What Is Friendsgiving? Meaning, Origin and 2026 Dates

Friendsgiving is a Thanksgiving-style meal shared with friends instead of, or in addition to, the family dinner. The word blends "friends" and "Thanksgiving," and the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as "a celebration or meal shared among friends on or near Thanksgiving Day." It is not an official holiday and it has no fixed date. In 2026, Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, so most Friendsgivings will be held between Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 29, with the weekend of November 20 to 22 the most common choice.

What Friendsgiving means

At its simplest, Friendsgiving is Thanksgiving with the guest list changed. The food is usually the same: turkey or another main dish, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, pie. What is different is who comes, how the work is divided and how formal it feels.

• The guests are friends. Roommates, coworkers, neighbors, classmates, teammates and anyone the group has adopted. Partners and children are often included; relatives may be too.
• It is usually a potluck. The host typically provides the space and the main dish. Everyone else brings a side, a dessert or drinks.
• It is informal. Folding chairs, mismatched plates and a buffet on the kitchen counter are normal. So are nontraditional menus.
• It happens near Thanksgiving, not necessarily on it. Many people attend a Friendsgiving one weekend and a family Thanksgiving the next Thursday.

For some people Friendsgiving is an extra party in November. For others it is the main event: people who live far from relatives, cannot afford to travel, work in jobs that do not close for the holiday, are new to the country, or simply prefer to spend the day with friends. Both versions are equally "real" Friendsgivings.

When is Friendsgiving in 2026

There is no official Friendsgiving date, in 2026 or any other year. Thanksgiving itself is fixed by federal law as the fourth Thursday in November, which in 2026 is November 26. Friendsgiving floats around that anchor, and each group picks its own day.

Option	2026 dates	Who it suits
Two weekends before Thanksgiving	Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15	Groups with early travelers; hosts who want calmer stores
The weekend before Thanksgiving	Friday, November 20 to Sunday, November 22	Most groups; this is the traditional Friendsgiving weekend
Thanksgiving Eve	Wednesday, November 25	Friends who stay in town and have Thursday off
Thanksgiving Day	Thursday, November 26	Friends who are not traveling to family
The weekend after Thanksgiving	Friday, November 27 to Sunday, November 29	"Leftovers" parties and friends returning from family visits

The weekend before Thanksgiving is the default for a practical reason: by the Wednesday before the holiday many people are already traveling, and by the following weekend they are tired of turkey. Merriam-Webster's own example sentence for the word, quoting the writer Pete Wells, notes that "many Friendsgivings are held on the weekends before or after the fourth Thursday in November."

Thanksgiving dates and likely Friendsgiving weekends, 2026 to 2030

Year	Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday in November)	Weekend before	Weekend after
2026	November 26	November 21 to 22	November 28 to 29
2027	November 25	November 20 to 21	November 27 to 28
2028	November 23	November 18 to 19	November 25 to 26
2029	November 22	November 17 to 18	November 24 to 25
2030	November 28	November 23 to 24	November 30 to December 1

Thanksgiving in 2026 falls relatively late in the month, so there are three full weekends in November before it. That gives hosts more room than in years when the holiday lands on the 22nd or 23rd.

Is there a "National Friendsgiving Day"?

You may see a specific day promoted online as Friendsgiving Day. No such day is recognized by Congress or appears on the federal holiday calendar, and no single date is observed nationally. Treat any date you see as a suggestion. The only rule the dictionary definition sets is "on or near Thanksgiving Day."

Where the word came from

The custom is older than the name. Friends, roommates, students and service members who could not get home have shared Thanksgiving meals for generations. The single word for it is recent, and Merriam-Webster's editors have traced its history in some detail.

Year	What happened
2007	Earliest known written uses of "Friendsgiving," in Usenet posts and on Twitter, used without explanation, which suggests the word was already circulating in speech
2008 to 2009	The word begins to appear in newspaper lifestyle articles, including pieces in Florida and Ohio papers describing meals for people who could not go home for the holiday
2011	The word reaches a national audience when Baileys Irish Cream uses it in an advertising campaign and it becomes a plot point in an episode of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey"
2013 onward	Brands build promotions around the word, and how-to guides, menus and "rules" for Friendsgiving multiply
January 2020	Merriam-Webster adds "Friendsgiving" to its dictionary

Did the TV show "Friends" invent Friendsgiving?

No. "Friends" regularly aired Thanksgiving episodes, and they made the image of friends cooking the holiday meal together familiar to a large audience. But Merriam-Webster states plainly that the word did not originate with the show. The series ended in 2004, and the earliest written evidence for the word dates from 2007.

Is there a Friendsgiving movie?

Yes. "Friendsgiving" is a 2020 American comedy written and directed by Nicol Paone, with a cast led by Malin Akerman and Kat Dennings. It was released in the United States on October 23, 2020. The plot follows two friends whose quiet holiday dinner turns into a crowded one. It took its title from the tradition, not the other way around.

Friendsgiving vs. Thanksgiving

	Thanksgiving	Friendsgiving
Status	Federal holiday	Informal tradition
Date	Fourth Thursday in November, set by a law signed in December 1941	Any day on or near Thanksgiving; the group decides
Guests	Mostly family	Mostly friends
Who cooks	Often one household	Everyone; potluck is the norm
Menu	Traditional, with family recipes that rarely change	Traditional or anything else: tacos, lasagna, sides only, brunch
Tone	More formal, more generations at the table	Casual, often with games and drinks
Days off work	Yes, for most employees	No, which is why it is usually on a weekend

The fourth-Thursday rule for Thanksgiving comes from a joint resolution of Congress that President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed on December 26, 1941, according to the National Archives. The House had originally proposed the last Thursday of November; the Senate changed it to the fourth so that the date would be the same in years when November has five Thursdays. Friendsgiving has no law, no proclamation and no governing body, which is exactly why it is flexible.

