Last Updated on April 21, 2024 by Ryan
November is here, and all we can think about is fantastic food and being around the people we love. We have created a Thanksgiving Party Guide full of Thanksgiving party ideas for you and your loved ones.
Thanksgiving has no rules, and it’s supposed to be a fun stress-free time to celebrate and relax with friends. But if it is your turn to host your annual Thanksgiving this year and you’re like, “Ahh please help me, where do I start?”, we’ve got your back! We will give you a step-by-step Thanksgiving party guide on how to make your Thanksgiving dinner party the very best one yet.
You may want to get a headstart on your menu and shopping list, but don’t forget about our show-stopping desserts! On Thanksgiving, there is never a shortage of pumpkin pie on the dessert table, which is why you should try some Thanksgiving desserts that aren’t pie. There are so many different options for dessert besides pie. We’ve rounded up some of the most delicious Thanksgiving dessert recipes that aren’t pie. Many of them are gluten-free and vegan, too!
Thanksgiving Party Ideas & Holiday Guide
Let’s keep it easy for you and your guests this season by making the dinner a potluck. Potlucks are the best option because no one will have to prepare too much, especially since the idea of one person making a whole Thanksgiving dinner sounds overwhelming and energy-draining.
Each one of your friends who is attending will bring one of their favorite Thanksgiving foods to the dinner. For example, one friend might bring their grandma’s famous stuffing, while another may bring a homemade apple pie.
Just be sure to keep a list of friends that will attend and what they are bringing. The last thing you want is everyone bringing just a dessert to dinner (unless that is your secret master plan?). After all, Thanksgiving has no traditional rules. So, if you want it to BYOD (Bring Your Dessert), do it!
If you require a thoroughly thought-out Thanksgiving dinner that is also vegan-friendly, make sure you check out our vegan/gluten-free recipes further in the article article!
Thanksgiving Party Decor
Depending on your style, the party decorations you choose can as be laid back or as extravagant as you want them to be. At a minimum, let’s just make sure the dinner table and main visiting area both look nice for your guests!
Friendsgiving Balloons
The perfect backdrop for all the photos taken at your Friendsgiving party! This would be a nice added touch for the memories you make and the photos you take at your gathering!
Happy Thanksgiving Banner
Another fun thing to add to your wall is this ‘Happy Thanksgiving” banner. Such a cute picture spot for your guests to enjoy!
Thanksgiving Pillows
Get these comfy Thanksgiving pillows to add to the couch for your guests! This will add a pleasant touch and make the room feel festive, especially with these cute pumpkin-shaped pillows!
Fall Table Runner
Dress up your table with this fall table runner. You can place your serving dishes along with the runner to create a beautiful table presentation.
Table Place Cards
Another decor item that will upgrade your Thanksgiving will be the gold name-place cards for your guest list. A way to create organization at the table and have everyone set up already in their spot!
Thanksgiving Drinks
The next step is bubbly! What is a party without some champagne or festive cocktails and mocktails? Since we are not professional bartenders and don’t expect you to be, we found a few easy drink recipes for festive Thanksgiving party cocktails. These festive drinks will be easy to make and your friends will love them!
Cranberry Margarita
This one is for your friends who love margaritas! This cranberry margarita recipe is not just your average margarita, because it adds a festive twist that’s perfect for the occasion! Sweet but tart, this delicious margarita will remind your guests of the flavorful cranberry sauce that is a tradition for many. The best part of this margarita is it looks fancy, but it’s super easy. To make it, just mix cranberry juice, lime juice, orange-flavored liqueur, and tequila over ice. To get the finished look, add cranberry garnish and a salted rim.
Cinnamon Maple Whiskey Sour
This Cinnamon Maple Whiskey Sour is dangerously delicious. This cocktail is a whiskey sour but sweetened with maple syrup instead of simple syrup. The maple syrup takes this cocktail to the next level with hints of cinnamon.
Thanksgiving Menu
Here’s some great news: Passing on turkey doesn’t mean you have to miss out on your favorite Thanksgiving dishes. These classic recipes are made with a vegan twist that doesn’t require any sacrifice on either flavor or nostalgia, ensuring a Thanksgiving menu that will be both healthy and memorable.
Savory Jackfruit “Turkey”
This vegan take on classic Thanksgiving turkey is perfect for meat-lovers looking to eat plant-based. Jackfruit has a similar taste and texture to meat and soaks up all the delicious flavors that make turkey coveted on this foodie holiday.
