Hosting a Friendsgiving isn’t a complicated task, but it is more involved than simply inviting people over for dinner. There are plenty of moving parts to consider and you will need a plan to make sure everything goes well. Here are a few tips that will help your Friendsgiving go off without a hitch.

Invite the people you care about

You can’t have Friendsgiving without friends! If you’re worried about who you should invite, try making a list of friends who come to mind first. Avoid searching through your social media for ideas on who to invite to your dinner; you may have a lapse of judgement and invite someone you only kind of knew in middle school. The people who come to your dinner should be important to you.

Communication is key

Make sure that you send your invites out as soon as possible. This will give your friends a chance to fit the event into their schedules. If you want to get fancy, you can send everyone cards as invitations. A more convenient (and more plausible) way to invite your friends is to make a Facebook event post. An event page is a tool that can incorporate the details of your dinner such as the time, date and place. Similarly, it is a good way to send a digital notification to everyone who is invited. You can also try making a group chat. However, if you plan on inviting more than five people this option could get a little hectic.

Preparation is necessary

Any social gathering requires a little prep work. It is up to you to make sure that everything is organized and that there is as little confusion as possible.

The first thing you should prep is your home. Make sure that you have an adequate amount of seating for those you invited and then some. You never know who will show up with their significant other without notifying you. Secondly, make sure that you have enough dishes and silverware for everyone. It may be in your best interest to buy paper tableware instead. This isn’t the most environmentally friendly option, but it will save you from hours’ worth of washing dishes.

If you think your friends will appreciate it, try decorating your home. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get festive. You will be surprised at how easy it is to find a good cornucopia this time of year. You can also find lots of faux fall leaves and plants at any craft store. They are relatively cheap and a great way to add some pizazz to your dinner.

You can’t have Friendsgiving without food

The beauty of Friendsgiving is that there are no expectations for the host to cook the entire dinner. You can make it into a good old-fashioned potluck! Although you may not have to cook the entire dinner, you should be prepared to cook the most important entree: the turkey. No one wants to lug a giant turkey all the way to your home. Your only real food related obligation as the host is to cook that bird. Everything else is free game.

If you do decide to go the potluck route, you will need a way to communicate what everyone is bringing. Making a group message is the easiest method for this part of the planning.  It is important to make a list of who will bring what food. For example, if you invite 10 people have four of them bring side dishes such as mashed potatoes. Two more can bring some other kind of entree like chicken or ham. Have the last two bring either bread or desert. This way, you won’t end up with five plates of cookies, three trays of mac and cheese and two boxes of store bought rolls. After your friends have come to a mutual decision about who will be bringing what, make your own list so that you can have an official record. Send this list back out to the group so that everyone is on the same page.

Giving thanks

Lastly, once everyone is all settle in your home, make sure to give thanks! Friendsgiving is a time where you can gather up your friends to let them know how much you love them. Finding a time where everyone is available to come together and have fun is difficult. They will appreciate the effort you put into making such a great dinner happen. Make sure to thank your friends for coming, and have a great night.