Friendsgiving 2014: The start of a tradition (and some DIY)

I know what you’re thinking, ‘well she’s ridiculously early’. But really, I’m just Canadian (not crazy). Our Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend and while celebrating on the day is great, I’ll be doing that with my family, and so will all of my friends. Plus this weekend’s a bit busy with it being my birthday and all (and three dinner parties back to back would be a bit much, even for me). So we celebrated Friendsgiving a bit early this year and it was such a treat.

Let’s back up. Last year, I saw this post about their friendsgiving tradition from A Beautiful Mess and although it was more than a month late for this Canadian girl, I’ve held onto the idea until this year. There’s something so GOOD in the whole concept of ‘Friends-giving’. Celebrating what we are thankful for with friends… who we’re thankful for. Plus, the older I get, the harder it is to get together with friends. Remember when you were together with your friends every Friday/Saturday? Then things change, you get married, you have kids, you buy a house and spend every waking minute renovating… okay, maybe it’s just me on that last one, but life gets in the way! So we’ve started to take advantage of occasions (or any excuse, really *ahem, Big Brother*) to get together with friends.

This came together incredibly fast. I was complaining to Shane that I had been planning to do this, but the time got away from me and we were out of time. Plus, everyone was headed out of town for Thanksgiving, it just wasn’t going to work. When he suggested doing it a week early (it was Monday, this meant Friday), I was doubtful anyone could make it. I called around and what are the chances… every. single. person. was free! We made it a potluck (I made my ham in the slowcooker and it was so delicious, I might have to make it again to share the recipe with you all) so there was no stress food-wise for us, and we borrowed a folding table and chairs to accommodate the crowd.

Guys, it came together SO well! We had such a good time enjoying each other’s company, catching up, and sharing old jokes- plus, the food was dynamite. We will definitely be making this a yearly tradition in our house. And you should too- I rushed to get this post up, because there’s still time for you to make it happen! Other than the logistics (of inviting people really super late and getting them to bring food). Here’s how we pulled it together!

That table cloth is actually material that I bought to make a table runner. I got it home to realize it was wide enough for our table- so instant table cloth! It’s so soft and cozy, I love the muted colours in this material (and it was on sale!). The napkins I bought new for this occasion. I actually didn’t have more than 4 matching napkins, so this was a treat for me to pick up. All those flowers? From my Dad’s garden. I was trying to decide on a centerpiece without blowing my budget when my Dad called to tell me they were pulling up their garden for the winter soon, so I should go clear out their flowers. It’s hard to tell in the photos, but the deep purple/maroon actually matches the table cloth perfectly. The rest of the purple doesn’t, but I thought it was a fun colour to bring into the mix. I’m all for non-traditional colour pallets (read: not orange and brown).

By having this dinner party I realized we’re short on cutlery… but the cutlery that did match I tied up with this fancy velour ribbon from the fabric store. I was picking up some other velour things (which you’ll see next week) and these matched my table cloth material perfect! (Inspiration Style Me Pretty Via Home Stories A-Z) That sign? That was a last minute addition. It’s actually dollar wrapping paper from Target. You know, the rolls that are shorter than normal, but the price is too good to not pick it up. Yeah, that’s the ones. I used the back (plain kraft) to paint the ‘thankful’, and the polka dots (the front) add a fun pattern when folded over. I enjoyed painting this, but I am way more happy with my lettering on the name cards. Both were done in record time.

Those pumpkins? They’re real. I picked up a couple bags of mini pumpkins from Superstore (they’re white and so cute) for three bucks and spray painted them a Brushed Nickel colour (it’s this one and it dries in 10 minutes if you’re in a rush like me!). It took a few coats since you had to flip them upside down and lay them on their sides to get all the angles, but I think they’re such a fresh addition to the table. They add a little bit of glam.

So, are you taken with the idea of friendsgiving as much as I am? Do you celebrate holidays with friends, or do you stick to your family? I’d love to hear! Also… any fun stories of last minute dinner parties are welcome. To add to this, I took on helping distribute an academic survey at the Salmon Run with a researcher from South Africa on that day… I’m a nerd and couldn’t pass up the chance to learn about her research, even if it meant I’d get home just in time to welcome guests.