7 New Ways to Tap Into Your Creative Side For Friendsgiving 2017

While great food is a key ingredient for the perfect Friendsgiving, it's important not to lose sight of the holiday's most important element: giving thanks! To lend the tradition a fresh twist, give each guest a Hester & Cook Chalkboard Paper Placemat and a Chalk Style Pencil, available in the November Must Have box, and instruct them to draw an image of their biggest blessing of the year. The winner will take home a seasonal prize, like a miniature pumpkin pie or a pumpkin spice candle.

If no one posts an Instagram snap of your Friendsgiving proceedings, did it really happen? Stage a share-worthy backdrop for documenting the occasion, with a curtain of silver-fringe streamers and props like a mustache on a stick or a tiny top hat. Guests can spend the evening experimenting with their selfies and creating playful vignettes.

Whether your group is particularly theatrical or not, it'll ace a round of one-word story. Appoint one guest the leader, and ask them to select a word to begin the story. Ask each subsequent guest to add a single word to the narrative until the story takes on a life of its own. If you want to record your creative efforts for posterity, nominate one guest as the record keeper and ask him or her to write down the story on a Hester & Cook Chalkboard Paper Placemat Pad.

On Friendsgiving, your food should look as mouthwatering as it tastes! To get your squad's creative juices flowing, organize a dessert styling competition that inspires guests to prepare a beautiful dish worthy of a five-star restaurant, using five ingredients or less. Whoever creates the most appetizing and innovative plating will receive a fitting prize — a pumpkin pie to take home.

After Thanksgiving has passed, the next holiday is just around the corner, so why not start the gifting process early with a surprise white elephant gift exchange at your Friendsgiving? Offer guests the chance to creatively wrap their gifts at the party by supplying a festive collection of wrapping paper, bows, and ribbon. Who says gifting has to wait until December?

Whether it's an absentminded doodle or a skilled portrait, everyone secretly loves to sketch and scribble. Give guests a seasonal theme, like pumpkin spice lattes or Black Friday shopping, and one minute to sketch their interpretation, then compare drawings!

Let's face it: everyone loves discussing their favorite social media icons and celebrities. Incite friends to reflect on the most memorable social moments of 2017 by first brainstorming a truly unforgettable occurrence and subsequently writing it down on a scrap of paper to place into a hat. The first volunteer will select a piece of paper from the hat and silently act out the social media event, whether it was a celebrity prank or a crazy makeup trend. This take on charades will have your friends giggling over the year's events in no time!