Author: Tiffany Champion
You know how they say you can’t choose your family, but you can choose your friends?
Seldom is that more true than during the holidays, which can be one of the most stressful times of the entire year. Officially recognized by Merriam-Webster as of January 2020, “Friendsgiving” is a portmanteau of friend and Thanksgiving, referring to a large meal shared with friends on or near Thanksgiving. Simple enough, right? While you can celebrate with formal menus, elaborate place settings, and seating charts if you choose, how you celebrate is entirely up to you and your community. There’s no wrong way to do it. That said, you can be the perfect guest by following one universal rule of thumb: never show up empty-handed. Keep reading for some fun and tasteful suggestions sure to please any crowd.
1. Nothing Else Stacks Up
Enjoy the company in front of you and resist the pull of doomscrolling by occupying your crew’s minds and hands with a classic game of Jenga. Since Jenga has no minimum or maximum player count, it’s the perfect nostalgic way to connect and bring out your competitive sides.
2. Burn After Reading
Create a new scent memory for your friends with a keepsake gift like an incense holder, which can be enjoyed long after the smells of Friendsgiving have faded. Pair it with a subtle, fall-appropriate woody scent like Hinoki, which boasts calming therapeutic properties and is delicate enough to complement, rather than overwhelm, the other senses.
3. Olive You Lots
If you’re not in New York, bring one of its many iconic flavors to wherever you are with a bottle of organic extra virgin olive oil from Carroll Gardens-based, world-famous Italian eatery Frankie’s 457 Spuntino to elevate your spread’s dips and drizzles. You might be thinking: But Wynk, wouldn’t anyone hosting already have olive oil? Chances are they do, but it’s like the perfect pair of half-crew socks: utilitarian as hell, and therefore can’t have too many, because they’re gonna get used.
4. Be Salty Just This Once
Same principle as olive oil – it’s just nice! In a world of perfunctory bottles of wine no one really wants to drink, be the delicious flaky salt that keeps on giving. Bonus: If you bring olive oil and flaky salt, just add some organic vanilla ice cream for a decadent dessert.
5. Stop to Smell the Roses – Or Not
Fresh flowers are always a lovely gift, but they don’t last long, and they tend to drop petals and leaves – not ideal for a table full of food. Shop small whenever possible (like Wynk 😉) and support a local florist or small business with a unique dried flower arrangement that your host won’t have to toss after a week. Dried flowers can last 1-5 years and won’t start to smell when the stems rot like cut flowers do.
6. For the Host Who Has Letterboxd Open Before the Movie’s Credits Are Done Rolling
Unless you want to get stuck watching Home Alone reruns again, come prepared to wow your host with an alternative by snagging a copy of director Greg Mottola’s (best known for Superbad and Adventureland) debut feature film The Daytrippers (1996) – a charmingly low-budget family road trip screwball comedy to pop on after the dishes are cleared away.
Set on the day after Thanksgiving, when Long Islander Eliza D’Amico discovers a mysterious love note addressed to her husband (played by a young Stanley Tucci) and approaches her mother for advice, the entire family piles into their claustrophobic station wagon chugging towards Manhattan to investigate, and along the way, learn more than they bargained for about themselves, each other, and all of the strangers they meet along the way.
In short, it’s a warm hug in movie form that never makes the mistake of taking itself too seriously. With all of streamers’ constant shuffling and discontinuations, a Criterion spine, available online or at Barnes & Noble, makes a timeless keepsake that can be enjoyed over and over again. Clocking in at just 87 minutes and packed with iconic performances from Parker Posey as Eliza’s sister, Liev Schreiber as her dorky boyfriend, and Anne Meara as her well-meaning mother, The Daytrippers will take you and your friends on a journey to remember before you even think to look at your phone.
7. A Bloody Good THC Seltzer
Cran-Blood Orange Wynk is crisp, tart, and always perfectly balanced. Get a Friendsgiving buzz going around the table with our very first seasonal flavor, launched just in time for the festivities.
8. Make Having the Perfect Friendsgiving Your Beeswax
Have we mentioned we love to shop small? Check out your local farmer’s market for pure beeswax pillar candles to light the way and set the mood for joy and companionship. Beeswax candles burn brighter, longer, and are safer for the environment than any other kind of candle. Take our word for it – once you try them, you’ll never go back to soy.
