Friendsgiving is becoming more popular, especially for those who aren’t able to travel home each year to spend the holiday with family. Hosting any party can be stressful, but with a little planning, you can have a memorable event with your friends while enjoying an incredible feast.

Here are some pro tips for planning a Friendsgiving, from location and food to decor and more.

1. CREATE A GUEST LIST, PICK A PLACE, AND CHOOSE A DATE
The first step in planning a Friendsgiving is—surprise—gathering the list of friends who you’ll be inviting. The number of friends will likely depend on where you choose to host the event. For example, you may only be able to fit five friends into your apartment, but could host 10 or more if you have a larger home or choose a location to rent, like a local hall.

Send out your invitations as an evite or traditional invitation including all of the details you wish to communicate, such as time, date, location, and what to bring.

The date you choose will also depend on whether you want to just pick a date and whoever can make it will, or if you want to try to coordinate with all of your friends (which will likely be more difficult). Try to be flexible with weeknight vs. weekend dates. People tend to get busier around the holidays, so a weeknight may work better.

2. PLAN A MENU
The next step is to plan a menu. You probably won’t be the only person cooking on Friendsgiving (as most hosts ask their guests to bring a dish to share), but you will be coordinating:

• Write out a list of ideal dishes, taking into consideration any food allergies of your guests.
• Determine what you’re going to cook yourself.
• Assign dishes to guests (or have guests run their own dishes by you). This may seem controlling, but is really to make sure you don’t have repeat dishes. Use Google Drive or another type of sheet everyone can see, or consider a group chat or message.

Be sure to take into account the number of guests you’ll be having so that you have enough food for everyone. Also try to plan food around things you already have so that you don’t have to spend too much money buying tools (like a roasting pan) or ingredients. Or, plan to ask to borrow what you need.

Also keep in mind that you don’t have to stick to the traditional plates if you don’t want to. You and your friends may decide you want to do pizzas, pastas, soups, casseroles, or other dishes. Or, you could go with an international cuisine theme like Asian, Mexican, or French. Make what you and your friends will most enjoy.

3. DEVELOP YOUR COOKING TIMELINE
It can be helpful to write a timeline for cooking so you know when you need to start cooking and ensure your dishes are ready by the time you want to serve them.

• Start by printing out any recipes you have and write down how long every recipe takes to cook.
• Make note of anything that needs to be made in advance vs. the day of.
• Decide on your food serving time (which should be 45 – 60 minutes after guests arrive).
• Work backwards to know when you need to get started.

We also recommend building in a little wiggle room, such as 30 or 60 minutes, just in case something takes longer than expected.

Then, write out what goes in the oven vs. stovetop, slow cooker, grill, etc. and when you’ll need to put it in.

4. GROCERY SHOP (FOOD AND ESSENTIALS)
Depending on when you’re hosting Friendsgiving, you may want to do this several days in advance. Or, consider placing a grocery order for pick up or delivery to ensure a smooth, low-stress process.

Get everything you could possibly need while you’re there. Some essentials and materials you may need include:

• Food items
• Beer, wine, or spirits
• Decor (if you want)
• Serving platters
• Serving utensils (like spoons and tongs)
• Dinner plates
• Drink cups
• Pitcher
• Forks, knives, spoons
• Ice
• Napkins

If you’re buying items that are frozen, make sure you leave enough time for them to defrost properly (especially the turkey!).

5. MAKE AND DO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN ADVANCE
How much you can do at this step depends on your menu and what you’re cooking, as well as what you can prepare in advance vs. cook. For example, you can:

• Wash and chop fruits and veggies
• Mix salad dressing
• Make a casserole and store it in the fridge
• Make drinks
• Bake your desserts

By preparing, cooking, and or baking as much as you can in advance, you’ll be freeing up kitchen space and time during the day-of for the other essentials that can’t be done in advance.

Additionally, you’ll want to get other chores—like cleaning your house, setting the table, and similar jobs—done ahead of time so you have more time to focus on more important things the day-of.

6. DECORATE
You don’t have to decorate your whole house for fall or Friendsgiving, and you can make it as fancy or casual as you’d like. That said, this isn’t an essential step, but can be fun if it’s your thing. Consider decor such as:

• Pumpkins and gourds
• Centerpieces
• Festive plates and napkins

You may even want to have a theme, since Friendsgiving is usually a lot more laid back than traditional Thanksgivings. Regardless, you’ll want to make sure your home is clean, cozy, and inviting.

7. COOK AND SERVE
When you’re planning, make sure you take into consideration what you’re going to serve your dishes in. For example, whether you’ll need a serving platter, serving bowl, plates, etc. For most Friendsgivings, you can use whatever you have on hand. Or, you may choose to buy or borrow something you need. Make sure you include plans for tongs and silverware.

Then, on the day of your Friendsgiving, follow your cooking timeline and try to enjoy the day. Some ways to keep it stress-free include:

• Empty your dishwasher before people arrive
• Ask for help
• Serve appetizers early
• Let your guests mingle as long as you need them to, but give yourself time to enjoy your guests, too

When you serve, do what you can to make it easy. If you have a lot of counter space, you can lay it all out buffet-style. If you go this route, organize the layout so people can get in line, grab dishes, and then build their plate in the order that makes sense.

A family-style feast doesn’t require counter space but may require more table space.

8. PLAN SOME ENTERTAINMENT
The meal is the main event, but have some other ways to entertain your friends before and after everyone eats. Just think about what you all enjoy the most, such as throwing around a football or doing another outside activity, or playing traditional adult party games. For after the meal, consider something low-energy like a movie, board games, or card games.