The Agbetola Friendsgiving | Details and Decor

Blouse | Jeans | Booties

Over the weekend we hosted our first Friendsgiving at our house for about thirty of our close friends and it turned out even better than I’d imagined that it would. About a month ago, Nate mentioned that he wanted to host a Friendsgiving and I immediately obliged. Knowing him, he was going to have people in our house with nothing more than Styrofoam plates and red plastic cups and that’s personally just not my style. Of course I took it upon myself to take it up a notch.

We’ve been in our house a little over a year and I’ve slowly but surely been making it feel like it’s ours, but it takes time! Since moving in, we haven’t formally hosted anything or anyone. We’ve had friends over and had a taco party about two months after buying, but our house was still so empty I considered it more of a housewarming. Because this would be the first time we formally hosted anyone, it was important to me to set the tone for what they could expect.

I spent a few weeks gathering everything I knew I’d need to host and I’m so glad I timed it all out because it was a task I wouldn’t have been able to do in just a few days. From making sure I had everything for a complete tablescape, to serving dishes, to picking up fresh flowers and making the arrangements, to running around to pick up everything I’d need to cook and prepping all of the items. I commend women who host often so much! It’s not an easy task. I knew I was going to dress it up, but it really turned out so much prettier than I thought it would! I’m very pleased with all of my selections and these are all items that I can reuse to host future dinner parties.

We went from planning to have an “intimate” dinner to having over 30 RSVP’s and I went into panic thinking about how we were going to be able to accommodate them all, since we did not have seating for that many. We decided to push the living room over and set our dining table aside so that we could seat all of our guests at once. We also put a tent and three tables outside since the weather was gorgeous. We catered most of the food and made a few sides ourselves and only asked guests to bring their drink of choice or a dessert. It’s so important to me to provide the kind of time I’d want to be included in, so I wanted people to come over without having to worry about anything but having a good time.

My entire house is white, black and gray with silver accents – so although I wanted to decorate for a “fall” holiday, I still wanted it to fit within my decor and color schemes. I decided on gold and silver decor with a pop of a fall color with the burnt orange napkins. I made the floral arrangements myself with flowers from Trader Joe’s and also included some napkin ring keepsakes from our wedding earlier this year. Some entertaining must-haves for me were a full bar-cart, enough food for everyone to eat two or three times, and things for us to do after dinner so the party wouldn’t die down. Keep Taboo or Cards Against Humanity handy for people to play instead of just sitting around.

My Table Details:

My Hosting Must-Haves:

All of these items should be to you well before Thanksgiving if you’re wanting to do a similar set up for your own guests. If I left out any Friendsgiving details, comment below and I’ll be sure and get it answered!