Gather Your Chosen Family With These Friendsgiving Invitation Ideas

Friendsgiving is more than just a meal. It’s a celebration of community, gratitude, and good food with the people you choose. Whether you’re planning a laid-back Friendsgiving potluck or a stylish brunch, your Friendsgiving invitations set the tone for the event.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through creative Friendsgiving invitation ideas, including cozy party themes, wording samples, and RSVP tips: everything you need to host a memorable Friendsgiving celebration. For more complete examples, from game nights to office Friendsgivings, see our Friendsgiving invitation wording guide.

What Is Friendsgiving?

Friendsgiving is a gathering of friends around the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s often held a few days before or after the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and usually involves potlucks, games, or just sharing time with your favorite people or loved ones.

It’s casual, personal, and flexible, which is perfect for anyone who wants to start a new tradition or celebrate a chosen family. Whether you’re hosting a laid-back Thanksgiving potluck or planning a full Thanksgiving dinner party, Friendsgiving gives you the freedom to celebrate in your own way, on or around Thanksgiving Day.

5 Friendsgiving Party Themes and Matching Invitations

Before you send out your invitations, you’ll want to choose a theme to help guide the look and feel of your event. Picking a theme isn’t required, but it helps make planning more fun and focused, especially when it comes to food, decor, and your party invitations.

Here are a few cozy and creative Friendsgiving party themes to inspire your event. Each includes opening wording; pair it with the full details from the complete examples further down.

1. Potluck Feast

Great for: Big groups, casual gatherings

Host a potluck-style dinner party, and ask guests to bring a dish to share. It’s budget-friendly and ensures a variety of flavors. Don’t forget to tailor your potluck invitations to clearly communicate what guests should bring and how to RSVP to your Thanksgiving feast. Our potluck invitation wording guide has complete examples with the dish, the serving count, and the reply line written out.

Bonus tip: Use a shared doc or group chat to avoid duplicate dishes!

Matching invitation: Friendsgiving Invitation

Opening wording:

Let’s Get This Gravy Train Rolling!

Join us for a Friendsgiving feast filled with good food, great company, and zero pressure to roast a turkey solo.

It’s potluck-style, so bring your favorite dish to share: homemade, store-bought, or totally last-minute, we love it all.

To keep things flavorful (and avoid five mac ‘n’ cheeses), we’ll be sharing a doc to track who’s bringing what.

Can’t wait to gather around the table with you!

2. Brunch Gathering

Great for: Morning people, smaller groups, Friendsgiving before Thanksgiving Day

This Friendsgiving brunch idea is a fresh take on tradition and perfect for those who already have dinner plans elsewhere. Swap out turkey for pancakes or waffles. Think mimosas, pumpkin spice lattes, and breakfast casseroles.

Your invitations can lean playful or cozy. Just be sure to include the dress code and whether guests should bring a dish or drink.

Bonus tip: Set up a DIY mimosa bar or build-your-own breakfast sandwich station.

Matching invitation: Autumn Plaid Invitation

Opening wording:

Let’s Gather and Be Grateful

Join us as we toast to friendship over flapjacks and fall flavors!

Coffee’s brewing, mimosas are chilling! Come hungry and dressed in your best brunch fits.

Let us know if you’ll bring a breakfast bite or bubbly to share!

3. Game Night Dinner

Great for: Competitive friend groups, family-friendly events

Start with a hearty meal, then break out the board games. Think fun party games, card games, or a themed trivia round to keep the fun going. Add a little friendly competition with small prizes or personalized scorecards. Include game details on your invite so guests know what to expect (and can bring their favorites).

Bonus tip: Choose games that work well with your group size and vibe, such as party games for big groups or strategy games for smaller crowds.

Matching invitation: Friendsgiving Feast Invitation

Opening wording:

Food, Friends & a Side of Strategy

Let’s have a hearty dinner, then dive into cards, trivia, and board game showdowns.
Bring your A-game and a favorite game to share!

Come hungry and ready to compete. Let’s make this a night of full bellies and friendly rivalries.

4. Outdoor Bonfire

Great for: Backyard-friendly homes, smaller friend circles

Bundle up, serve warm cider, and roast marshmallows over a backyard fire pit. Add cozy seating with blankets and string lights for a magical autumn evening. Whether you’re serving a full meal or just snacks and drinks, this theme brings relaxed, nostalgic energy to Friendsgiving.

