Thanksgiving is just around the corner! This is the time of year to gather with those that we love and are thankful for. Most of us celebrate with family around the table. This year why not celebrate the awesome friends we’re blessed with by hosting a Friendsgiving potluck outdoors?
Host a friendsgiving potluck outdoors this year on your homestead and enjoy a rustic fall experience. If you’re capable go ahead and cook your own farm to table thanksgiving. We like to host a potluck instead. Lots of our friends are amazing cooks, and theres always enough left overs for the next day.
Who to invite?
Who to invite is always the first part of planning a great event. How many people do you want to invite? When hosting a friendsgiving potluck outdoors you’ll probably have room for more than inside. Make sure you have enough chairs and a large enough table, unless people are eating on their laps.
10-15 people seems to be the perfect number for a good array of conversation, food and fun.
What date do you set?
I find its best to arrange a Friendsgiving event the weekend before the long weekend when most guests have family obligations and travel plans. A Friday night of the long weekend may work as well. I find most people get “turkied out” with too many thanksgiving dinners in a row. Go with hosting the weekend before when everyone’s excited and set the bar high by hosting a Friendsgiving they won’t forget!
Send Invites
Wether you decide to send out paper invites for a more formal feel or stick with sending evites, you can’t go wrong with Canva for great free invitations. Check out these pre made Friendsgiving templates here. Go ahead and add a personal touch by changing the picture and adding your event information.
How to Organize a Friendsgiving Outdoor Potluck
As the host, impress your friends by cooking the turkey, the dessert and sending them home with a favor. It’s easiest for guests to bring a precooked side dish to go along with the turkey.
Arrange an outdoor seating arrangement. Keep it simple with a bonfire, and tailgates, camping chairs or wood benches.
We like to deep fry our turkey for outdoor potlucks as the deep frying tends to be the spectacle of the event. It’s a great conversation starter, plus if done correctly it’s super quick and the results are the tastiest turkey you’ll ever have! Our friends and family are still raving about last years turkey.
Check out how to deep fry a turkey here.
If you’re not set up to deep fry a turkey, bake it in a roaster or the oven. You’ll have a yummy turkey aroma that makes your guests drool in anticipation. An experience lost when deep frying. – The only down fall I’ve come across.
You can’t go wrong with making pies for dessert. Think apple, pumpkin or pecan pie.
Arranging Side Dishes
I find it’s easiest to tell people what to bring on the invitation than for them to wonder what to bring, and worry if someone else is making the same or similar dish.
On the invitation simply write their name and say;
“Please kindly bring ___________ cooked and ready to serve to this special event!
For those guests that aren’t good cooks or say they “can’t cook” ask them to bring something easy, like a bottle of white or red wine or fresh buns from the bakery.
Some Thanksgiving Side Dish Ideas
Our go to side dishes are always stuffing, sweet potato casserole, roasted vegetables, Brussels sprouts, buns and my absolute favourite mashed potatoes!
Oh and don’t forget the fixings like gravy and cranberry sauce!
Here’s some mouthwatering recipe ideas to send to your guests. Just simply share this post with them or ask them to make their favourite version of the following.
Crockpot Mashed Potatoes With Cheddar and Garlic
Maple Roasted Acorn Squash Slices
Green Bean Casserole
Sauteed Carrots
Easy Sweet Potato Casserole
Brussels Sprouts Salad with Cranberries
Easy Crockpot Stuffing
Outdoor Friendsgiving Ideas
Last Thanksgiving, we hosted a friendsgiving potluck outdoors while camping at a remote lake. As long at theres turkey, company and a tasty pie then you can pull off Thanksgiving anywhere!
We often host outdoor events throughout the year to gather friends together for celebrations. It’s makes hosting a breeze and I don’t have to worry about cleaning my house before hand!
Light a campfire to keep guests warm no matter the season. A propane fire bowl is also lovely to have in the city or suburbs.
Pop up tent shelters and tables are are great ways to set up a gathering space for a potluck table.
Set the table to a thanksgiving themed table cloth, a few pumpkins and a wooden crate filled with your favours and you’ve got a simple set up for a Friendsgiving Potluck.
Thanksgiving Favors
Why not send your guests home with a small but sweet favour to show your gratitude? I love party favours, and secretly wish I still got them for attending my friends birthday parties. I do look forward to seeing what the favors at a wedding will be.
Here are some super simple favours you could make before hand to give out to your guests as they depart.
Apple Butter
Crockpot apple butter is super simple to make. Simply put it in the crock pot and head to bed, in the morning jar the butter into mason jars and store in the fridge or use the hot water bath canning method to preserve the butter for your guests. Either way, label the jars with our free apple butter labels and add a sweet jute bow.
Vanilla Extract
Nothing adds the depth of flavor to sweet dish quite like homemade vanilla extract! It can be expensive if you bake a lot, but fortunately making your own vanilla extract is super easy! Perfect for yourself fall party favours.
More Printable Favor Ideas
Check out a ton of free holiday printables on this post, some are strictly for Christmas but others are generic enough for Thanksgiving.
Go ahead and comment below about your Friendsgiving plans! I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
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