Summary
This is a list of easy and eco-friendly Friendsgiving decorations.
Friendsgiving is so fun! But if you’re hosting you’re probably also scrounging around, trying to figure out how to decorate the place. These sustainable Friendsgiving décor ideas are about finding simple items you can reuse and repurpose straight out of your home or yard. Especially if you need to save money, this post is for you!
This page contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you make a purchase through my affiliate link at no extra cost to you. My recommendations are always items I buy or totally want to buy!
Friendsgiving Decorations You Can Find at Home
Photo by Kat Stano
You’re a peach for hosting Friendsgiving this year! But life is busy and Friendsgiving décor ideas can sometimes be put off ’til the last minute. I get it! I put off everything ’til the last minute!
As your fellow procrastinator-in-crime, this list of Friendsgiving decorations includes things I would do in my own home if I were hosting. These easy, sustainable, and money-saving décor tips are about reusing, repurposing, and bringing in the spirit of gratitude for what we already have.
Also, these Friendsgiving decorations are for people who can be a tad (or a lot) sentimental. I love nostalgic heirlooms and items that bring back warm memories. Fill your table with those things and you’ll surely make new memories. too.
Sustainable Friendsgiving décor ideas are so much more than good stewardship of the planet. They’re about bringing in fond stories, embracing timeless traditions, and paying respect to the simplicity of our ancestors’ earlier celebrations.
Let’s dig in, shall we?
This post is all about sustainable Friendsgiving décor ideas you can find at home!
First Off: Who’s Coming to Friendsgiving?
Friendsgiving was created to branch off from the traditional Thanksgiving celebrations and gather with our chosen families.
What’s so great about this holiday is that it can be as big or small as you’d like. It’s also such a perfect idea for those of us who live far away from our families and can’t afford to travel (or maybe don’t want to!).
For 20+ years, I’ve traveled home on almost every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Airports or road trips, that can get exhausting! And expensive!
Sometimes opting to stay local and spend time with friends can be the most practical choice and, depending on your family, the one that keeps you the most sane!
Friendsgiving can also be an additional celebration you do before or after Thanksgiving with cousin Roland and Auntie Bev. It’s also something workplaces will host for team building. Because who doesn’t love team building?!🤣😩🫣 It’s almost as great as forced fun!
ANYWAY…Friendsgiving is a time to get together with your besties, your ride-or-die pals, and maybe even a few sweet neighbors.
Keep a lookout for those
who may not have any plans for the holidays.
This could be someone who’s new in town
or maybe someone who’s going through a rough patch,
Invite them to your Friendsgiving
or holiday shindig!
Friendsgiving Décor Ideas
1. Fallen Leaves & Branches
Fall leaves should never go to waste! Collect leaves to preserve by placing them inside (or under) a heavy book. If you’re worried about damaging the pages, stick your leaf between two pieces of paper before tucking them into your book.
This whole process might take a week or two.
If you don’t have a week or two, gather some colorful leaves from your backyard or local park and pop inside clear vases.
You could even just scatter them on the table or use as little chargers to highlight place cards. Grab those fallen leaves right before your Friendsgiving meal so that they’re still vibrant. Even if they curl up a little, they’ll still look cute and festive.
After Friendsgiving is over, return them to the yard or your natural mulch pile.
Remember to inspect the leaves before bringing inside, so you’re not taking any critters home. Also, make sure you find leaves far away from where your pup likes to potty!
2. Leftover Halloween Pumpkins
Did you buy a bunch of tiny pumpkins for Halloween? Good! Now they are part of your Friendsgiving cornucopia! Arrange on your table, tuck in some flameless candles, and voila! You’re done!
Once your friends have filled up on goodness and gone home, take the pumpkins outside for the squirrels to enjoy.
3. Dead Bouquets (aka Dried Flowers!)
When your flower bouquets have sadly wilted, pick out the flowers that have naturally dried. These make great dried flower arrangements! Dried flowers just feel like fall and give that warm, rustic vibe that can cozy us up on chilly autumn mornings.
Pop these beautiful, natural pieces into a pretty wine bottle. And…done!
Here are a few things I like to display:
- Baby’s breath
- Pampas leaves
- Dried roses
- Dried hydrangea blooms
4. Grandma’s China
If you’re a sentimental soul, you probably have heirlooms from family members who have passed on. What a gorgeous way to honor them and carry on unique traditions!
