The holiday season goes by too fast.
Wait. Let me re-phrase.
The Thanksgiving holiday goes by too fast. As years go by, October seems to slowly lead right into December holidays, and November’s Thanksgiving sometimes gets less than stellar attention. It bums me out because this holiday really helps kick off the season of thanks … at least in my eyes.
In my attempt to continue to hang on and celebrate and give thanks to those around me, I decided to host a girlfriends Thanksgiving. Outside of the traditional family and friends Thanksgivings, this moment was reserved just for my girlfriends. It was a time for us to take a moment, be together and be thankful that we have each other. We don’t get to thank each other enough. We are there for so many milestones and so many ordinary moments. Why not celebrate?
And it was really fun. We laughed a lot and ate way too much. The occasion will be one that added to our calendars for years to come (just like Galentine’s Day!).
A few things that I think helped make our Girlfriends Thanksgiving a success …
1. Ask your girlfriends to help prepare the meal.
Make it a potluck and ask everyone to bring one dish. The hostess can still be in charge of the big things, like main meat dish and drinks, but ask friends to also bring a special dish to share. We did a traditional Thanksgiving spread, but I’m a fan for going outside the box and creating a theme that fits your group … like wine and tapas or coffee and continental breakfast, which leads right into my number 2…
2. Pick a time that works for everyone.
I think we hear the word Thanksgiving, and we conjure up images of an evening or late afternoon meal with the kitchen totally in an uproar. For this meal, I asked my girlfriends what worked best for them. Let’s face reality … it is the holiday season, and we still have a lot on our plates so let’s be flexible and give ourselves grace. We ended up picking roughly 12 p.m. It was great. Friends arrived anywhere between 11:30 a.m and 12:30 p.m., and we chatted in the kitchen, gathering our dishes, doing final preparations and just hanging out together.
3. Make it a little special.
They are your girlfriends after all. I’m not saying go to the greatest of lengths ala Ina Garten or Martha Stewart (or even the greatest Pinterest queens), but I think making the place settings just a little special will make the meal and moment a bit more special. Just a tip, but I found a lot of fun things at the dollar store.
4. If possible, keep the kiddos at home.
I realize this may be hard, but I think it helps to make it a time that includes just your friends sans kids. This time will allow you to talk freely about anything and everything. It’s nice to not censor yourself once in a while.
So, when are you going to have a girlfriends Thanksgiving? There’s always time!!
