Thursday, December 5, 2013

First Annual Friendsgiving

I have heard about Friendsgiving for a while now.  For the most part, the only times I have actually heard of it is when  people live too far away from home and for whatever reasons could not travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. So they gathered their friends who were in a similar situation and had “Friendsgiving.”  Friends + Thanksgiving = Friendsgiving



I decided in the fall that I would love to host a Friendsgiving dinner with our friends, so that is exactly what we done.   I would make the turkey and asked that everyone bring their favorite Thanksgiving side dish.   Also, in the spirit of the season, I asked that everyone bring a non-perishable food item that could be donated to one of the local charities.  I had quite the haul of food to take and was so glad we could give back in this way.

Although I was given grief like none other (particularly from the male species), I had a blast preparing and decorating our home and yard for the occasion.   When you live in a small home and do not have a dining room table (that’s another story for another day), you must use all resources at hand; therefore, I set up the table in the yard.  They were covered with pretty tablecloths and fabric.  The centerpieces included mason jars filled with dried beans and a candle as well as glitzy fall pumpkins and gourds. 


 

The time changed the weekend before our dinner, so to create a little extra light, I strung up white Christmas lights in the trees.  Personally, I loved how it turned out.  Although, it may have looked a little honky while the sun was still up, it gave the appropriate fall glow when darkness fell.  Especially with the candles on the tables, I thought it looked super nice.  Unfortunately, I do not have any photos of everything lit up.  Boo. 

Back in September, the Mr. had created a beautiful fall vignette for me.  It included pumpkins, hay bales, mums, Indian corn, corn stalks, a scarecrow and an old tin watering can.  He done an amazing job and I was so surprised when I came home.  He makes my heart happy.  Anyway, I thought this area would be the perfect spot for a photo booth!  I added the rustic sign I made and printed off some props (including pilgrim hats, a turkey leg, a turkey beak with snood, a piece of pie, etc.)  But due to the time change and the serious chill in the air, it wasn’t really utilized.  But that is totally understandable.  We did bring them inside and got a couple of photos in there.
 

As far as the food, it was all delicious and what a spread we had!  There was food in every corner of my kitchen it seemed.  Like I said, I made the turkey (almost 20lbs…thank the Lord for crock pots!) and everyone else brought a side dish. We had everything you could imagine; smoked chicken, hash brown casserole, broccoli casserole, green beans, sweet potato casserole, cream corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, deviled eggs, broccoli salad, stuffing, corn casserole, macaroni and cheese, dinner rolls, layered pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, cookie and cream cookies, homemade caramel dip with apple slices and dulce de leche cake.  Gosh, I think that was everything.  No one left hungry that’s for certain.  We didn’t have hardly any leftovers either. 


Since we had such a selection of food I decided I would make food labels for each dish.  I knew that when it came to the casseroles, people would wonder what it was.  Now we all know that most casseroles have one of two toppings: crackers crumbles or cheese.  It can be hard to tell what type of casserole it is.  This is where the food labels came in super handy.   Or at least I thought so – the menfolk (and some ladies) looked at it as a way to pick on me.  But I did not care, it made perfect sense to me. Z  If one food gets a label, then they all do.  I break out in hives when there is a lack of consistency.




 
I believe that everyone had a great time from eating, playing corn hole, standing by the bonfire, the kids had fun fishing in the creek, playing in the yard, coloring, watching cartoons and roasting marshmallows.  Most of all I am glad that everyone seemed to have a great time fellowshipping together.

I cannot wait to do it again!
 

(Most of the photos are courtesy of my dear friend Kellye.  I was too busy and forgot to take them…..thanks Ked!)

2 comments:

  1. I love it. Love it. Did you take any photos with the lights on in the tress? :)

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    Replies
    1. I didn't get any photos of the lights in the trees...which is super sad. it was actually really pretty when it got dark.

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