Your Guide to Fall Dinner Parties That Aren’t Friendsgiving

While Thanksgiving focuses on tradition, your fall party should focus on aesthetics and seasonal dishes. Instead of Friendsgiving, try a dinner out by the bonfire featuring rich stews and rustic bread, or a flavor-themed meal with dishes and drinks centered around seasonal staples. Ultimately, it’s all about creating an atmosphere that feels intimate and autumnal.

The fall harvest is full of incredible ingredients beyond just pumpkin or sweet potatoes. Create a menu that features unconventional focal ingredients like root vegetables, squash and spices. An example menu may include a sage soup, cider-braised pork or a hearty mushroom ravioli and finish with a spiced pear tart instead of pumpkin pie.

Hosting a successful fall dinner party is all about striking the right balance between setting without appearing to be Hallmark-y. Implement various textures like linen or velvet table runners, bring out the copper mule mugs and swap bright overhead lighting for the soft, warm glow of candles. You can step up the decor another notch by including a centerpiece made of miniature pumpkins and weaving in traditional fall colors. The final piece is creating a cozy soundtrack of folky music or jazz to set the mood.

Drinks are perhaps the focal part of the evening, and fall offers some of the best ingredients for inventive cocktails. Set up a drink station where guests can help themselves to a couple signature fall beverages. You can offer batched cocktails like Spiced Apple Cider Sangria or a Maple Old Fashioneds. If you want non-alcoholic options as well, a warm, homemade spiced cranberry cider is always a hit. Creating a few premade drinks can help boost socialization while appearing like the entire dinner was carefully crafted.