Vegan Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are a classic Thanksgiving comfort food and are typically made with butter and cream. This vegan version uses flavorful but low-calorie vegetable broth and vegan butter to achieve that coveted creaminess. Cauliflower is also added to this mash, which increases the fiber and lowers the carbohydrates. This recipe is such a seamless addition to your vegan Thanksgiving menu that your guests may not even realize it’s entirely plant-based. If you want something a little more traditional you also have the option to follow this recipe for gluten-free sweet potato crunch
Vegan Gravy
A Thanksgiving menu is incomplete without gravy. This vegan gravy is made with a secret plant-based ingredient – nutritional yeast. This is a good source of energizing B vitamins, including B12, which is hard to get on a vegan diet, since it is mostly found in animal sources.
Vegan Stuffing
Move over white bread stuffing and say hello to your new favorite plant-based stuffing – one that’s made with nutrient-dense ingredients. Unlike refined white bread, whole-grain bread is a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Seasonal produce and low-calorie, plant-based flavors from fresh herbs and vegetable broth take this stuffing to the next level. What’s not to love?
Thanksgiving Desserts
5-Ingredient Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin pie that’s vegan AND made with only five ingredients? Yes, please! This recipe uses coconut milk instead of cow’s milk PLUS better-for-you sweetener maple syrup, which also adds vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Gluten-Free Apple Fritters
When you think of Thanksgiving, you probably don’t think of apple fritters, but apple flavor is a beloved fall flavor just like the flavor of pumpkin pie, and deserves a spot on the table this holiday table. Not to mention, apple fritters are delicious.
These apple fritters make great individual desserts because they come in bite-size pieces. This recipe uses Chebe mix, made with modified manioc (cassava) starch instead of wheat flour, making it a dessert perfect for your gluten-free friends and family members, while it still has your favorite flavors. Make sure to keep the fritters small to allow for the perfect ratio of the crispy fried exterior to the fluffy crumb.
Get the Gluten-Free Apple Fritter recipe HERE
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Carrot cake might be an unusual choice for Thanksgiving dessert or cake option, but it’s full of cozy fall flavors, and carrot cake over pumpkin pie might be the twits you need this holiday.
Even for your guests who aren’t gluten-free, this recipe makes for one delicious cake. One surprising spin on this recipe is the bright, fresh-tasting flavors that come from the lemon cream cheese filling and frosting. It’s a delicious twist on a traditional sweet treat. If you’d like to go for a more traditional carrot cake, you can opt for a cinnamon sugar-coating heavy cream cheese frosting instead.
This recipe is super easy to make, and there is no step in creaming butter and sugar. There’s no butter in this recipe at all. The whole recipe is made in the food processor, so it makes for easy clean-up, too. Also, this recipe contains no artificial ingredients.
Get the Gluten-Free Carrot Cake recipe HERE
“The Best” Vegan Apple Crisp
I know it’s pretty confident to name a recipe “the best,” but we assure you, this one is a winner that will have all your friends and family asking you for the recipe. This apple crisp is a great vegan alternative to apple cake or apple pie.
You’ll only need one bowl and some simple ingredients to make this amazing treat. You can also make this recipe gluten-free by swapping out the gluten-free flour blend for all-purpose flour.
The filling for this apple crisp is full of amazing fall-inspired flavors with an assortment of spices. Fresh, crisp apples are bathed in coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and fresh ginger. Apple juice sweetens the mixture naturally and makes the apples perfectly tender. While the arrowroot and cornstarch make a decadent caramel-like sauce.
The topping will remind you of a buttery cinnamon sugar streusel, getting its texture from rolled oats, almond meals, and chopped pecans.
You won’t want to leave this one off the table this Thanksgiving.
Get the recipe for Vegan Apple Crisp HERE
Vegan Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin is a classic staple ingredient for Thanksgiving and autumn in general. This cinnamon sugar pumpkin bread would make a great chill-time dessert on Thanksgiving, or a morning treat perfect for enjoying with a cup of coffee while preparing food for the big day.
This pumpkin quick bread is vegan, but it’s so good that you’d never guess it. There are no eggs, butter, or dairy in this recipe, but it still tastes so rich and decadent. Pumpkin has a magical way of acting like eggs, naturally keeping baked goods fluffy and light without being too airy.