Bonus tip: Offer a DIY s’mores bar and thermoses of hot chocolate or spiked cider to keep guests toasty.

Matching invitation: Festive Fall Feast Invitation

Opening wording:

Friendsgiving under the stars

Join us for an evening around the fire complete with warm cider, s’mores, and good company. Bundle up, bring a blanket, and get ready to toast to friendship with snacks, stories, and autumn skies.

5. Cozy Night In

Great for: Introverts, post-work gatherings, or weeknight get-togethers

Create a chill vibe with candles, soft blankets, and a casual Thanksgiving meal. Let everyone show up in their comfiest clothes, like hoodies, joggers, or even pajamas. Focus on comfort food, a relaxed playlist, and low-key conversation. For dessert, a warm slice of pumpkin pie pairs perfectly with hot cocoa or cider, adding a touch of autumn sweetness to your cozy evening.

Bonus tip: Turn the night into a movie marathon or fireplace chat session for added bonding.

Matching invitation: Stuff Our Pieholes Invitation

Opening wording:

Join us for comfort food in your comfiest hoodie and fuzzy socks. We’ll keep it simple with good eats, warm drinks, and cozy vibes.

Just bring yourself (and maybe your go-to pie). Expect relaxed convo, candlelight, and maybe a movie or two.

Friendsgiving Invitation Wording: Complete Examples

A complete Friendsgiving invitation covers the essentials guests need before they reply: who’s hosting, the day and date (including the year), when to arrive and when the meal is served if those differ, the full address, whether guests should bring anything, and how and when to RSVP. Each template below includes all of those details. Swap in your own information wherever you see brackets, and it’s ready to send.

Host-Provided Friendsgiving Dinner

We’re cooking, you’re coming!

[Host] invites you to Friendsgiving dinner on [day], [date], [year] at [full address]. Doors open at [start time], and we’ll sit down to eat at [dinner time].

This one is on us: the turkey, the sides, the dessert, and the drinks are all covered, so please bring nothing but your appetite.

Reply by [RSVP deadline] using [reply link or method] so we know how many places to set.

Casual Friendsgiving Potluck

Friendsgiving potluck at [host]’s place!

Join us on [day], [date], [year] at [start time]. We’ll be at [full address].

I’m making the turkey and stocking the drinks. If you’d like to bring something, one dish per household is plenty: a side, a salad, bread, or dessert all work.

Please RSVP by [RSVP deadline] at [reply link or method]. If you’re bringing a dish, add it to your reply so I can keep the menu balanced.

Friendsgiving Brunch

Gather for a Friendsgiving brunch, hosted by [host].

[Day], [date], [year], from [start time] to [end time], at [full address].

We’ll have waffles, a breakfast casserole, fruit, coffee, and mimosas ready. Contributions are completely optional: if you’d like to bring a pastry or juice, we’ll happily make room, but you’re welcome to arrive with nothing but a hearty appetite.

Please reply by [RSVP deadline] via [reply link or method].

Short Text Invitation

Inviting a few friends through a personal text or group chat you send yourself? This wording keeps the message short while still covering the essentials:

Hi, it’s [host]! We’re hosting Friendsgiving on [day], [date], [year] at [start time] at [full address]. [One line on contributions, such as: Nothing to bring, we’ve got it covered. Or: Bring a side or dessert if you’d like.] Please RSVP by [RSVP deadline] at [RSVP link].

Friendsgiving Invitation Tips: How to Get the Details Right

OK, you’ve made it this far. Now it’s time to start putting those Friendsgiving invitations together. While it’s easy to breeze through crafting an invitation, it doesn’t hurt to have a little reminder of the basics. Here are a few Thanksgiving-focused details you won’t want to miss.

Party Date and Time

Your friends can’t join you for an epic Friendsgiving feast if they don’t know when it’s happening. Give everyone the best possible chance of turning up and include the date and time of your dinner party somewhere obvious on the invite.

Sometimes Friendsgiving happens on the big day itself, but other times you’ll want to celebrate the actual Thanksgiving holiday with family and host a separate event for friends. To avoid confusion, make sure the date and time are clearly featured on your invitations.

