Friendsgiving Ideas: Hosting and Hostess Gifts

How do I host a relaxed Friendsgiving?

Put out a cheese board as guests arrive, pull potluck dishes together with a few serving pieces that share one theme, use cake stands to turn the pies into a dessert station, assign guests categories rather than dishes, and keep containers by the door for leftovers.

Choose a Michael Aram cheese board with its own knife if you want something to set out the moment hungry guests arrive.
Choose a cake stand or two if the potluck brings more desserts than planned – height turns a row of pies into a dessert buffet.
Choose a small gift under $150, like the Herend Pumpkin Bunny Coaster, if you are the guest.
Choose the Gien Pie Dish – Route des Indes if you want to bring the pie in it and leave the dish as the gift.

Friendsgiving is the Thanksgiving meal you share with friends – usually in the days around Thanksgiving, usually potluck, and always a little more relaxed than the family table. Nobody expects matching china. What makes it feel special is a host who has thought about the details: a board for the cheese, a pitcher of something cold, a stand for the pies, and enough little dishes to go around.

Here are our Friendsgiving ideas for hosting – a mix-and-match table that looks generous, not fussy – and gifts to bring if you are the guest. Everything is gathered in our Friendsgiving table and hostess gifts collection.

Start with a Board

Guests arrive hungry and the turkey is never on time, so put out cheese, fruit and bread right away. Michael Aram's cheese boards come with their own knife, and each is handcrafted in his workshops. For more ideas, see our charcuterie board gifts.

Michael Aram Pomegranate Cheese Board with Knife

Michael Aram's pomegranate motif on a handcrafted cheese board with its matching knife – in a large or small size.

Michael Aram Pine Cone Cheese Board with Knife

A pine cone design that feels right from the first cold evening through the holidays, beautifully boxed.

Michael Aram Olive Branch Cheese Board with Knife

The olive branch, an old symbol of peace and plenty – a lovely message for a table of friends.

A Mix-and-Match Table

Potluck dishes arrive in every shape and color. A few serving pieces with one shared theme – autumn, the forest, the harvest – pull the table together.

Michael Aram Pumpkin Bowl

A handcrafted metal serving bowl shaped like a pumpkin – for rolls, salad or a pile of clementines – beautifully boxed.

Gien Acrylic Serving Tray, Large – Sologne

An 18¼ x 14 5/16 in acrylic serving tray in Gien's Sologne pattern: Estelle Rebottaro's delicate watercolors of the deer, boar and game birds of the Sologne, the hunting country south of the Loire. Perfect for carrying drinks and plates from the kitchen. A small size is also available.

Michael Aram Pomegranate Pitcher

A handcrafted metal pitcher for water or cider, with the same pomegranate motif as the cheese board above.

Love the Sologne pattern? See how it looks on a full table in our Gien Sologne fall table.

Pies, Tarts and Cake Stands

Friendsgiving usually ends with more desserts than anyone planned. Give them height: a cake stand or two in the middle of the table turns a row of pies into a dessert buffet. See all cake stands.

Michael Aram Pomegranate Pie Dish

A handcrafted pie dish with Michael Aram's pomegranate motif, beautifully boxed – it matches the cheese board and pitcher above.

Match Pewter Antique Pie Server

Pewter cast and finished by hand in northern Italy from a food-safe alloy, developing a soft, warm patina with use.

Gien Footed Cake Stand – Le Jardin du Palais

A footed cake stand in Gien faience, shaped and decorated in the Gien manufactory in the Loire Valley.

William Yeoward Classic Cake Stand

An antique-inspired comport, handmade with a sturdy crimped stem and turned-up rim – "ideal for your cakes, cheese or fruit." A handmade dome is available separately.

Herend Pumpkins and Turkeys

Herend's fall dessert pieces are hand-painted in Herend, Hungary, with 24k gold accents. Serve coffee and pie in them – or give one to the host. See the Herend Fall Dessert collection and our Herend Thanksgiving guide.

Herend Mug – Pumpkin

A hand-painted porcelain mug, 3½ in tall and holding 11 oz. A matching pumpkin dessert plate (8¼ in) is sold individually.

Herend Mug – Turkey

The turkey mug from the same series, 11 oz, with a matching turkey dessert plate.

Gifts to Bring: Under $150

Going to someone else's Friendsgiving? Bring a dish – and a small gift the host can keep. More ideas in our luxury hostess gifts.

Friendsgiving Hosting Tips

Assign the categories, not the dishes. Ask guests for "a side," "a dessert" or "something to drink," and you'll get variety without three green-bean casseroles.
Have serving pieces ready. Guests often bring food in foil pans. Set out platters, bowls and serving spoons so every dish can be transferred and shown off.
Make dessert a station. Cake stands at different heights, a pie server and a stack of dessert plates make it easy for guests to help themselves.
Send leftovers home. Keep a few containers by the door – everyone will thank you.

Hosting the family Thanksgiving too? See our Thanksgiving table ideas and our carving and gravy guide.