The Roundup: Friendsgiving

Happy Monday! The best way to start off the week? Finalizing my Friendsgiving menu and decor! My general approach to dinner parties and/or any type of entertaining is to go semi-homemade. A good mixture of store-bought with a homemade twist often makes the food & decos more affordable and definitely easier on your hectic holiday schedule. For decorations I'm stealing two creative ideas from Better Homes & Garden.

The first is a leaf lantern made with wax paper! You can use real leaves or print and cut out leaf outlines. Cut your wax paper to be 5x9 inches and fold in half hamburger-style. Paste (the paper leaves) or iron (the real leaves) and take four pieces of wax paper together with decorative tape! Place a votive or tea candle inside and watch them glow.

The second are these cute leaf bowls. Again, you can use real leaves or print and cut out leaf outlines. For these you'll need the bottom of a bowl and some saran wrap. You'll place one layer of saran wrap on the bottom of the bowl, layer the leaves on top using mod podge, and then place another layer of saran wrap over the leaves. Let the bowl dry over night and unpeel in the morning! I'm going to put some candies in mine for Friendsgiving!

As for the night's edibles, I'll be serving some Moroccan meatballs (with plenty of Harissa) as an amuse-bouche, glazed turkey breast, traditional stuffing, garlic green beans, and mashed potatoes. My pals will be supplying some warm goat cheese + pepper jelly, an autumn salad, and a glazed pumpkin bread! The menu is, again, a combination of store-bought ingredients with a homemade touch.

I'm really looking forward to this year's Friendsgiving because it will be our last together for quite some time. What are YOU looking forward to this Thanksgiving? What does your tablescape look like? What makes you thankful every day of the year? :)