Venue and Location

Friendsgiving dinner parties are often hosted at home, giving the ultimate cozy, warm, and welcoming feel. Wherever you host it, clearly state the venue and location on your invite.

Even if you’re hosting at home and your friends have been to your place a thousand times, be sure to include the full address to minimize any potential mix-ups. You might also want to include special driving instructions or a note on where to park if you don’t have driveway or garage space.

Dress Code

You might think it’s obvious that your Thanksgiving party is strictly a “wear what you’re comfortable in” affair, but it’s not always clear to guests. For that reason, it’s helpful to include a basic dress code on your party invites.

Mention if your Friendsgiving celebration is casual, formal, or something else. (Pajama party, anyone?) Make it clear so guests don’t have to guess.

What to Bring

If you’re hosting a potluck-style event or would like guests to bring a side or dessert, say so on your invitation.

For a host-provided dinner where guests bring nothing, skip the dish question. For a potluck, two optional write-in questions on the RSVP keep contributions and dietary needs separate:

Dish question (optional): If you’d like to bring something, what dish? One per household is plenty.

Dietary note (optional): Any food allergies or dietary needs we should know about? We’ll share what’s in the dishes we make, but we can’t promise every dish will suit every need.

Answers are recorded guest by guest, so for one dish per household, ask one person in each household to answer the dish question, while everyone can add their own dietary note. Read the dish answers household by household and spot any overlaps yourself. A write-in answer is a note to you, not a sign-up sheet: it doesn’t reserve a dish or stop two people from choosing the same one. For a list guests can claim items from, keep a shared document you update yourself or use a separate sign-up tool, and link it in the invitation details.

Sample Menu Handoff for 12 Invited Guests

In this hypothetical example, you are the only host, and you invite 12 guests, not counting yourself: 8 accept, 2 decline, and 2 haven’t replied yet. With you at the table, that’s 9 people to feed. You’re making the turkey, and the 8 guests who accepted come from five households:

• Imani and Cole (2 attending): pumpkin pie
• Ravi and Tess (2 attending): pumpkin pie
• Nadia and Sol (2 attending): dinner rolls
• Bea (1 attending): green salad
• Wes (1 attending): no dish answer yet

That’s four guest dish commitments from four of the five attending households, plus your turkey. Two of those commitments happen to be pie, and Wes has accepted without volunteering a dish. Keep the dish list separate from the RSVPs: Tess and Wes have both replied, so each gets a personal message about food, not an RSVP reminder. Only the two guests who have not replied still owe an RSVP.

Two short messages settle the menu:

To resolve the duplicate desserts: “Hi Tess! Thanks for offering pumpkin pie. Imani is bringing one too. Would you be up for a side instead, like stuffing or green beans? Totally fine to stick with pie if you’d rather.”

To ask for the missing detail: “Hi Wes, so glad you’re coming! If you’d like to bring something, let me know what by [date]. Empty-handed is fine too.”

To set this up with Greenvelope’s online invitations, pick a design such as the Friendsgiving Pumpkins Invitation, then add the optional dish and dietary questions in the RSVP Page section of the Details step. Our guide to adding custom questions to an online RSVP walks through setup, and these RSVP reminder texts cover the follow-up.

How to RSVP

Include a one-liner on your invitations about the best way to RSVP (via text, instant message, or email) and include a deadline. How far ahead you set it is a planning choice: many hosts ask for replies about a week before the event so there’s time to finalize the menu and seating, but pick whatever fits your own shopping and prep schedule. If you’re sending your Friendsgiving invitations through Greenvelope, your guests can RSVP through the invite itself. You can also send or schedule RSVP reminder emails for guests who haven’t replied, and event reminders for guests who are coming.

Invite Your Crew to a Cozy, Memorable Friendsgiving

The right Friendsgiving invitation does more than share the when and where. It also sets the mood and sparks excitement for a meaningful celebration. Whether you’re hosting a cozy dinner for four or a festive potluck for 20, use Greenvelope to easily send your invitations and track RSVPs.

Ready to design yours? Choose one of our Friendsgiving invitation templates to make it simple, stylish, and stress-free.