Friendsgiving Ideas that Won’t Break the Bank

Are you planning for a Thanksgiving feast for friends? Need some fresh Friendsgiving Ideas? Here are some of the best cheap Friendsgiving meals and recipes for celebrating this year.

Whether you’re taking a dish to a potluck or prepping for a cozy sit-down dinner party, these Friendsgiving Ideas will help you get organized and ready to celebrate — on a budget.

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Are you gathering with friends this year and find yourself looking for cheap Friendsgiving meals and recipes that won’t break the budget? It’s a sad realization of adulthood that one Thanksgiving meal can cost as much as a week’s groceries.

Yikes. Like your Aunt Vera’s Double Rum Fruit Cake, that’s too rich for my blood!

Thankfully, we’ve got budget Friendsgiving Ideas to help you enjoy a great holiday meal without overspending.

Why It Matters

People are more important than things. In hosting a Friendsgiving, you already recognize the value of relationships, especially with people you’re not related to. Gathering with friends is more important than how fancy or expensive the food is. Focus on enjoying the people. The feast is a bonus.

Debt isn’t worth it. Overspending at the holidays just isn’t any fun; neither are bills that you’re still paying in February. Keeping your Friendsgiving costs under control will benefit you for months to come. What are friends for than to keep you out of debt?

Frugal food tastes amazing! It doesn’t have to be expensive to taste good. You can truly celebrate well without spending a lot of money. These cheap Friendsgiving meal ideas are just the ticket!

Budget Tips

There are many ways to host budget-friendly holiday meals. Here are some cheap Friendsgiving Ideas to help you save on food costs:

1. Shop the sales. You can pick up some great deals for the holiday as well as for the coming months.
2. Let the prices plan your meals. As hard as it is to forego some traditional favorites, if it’s too expensive, then save it for another time. Plan your meals around ingredients you can source affordably.
3. Choose budget recipes for Friendsgiving. While it’s tempting to pull out all the stops at the holiday, enough is as good as a feast. Ma Ingalls says so. Choose recipes that are naturally budget-friendly. (Hint: scroll down for some yummy ideas!)
4. Think outside the box. Part of the fun of a nontraditional Friendsgiving get-together is sharing different foods than you might normally have at Thanksgiving.
5. Be mindful of leftovers. Chances are when you prepare a large feast, you make too much. Save those leftovers! While they are great reheated the next day, there are lots of meals that can be made from leftovers. You can also send each friend home with a homemade “TV dinner” to reheat later.

Hosting Suggestions

If you’re not used to hosting a large party, here are Friendsgiving Ideas to help you be the host with the most:

1. Check your tableware. Decide if you’re going to use real dishes or paper plates. There’s no right answer here, but if you plan on using china or ceramic dishes, count your plates now and make sure you have enough. The same goes for silverware and napkins. If you’re using disposables, remember that you can find holiday ware discounted now at Hobby Lobby. They have some great deep dish paper plates, perfect for hosting.
2. Borrow, rent, or buy what you need. Obviously, borrowing is the more economical way to go. If you want a more formal table setting and yours is a large group, ask friends to see who you can borrow from and then figure out a way to tell yours apart from theirs. If you end up buying something, you may be able to sell it later to recoup some of the cost.
3. Does everyone have a place to sit? Again, if it’s a casual potluck where folks will mill about, no problem. But, if you’d like to have everyone sit at the same time, make sure you have enough table space and chairs for everyone. Again, borrow, rent, or buy what you need.
4. What about kids? If you’re not a parent, this may be something new. Review these tips for kids table thanksgiving activities. Ask a friend with experience to head up the kids’ activities.
5. Send leftovers home. If you anticipate a lot of food, load up on some meal prep containers so that you can send leftovers home with friends. If there’s a lot of food, invite guests to prepare a second plate to take home.

What We’re Doing

This year our family is hosting a Friendsgiving for our kids’ friends. We already host an open dinner and game night once a month so this was a natural option for the holidays. Our guests are generally aged 16 to 25.

Here’s what we’re doing:

• I’m providing rotisserie chicken, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce.
• I used SignUp.com to make it easy for kids to contribute. Some of the kids have signed up to bring appetizers, sodas, and desserts.
• One of my sons is grilling tri-tips. Another is making mashed potatoes.
• We’re providing all the serving ware, plates, napkins, etc.
• I purchased this water dispenser earlier in the year to make it easier to keep people hydrated on a budget.
• I will likely have some back-up sides and salads in the fridge in case we have more people (or less food) than expected.

FAQs

Recommended Recipes

There’s no right way to plan your menu. It’s really up to you and what you want to do this year. If you’re doing a lot of cooking, remember there are lots of Make-Ahead and Freeze Thanksgiving Recipes.

Consider these delicious cheap Friendsgiving Meal Ideas for your menu:

Easy Appetizers

Simple Main Dishes

Super Sides

Desserts

This post was originally published in November 2016. It has been updated for content and clarity.