The First Sweatsgiving
Hi everyone! I want to tell you that since I got my shiny new iPhone, you can now follow me on Instagram if ya like. Check out @theavidappetite. I'm slightly obsessed at the moment, so I'm trying to post lots of pics!
On Saturday evening, Shaun and I invited some of our very good friends over for a Thanksgiving pot luck dinner. The catch was that everyone would make a couple of dishes and everyone was required to wear sweats.
Sweats + Thanksgiving = Sweatsgiving!
Shaun and I came up with this idea originally as a joke as we were thinking how great it would be to have Thanksgiving dinner in stretchy sweatpants and a big bulky sweatshirt. No dresses, no pants with buttons, nothing form fitting whatsoever. And then we realized that it was kind of a genius idea....and so Sweatsgiving was born!
I hope you are ready for a lot of mouthwatering food photos...because here they come!
I think everyone had a great time contributing dishes to our little dinner. There were 8 of us in all (4 couples) and so there was more than enough food...so much in fact that I'm still eating leftovers.
The night started with a delicious table of hors d'oeuvres. We dined on spinach dip (in a bread bowl! I love that!), stuffed mushrooms, an antipasto platter, vegetable crudite, lobster dip and a cheese board.
For dinner, I put together a simple table arrangement. Using a tablecloth borrowed from my mom, I purchased a table runner for $19.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond, and two 4-pks of Thanksgiving napkins from HomeGoods for a mere $5 a pop.
As for the centerpiece, I used some edible arrangements with a bowl of tiny clementines and a bowl of cranberries. No need to be fancy...rustic colors of the season is the vibe I was going for. As for the candles, I DIY'd my floating candles with a tutorial I found on Pinterest. I purchased a few Ball jars at A.C. Moore for $1.19 a pop. I tied some burgundy raffia around the top, filled them 2/3 of the way with water and popped in a floating candle. It was gorg, chic and wallet-friendly to boot.
Before we knew it, it was time for dinner! I made a 17 pound turkey with pan gravy. I brined this baby and it was one of the juiciest turkeys I've ever had. Stay tuned for my easy brining tutorial!
Shaun carved it up and we set it out to be devoured along with a bunch of other dishes, including mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, and Brussels sprouts.
And just when you thought this was more food than any 8 people could handle, you know we had some dessert! I filled my plate with homemade bourbon pecan pie, rich & creamy cheese cake and my apple whoopie pies!
So there you have it. A not-so-succint account of our first Sweatsgiving dinner! Everyone had a great time eating, drinking and most of all, relaxing in sweats :) Some people (ahem...me) were so comfy in fact, that they did not change out of said sweats until 5pm the next day. Just sayin'.
For a complete list of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes, check out the Recipes tab and scroll down for Thanksgiving!
Questions of the Day:
Do you ever do a Thanksgiving with friends?
What dish do you bring to the party for Thanksgiving?
9 Comments | November 14, 2011 | Share Article | Email Article | tagged Fall dinner party, thanksgiving | in Holiday Print Article | Permalink
Reader Comments (9)
What an awesome collection of dishes -- and a great idea -- opportunities are infinite when you have an elastic waistband! I love the addition of oats on the sweet potato and marshmallow pie -- I've only eaten it just w/ the marshmallows...yum! I hosted a thanksgiving for friends last year as a way to practice for hosting my first thanksgiving for family -- it was great -- as a gluten-free vegetarian, I want to be able to eat something more than a salad so it was nice to be able to cook a lot of dishes for myself -- luckily my husband was in charge of the bird so I didn't have to worry about it! Now I'm gearing up for hosting another year!
Oh my! Those dishes look amazing!! You were smart to do the sweats thing! With all that food, I would need it! Love the table setting, too. Looks like from a magazine.
everything looks beautiful!!! love that cheese plate :)
Love the food - everything looks delicious but I was hoping for more pictures of y'all in sweats! Love the idea!
I hate to say this but...we were so busy eating and having fun that no one took any photos of us in our sweats :( I'm so bummed! I literally have no photos of us...only of food. Maybe next year :)
The table looks fabulous. Just loving the whole thing. Everything is beautfiul
I love that idea!! We always had a friends thanksgiving, but it wasn't quite as fancy. We just realized today, that we wouldn't be having it this year. :(
Sweatsgiving....I love that idea! I want to start that at my house. I also love the idea of doing a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. Too much good food to only be enjoyed once a year!
ha! what a fantastic idea for a dinner party. wish i lived closer because i might've hinted for an invite myself. =) we've always done thanksgiving with family rather than friends, but i bet it would be a blast with friends, too. the menu sounded just delicious!