as it is visually appealing.
• The goodies that I brought together for this specific Charcuterie board included:
  • Crumbled Blue Cheese
  • Brie
  • Cheddar
  • Goat Cheese
  • Orti D’Italia Bruschetta
  • Marinated Olives
  • Black Grapes
  • Pears
  • Persimmons
  • Figs
  • Pomegranate
  • Red Wine Salami
  • Crackers (we did Valley Lahvosh 3″ rounds) 
  • Rosemary 
  • Basil
  • Thyme

Cocktails Crafted by Kelly

Spiced Cider Cocktail

Non-Alcoholic cocktail

Menu

• Morgan’s Incredible Charcuterie Board (see above for details)
• Lea’s Harvest Carrot Soup
• Balsamic Roasted Beet Salad : From Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa
• Pumpkin Chocolate Cake from Brim Restaurant

Miscellaneous

• DIY Rolled Beeswax Taper Candles from yours truly!
• Music Playlist: Monster Rally

Of course, all of this is helpful in setting the tone for a magical Friendsgiving, but it’s truly friends that ultimately make the night a memorable success! Hope you picked up a tip or two–good luck with your own Friendsgiving!

Photography captured by Jennifer of Sage E Imagery .

Read On!

• 3 Tips for Throwing a Festive Friendsgiving
• Minimal Thanksgiving Banners