Use platters, plates, dainty bowls, fancy glasses, and cutlery from your grandmother’s collection. This is a lovely way to give her a place at the table, while creating new stories with the friends you love.
If you want to start your own collection of heirloom dishes, this brand is one of my favorites!
5. Fall Photography
Photo probably by my dad
Grab your phone because you’ve got fall photos to take!
Get outside and capture some shots of nature: the leaves, a row of trees, a mesmerizing sunset. Print your photos at home or somewhere local like Walgreens (it’s cheap and fast), then pop them in frames you already have.
Photos displayed on the dinner table are so sweet and charming. They can be great conversation starters, too!
Bonus Tip:
Find fall photos from your childhood
and display them for your friends.
You could even ask each guest
to bring a fall or holiday photo from their childhood.
This gives everyone a chance
to share something about themselves🧡
6. Framed Quotes
Photo by Kat Stano
This is DIY at its easiest! Collect your favorite quotes about nature, fall, friendship, or the holidays, then hand-letter them yourself or type out and print. Pop them into frames you already have.
OR…I love finding quotes out of catalogs, magazines, postcards, greeting cards, and books. I have a collection of things I’ve curated over the years “just in case I ever need to frame them!” (Hoard much, kitten?) This is a way to have something already typeset and designed. It’s just your job to use your creative eye to find them!
Beautiful Quotes About Fall, Gratitude & Thanksgiving I Love:
“Peering from some high window; at the gold of November sunset and feeling that if day has to become night, this is a beautiful way.” -E.E. Cummings
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” -L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
“Bring all the wanderers home to the nest, Let me sit down with the ones I love best…” -Edgar Albert Guest
“One day, this will all seem like a long time ago. So savor the moment.” -Jonathan Clyde
“Come when my heart is full of grief Or when my heart is merry; Come with the falling of the leaf Or with the redd’ning cherry. Come when the year’s first blossom blows, Come when the summer gleams and glows, Come with the winter’s drifting snows, And you are welcome, welcome.” -Paul Laurence Dunbar
Related Posts
23+ Genius ‘How to Survive Thanksgiving’ Tips When You’re the Family Misfit
Eco-Friendly Christmas Gift Ideas & Stocking Stuffers You Can Find on Amazon
7. Rustic Baskets & Bowls
Use vintage or rustic wooden bowls to hold cloth napkins. Or line with a tea towel and place that delicious bread warm from the oven, right on top.
You can also use baskets to hold tiny gratitude gifts for your guests to take home.
8. Squash From Your Garden
Photo by Kat Stano
Growing your own veggies is pretty impressive, so if you have some savory squash, pumpkins, or eggplant to display, this is your time!
If you have a lot of vegetables, add one to each guest’s table setting, then offer them as gifts to take with them at the end of the Friendsgiving.
9. Flameless Candles in Oui Yogurt Jars
I love small flameless candles in Oui yogurt jars…or any repurposed glass jar!
You could also use aluminum veggie or soup cans. If you’re handy with a drill, punch out unique designs to let the light filter through in patterns.
10. Cloth Napkins or Handkerchiefs
Cloth napkins automatically up the elegance vibes. They can serve as actual napkins, a foundation for your table display, or even placemats.
11. Anything From Your Days of Too Much Shopping
You’re here because you’re trying to live a simpler, more sustainable life and that is amazing! But if you’re like me, I bet you’ve had shopping haul eras that were no joke.
Find those beautiful things you’ve collected from the times when you just went bananas adding to cart! Vintage lanterns, bowls, figurines, candleholders, trays, pretty books…you name it!
Create one-of-a-kind vignettes that feel magical and tell a story. (Albeit a story of too much shopping, but you get it!)
Final Thoughts: Friendsgiving Décor Ideas
Your Friendsgiving will be perfect with what you have. Mismatched plates, glasses in all shapes and colors, and quirky décor all make it so memorable and inviting! What Friendsgiving décor ideas sparked your creativity? I’d love to know in the comments!
Dishing Out A Few More Things You Might Like
Nostalgic Sustainable Christmas Decorations That Feel Like You Stepped Into a Storybook
Eco-Friendly Gifts for Him That are Seriously Cool: Father’s Day Edition
13+ Sustainable Christmas Market Decorations That’ll Put Joy in Your Heart
Leave a Reply