This recipe is so easy to prepare that you don’t even need a mixer. This is a great option that will make all your guests happy no matter what diet they’re following. You can easily make this bread gluten-free by using a gluten-free flour blend instead of all-purpose flour.
Get the recipe for this surprisingly vegan Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread HERE
Turkey Brownies
I know what you’re thinking… turkey brownies?! But before you turn your nose up at the sound of these, give us a chance!
These are delicious mini chocolate brownies, that just look like turkeys – no turkey flavoring involved. This is an adorable recipe that is simple and works perfectly for individual desserts. If you have kids in your group, you’ll want to include these in your dessert lineup.
This could even be a fun activity for kids to do on Thanksgiving while they wait for dinner. If you have the mini brownies prepared, all they have to do is decorate them.
Get the recipe for these adorable Turkey Chocolate Fudge Brownies HERE
Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars
This one will be sure to knock your socks off! They are a nice departure from the traditional desserts you’d find at Thanksgiving past. They have the perfect combination of flavors and textures, and they freeze exceptionally well so leftovers are never a problem.
Part chocolate fudge brownie, part fluffernutter, this chewy treat is sure to make all your guests gather around the table. You might want to print off some copies of this recipe because your guests are going to ask for this one!
Get the recipe for these decadent Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars HERE
Pumpkin Cheesecake
If you want to include pumpkin in your menu this Thanksgiving but want to do something out of the norm, pumpkin cheesecake is a great alternative to the tried and true pumpkin pie usually enjoyed on this holiday.
This rich and creamy dessert is loaded with all of the classic fall spices! Sometimes cheesecake can be a difficult dessert to perfect, so if you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at baking cheesecake, this is the recipe for you.
Some unique and surprising elements of this pumpkin cheesecake are the delicious gingersnap crust and homemade caramel sauce. This cheesecake is so good, that you might have a hard time convincing your guests to wait until after dinner!
The final product of this dessert looks like it came from a bakery. If you want to impress your friends and family with a delicious and beautiful dessert, include this one on the dessert table this year.
Find the Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe HERE
Other ideas for pumpkin dessert recipes that are not pie include pumpkin pecan pie bars and pumpkin bread pudding! These still include amazing fall-inspired flavors without the typical pies.
Summary
With this Thanksgiving party guide, you’ve got everything you need to create an epic Friendsgiving party this holiday season! We hope you and your friends are ready for it!
Stepping away from staple dishes and switching up what you normally serve for Thanksgiving can be fun! It’s the perfect time to try out some new delicious dessert recipes for Thanksgiving. There are many different options for dessert, so why limit yourself to pie? We encourage you to try any of these delicious recipes we’ve rounded up, and if you have vegan or gluten-free guests, we’ve included desserts that will be well-loved by them, too!
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How do you make a fun Thanksgiving party?
Best Adult Thanksgiving Party Ideas
– Put Some Thought Into It with a Gratitude Jar.
– Take Advantage of the Fall Season with a Photo Booth.
– Enjoy a Wonderful Turkey Trot.
– Step Right Up to a Pilgrim Hat Ring Toss.
– Add Some Sweet Competition with a Pumpkin Pie Baking Contest.
– Thanksgiving Cookie Decorating: Bake Memories.
What are fun Thanksgiving activities?
– Thanksgiving-themed pins or bowling balls are a great way to celebrate the crisp fall days that are ideal for outdoor activities.
– Take part in a Turkey Trot
– Find pumpkins to hunt
– Offer gratitude at the table
– Make a tree
– Participate in family volunteer work
– Play pumpkin tic tac toe
– Bake pies
– Thanksgiving family feud
How do you plan a Thanksgiving dinner party?
How Can a Thanksgiving Dinner Be Hosted?
– Make a guest list in advance of your Thanksgiving meal.
– Select a location for your Thanksgiving festivities.
– Make a theme decision for your Thanksgiving celebration.
– Make a menu for Thanksgiving.
– Make a shopping list in advance to save time.
– Do your shopping ahead of time to avoid the holiday traffic.
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Meet Kourtney, a fashion and beauty enthusiast who tells stories through style. To her, clothing is a language, and every accessory adds punctuation to her narrative. Kourtney explores vintage fashion markets on weekends, blending classic with contemporary to create a signature style that reflects her vibrant personality. Beyond aesthetics, she's a passionate advocate for body positivity and inclusivity in fashion, celebrating diversity to ensure everyone feels seen and embraced.
