What to Bring to Thanksgiving When You Can't Cook
Creative ideas to offer your host other than side dishes 🦃
In my upbringing, manners were next to godliness. Thank you notes were required, it was always “excuse me,” never “huh,” and never - EVER - show up to a party empty-handed.
This gets a little tricky for me when I find myself in any kind of potluck/bring-a-food situation. I am notorious for burning everything I cook - not even toast makes it out alive. Trust me when I say this: NO ONE wants my cooking. Especially not on Thanksgiving, a day of festive mouth-watering gluttony.
Over the years, in reaction to my shortcomings, I’ve gotten progressively creative about what to bring to dinners and holidays. I try to show up with things that will make the hosts feel appreciated and supported and add some sparkle to the occasion. If I can’t help with the food, I make it my point to help with the ~ViBeS~. Bonus points if it’s something the guests can take home with them.
I usually spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws, where I volunteer to do the flowers and stay out of the kitchen - both of which are equally appreciated. For anyone else who might be culinarily challenged, I’ve put together a little collection of ideas to bring to your holiday event.
Obviously, this is the first thing that I - someone who makes floral arrangements as a hobby - will suggest. But y’all - no host/hostess in the history of the world didn’t want flowers.
Hosting Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving is a lot of freaking work and energy, and even IF you’re bringing the mashed potatoes, it’s a thoughtful gesture to leave your host with something pretty to look at while they spend the next day cleaning pots and pans.
Skip the expensive florist and grab some flowers from Trader Joe’s (see the above photos) and make your own arrangement! Even better, double down and make two - one for you to keep at home!
Here are a couple quick TJ’s-specific arrangement tutorials for ya!
I was always in charge of making place cards for my parents’ dinner parties as a kid, so I have a soft spot for this suggestion. They can be as simple as a folded sheet of paper with names in a fun color, or as elaborate as wax seals and dried flowers. No matter how simple or fancy, place cards elevate any table and make guests feel welcome.
Here are some tutorials to check out!
Dried Orange Slice Place Cards (you could even buy the pre-dried oranges) 🍊
OR - If you’re more of a digital kinda person, here are some super cute Canva templates to personalize and print out!
Repeat after me: Everyone loves having group photos.
Seriously - how often does your extended family or extended friend group get together? Maaaaybe only a couple of times a year - IF you’re lucky? And while it’s great to have group photos on our phones, going analog is so much more fun and sentimental.
Your nieces and nephews will love taking Instax photos (we even made ornaments out of a bunch of ours!) 🎞️
HOW CUTE would it be to take a bunch for Grandma and Grandpa and send them home with a little family photo album?! 📒
Who doesn’t love getting prints back from a disposable? (Hint: this is the best one because the switch allows the flash to stay on!) 📸
Novelty cameras are fun for everyone, film cameras are nostalgic and exciting, or if you have a nice digital camera bring that along too! Bonus points if you can have prints sent to everyone by Christmas! 🎄
Let’s set aside the problematic sociopolitical history of Thanksgiving and focus on my favorite part: Gratitude.
It’s not Thanksgiving without sharing what we’re thankful for, and bringing little cards for people to write theirs on is so special! If you make place cards, you could even put a spot for gratitudes on the back!
Some ideas:
Get these simple blank brown note cards and decorate yourself, or just hand them out with pens ✍️
Or these have cute little eucalyptus designs 🌿
HOW CUTE is this tiny Gratitude Zine by Austin Kleon?! Free printout on his substack! 📓
Classic Thanksgiving thankful-for card printout 🍁
When looking for templates I also stumbled across this Thanksgiving Bingo Card and this Gratitude Dice Game that would be super fun for the kids in your life. 🎲
Plus this table-top gratitude conversation card deck if you really wanna dive into it! 🙏
Turn off the football game in the background and introduce your family (or friends) to some new music! In my experience, my relatives appreciate hearing new music (my dad is a full-fledged Chappell Roan convert!) Teach Grandma the Apple Dance or use wooden spoons as microphones with your little cousins. Or, if you’d like to go a little more low-key, here’s some of my favorite background music to play during gatherings:
Here’s a fun 60’s French Pop Playlist that will add a touch of Zou Bisou Bisou to the occasion. 🇫🇷
Leon Bridge’s Coming Home is the perfect combo of new and nostalgic. 🎤
Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou: Beautiful and unique piano Ethiopian jazz from the late ‘70s that’s nice and low-key. 🎹
It’s nearly impossible for me to hear Bill Withers’ music and not smile. 😎
Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop, AOR, and Boogie 1976–1986: Vibey compilation album of synthy Japanese pop. 📀
Sometimes, the best thing you can bring to the table is a willingness to organize. As we head into winter and the holidays, countless communities need additional support. Send an email or text blast to your family encouraging everyone to bring something to donate and take the lead on facilitating! Here are a few suggestions:
Warm Clothes Donation: One Warm Coat’s mission is “to provide free coats to children and adults in need while promoting volunteerism and environmental sustainability.” How great is that? Tell everyone coming to dinner to bring one coat to donate! Their website has a location finder and more details. 🧥
Hygiene Kits: Build hygiene kits together for Convoy of Hope, which delivers kits to low-income communities and disaster zones. 🧼
Toys For Tots: With the holidays right around the corner, encourage everyone in your family to buy and bring a toy for a child in need for Christmas. Here is TFT’s local chapter locator. 🎁
I hope these help inspire you to get a little creative with your contributions to the table this year! If you have any go-to offerings, let me know in the comments - I love collecting new traditions!
Have a happy Thanksgiving week, everyone; I’m grateful for all my subscribers!
Sooo good! love you!