Holidays are a wonderful thing. If a calendar year were a cupcake, holidays would be the sprinkles – bright, random pops of celebration, dotting what would otherwise be something rather ordinary. Out of all the sprinkles of celebration, I’m beginning to think that Thanksgiving is my favorite.
Our celebrations look like a lot of things – fresh starts, declarations of love, chocolate bunnies and lilies, freedom, remembrance, costumes, and gift giving. Thanksgiving is different.
When Thanksgiving rolls around, no one is expecting me to give a gift, a card, or a box of chocolates. At Thanksgiving we all gather around the table and offer up the best gift of all – thanks.
This year we gathered with some of our closest friends for our own sort of “friendsgiving.” To be honest, I was recovering from a long, hard month with little else to offer other than green beans. I was empty – spiritually, physically, mentally – and all I could do was come to the table. We prayed and began digging into our beautiful meals.
Candlelit laughter and good company is a priceless salve to the weary soul.
We then thoughtfully made lists and took turns sharing all of the things we are thankful for. I am convinced that thankfulness is the truest kind of magic out there. As we spoke our gratitude our hearts were made full – and that’s why I think Thanksgiving is my favorite. We take the time to recognize and celebrate what has already been given to us. So often we miss out on the power of today because we are planning and dreaming for tomorrow. Contentment is a powerful thing.
Contentment gives us the power to be present, to live with clarity and purpose.
I am thankful for:
Community
Friendship
Family
My husband
Good health
My home
Financial stability
Opportunity to travel
Good food
Employment
Apple cider and
Joy.
The best part of Thanksgiving is the joy. We get the chance to break away from the striving, planning, and scheduling to celebrate the plenty, the abundance, the sprinkles of joy that make life so sweet. ‘Tis the season for thanks-giving!
Bonus: How To Host Friendsgiving On A Budget
Putting together our Friendsgiving was actually a lot simpler than I thought it might be and definitely much more affordable than I ever imagined.
1. The Guests
The occasion dictates a lot about who should be on your guest list. For this particular celebration, we went for an intimate crowd of people who we had done life with all year long. We wanted our table filled with the people who knew about both the hardships and victories this year had brought, making our celebration of gratitude that much more powerful.
2. Make It A Potluck
The most intimidating part of hosting is often the cooking! Even though I enjoy cooking, cooking for a crowd can be intimidating financially. So whether you’re insecure in your cooking abilities, your guest list comes with special dietary needs, or you’re struggling to make every dollar stretch – the potluck format is the answer to your party prayers.
As the host, my husband and I took on the main course and also contributed garlic green beans. When it comes to thanksgiving however, the theme is always “plenty.” I made a list of the classic Thanksgiving favorites and asked everyone to pick two to bring. Distributing the sides and dessert eliminated the burden of cooking such an elaborate meal. I’ve also found that our friends enjoy contributing their own special recipes to our meal, making this solution a win-win.
3. Be Resourceful
My husband and I have only been married for a little over a year, meaning we don’t exactly have a stockpile of serving platters and other decorations fit to compliment a feast such as this – in fact, we have exactly four dinner plates. My husband’s idea was to tell everyone to bring their own plate. Although his down-to-earth reasoning capabilities is one of the reasons I married him, I still wanted our Friendsgiving to feel special and elegant – and less like camping.
My in-laws however, have been married long enough to have acquired a stockpile of platters, plates, and serving dishes. Borrowing is the name of the game when trying to look fancy and honor the budget. So we used a selection of fall-colored plates from their kitchen arsenal and a variety of serving platters from my sister-in law’s wedding. With some candles I bought from Walmart, one bunch of eucalyptus from Trader Joe’s, and the cutest pumpkins you’ve ever seen given to us from our farmer-friend – our table was set. Let me break it down:
- 2 Whole chickens – $10.00
- 2lbs. of green beans – $3.00
- Candles – $12.00
- Eucalyptus – $2.00
It cost us under $30.00 to host Friendsgiving.
4. Make It Meaningful
My vision for our Friendsgiving was ultimately that the meal we shared would be made sacred by the people we shared it with and the conversation we had. I didn’t want this to just be another dinner – I wanted the weight of our blessings to be felt. To honor this vision, I made half-sheet cards that said “so thankful” with room to write our blessings and placed one on each guest’s place-setting. As we finished up our meal, we took a break from our conversation to jot down the things in our lives we are “so thankful” for. One by one, we shared the items we wrote on our lists. This was by far my favorite moment, brought to you by computer paper and a sharpie.
5. Make It Fun
If you’re not going to have fun, don’t throw a party. Play group games like Charades, Catch Phrase, or Pictionary. These get your guests up, moving around, laughing, and animated.
Friendsgiving this way made our celebration a highlight to my year as well as something I won’t forget and will likely repeat. Our home was full, our stomachs were full, our hearts were full, and we were all “so thankful.”
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