How people celebrate

There is no required program, but most Friendsgivings share a recognizable shape:

1. Someone volunteers to host and proposes a date in the group chat, usually three or four weeks ahead.
2. The host handles the main dish and circulates a sign-up sheet so the other dishes do not overlap.
3. Guests arrive with food ready to serve. Appetizers and drinks come out first while the last dishes warm up.
4. Everyone eats buffet style, often after a toast or a round of saying what each person is thankful for.
5. Games, a movie or football fill the time between dinner and dessert.
6. Leftovers are divided and people help clean up before leaving.

Variations are common: a Friendsgiving brunch, a dessert-only evening, an office Friendsgiving lunch, a virtual one over video for friends in different cities, or a dinner at a restaurant where the check is split. Step-by-step hosting help, including a potluck plan with quantities per guest, is in our main guide to Friendsgiving ideas.

Basic Friendsgiving etiquette

Because the event is informal, the etiquette is mostly about fairness: the work and the cost should be shared.

If you are a guest

• Answer the invitation by the date requested. The host is planning food quantities around the head count.
• Never arrive empty-handed. If you do not cook, bring drinks, ice, bread, a store-bought dessert or flowers. Specific suggestions are in what to bring to Friendsgiving.
• Bring your dish finished, with its own serving spoon. Do not plan on using the host's oven unless you asked.
• Ask before bringing a plus-one, and tell the host about allergies or dietary restrictions when you RSVP, not when you arrive.
• Stay to help with dishes, or at least clear the table and take out the trash.

If you are the host

• Be specific about what you need. "Bring a vegetable side for 8" is kinder than "bring whatever."
• Make sure there is something for every guest to eat and drink, including vegetarians and people who do not drink alcohol.
• Do not turn the meal into a bill. If you need help with the cost of the turkey, ask in advance and keep it modest.
• Invite the friend who has nowhere else to go. Including people who would otherwise be alone is the oldest part of the tradition.

Do you say "Happy Friendsgiving"?

Yes. "Happy Friendsgiving" is the standard greeting, used in invitations, toasts, banners and photo captions. If you want something longer to send to the group afterward, our Thanksgiving wishes include messages written for friends, and the invitations guide has wording for the invite itself.

Friendsgiving in different settings

The same idea adapts to almost any group. The differences are mostly about timing and how much cooking is realistic.

Setting	Typical timing	What changes
Friends at home	A weekend afternoon or evening	Full potluck dinner; the host cooks the main dish
Office or team	A weekday lunch in the week or two before Thanksgiving	Room-temperature and slow-cooker dishes, no alcohol in many workplaces, a sign-up sheet in the break room
College or dorm	The week before students leave campus	Rotisserie chicken in place of turkey, microwave and no-cook sides, a shared common room
Families with young children	Brunch or an early dinner	Kid-friendly sides, a craft table, an earlier end time
Long-distance friends	A video call on a weekend	Everyone cooks the same recipe or orders in, then eats together on camera
Restaurant	Any evening near the holiday	No cooking or cleanup; agree in advance on how the check will be split

Does a Friendsgiving need a turkey?

No. Turkey is traditional, and many hosts roast one because it feeds a crowd at a low cost per person, but nothing in the definition requires it. Roast chicken, ham, a vegetarian main, a taco bar or a table made up entirely of side dishes all count. What makes the meal a Friendsgiving is the company and the timing, not the menu. If the group will also eat turkey with their families a few days later, a different main can be a welcome change; ideas are in Friendsgiving food ideas.

Who pays for Friendsgiving?

Costs are shared through the food. The host covers the main dish and the basics of the space; each guest pays for the dish or drinks they bring. When the main dish is expensive, or the group is large, it is acceptable for the host to ask everyone for a small contribution, as long as the request is made in the invitation and not afterward.

Why Friendsgiving caught on

Dictionary editors can date the word, but nobody can point to a single cause for the custom's growth. A few plain facts explain most of it. Thanksgiving week is expensive and crowded for travel, so many adults do not go home every year. People increasingly live in cities far from where they grew up, and their daily support network is made up of friends. And a potluck is one of the cheapest ways to hold a large dinner, which suits students and people early in their careers. Merriam-Webster's editors also observe that what began as an alternative to Thanksgiving has become, for many people, a second Thanksgiving, complete with advertising tie-ins.

None of that changes what the event is on the day: a table, some food and people who chose to be there.

Planning your own

If this is your first Friendsgiving, these pages cover each piece:

• Friendsgiving ideas: the hosting timeline, potluck plan, budget and small-space tips
• Friendsgiving food ideas: menus, turkey alternatives and dishes for every diet
• What to bring to Friendsgiving: easy dishes, no-cook options and host gifts
• Friendsgiving invitations: wording examples and timing
• Friendsgiving decorations: table setting and decor on a budget
• Friendsgiving games: activities for the table and after dinner

If you are cooking the bird yourself, the roasting chart in how long to cook a turkey will tell you when to put it in the oven.