25 Festive Friendsmas Food Ideas

A Friendsmas party is an awesome way to bring people together who might not be traveling over the holidays. Start your party planning right by focusing on what will be served for dinner. Let Peerspace help with a few festive Friendsmas food ideas for inspiration!

1. Set out a Friendsmas cheese board

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Cheese boards are as decorative as they are delicious, not to mention vegetarian-friendly. What’s more, you can include as much variety as you like, giving grazers a place to sample new flavors while socializing. White and yellow, hard and soft, try including a few cheeses your friends might never have tried before!

2. Make an incredible chip dip

Chips and dip are a staple for the party snack table. But do you really have to go with store-bought ranch or queso? Try something unique and homemade, like this bacon cheddar ranch dip! With a bowl of potato chips, you have instant crunchy loaded baked potatoes for everyone to enjoy.

The only thing more iconic than chips and dip for a Friendsmas party is a great venue for hosting it. Peerspace has some of the best party venues on the planet for these kinds of events. For example, this exciting event space in Seattle, WA, has room for up to 70 guests, with a music system, arcade games, and other amenities!

3. Layer a thick butternut squash lasagna

If you want a large main dish that’s not too strange yet different enough to  inspire curiosity, try making some butternut squash lasagna. It’s hearty, vegetarian-friendly, and serves lots of people with a single recipe. All lasagnas do take a few hours of prep time with all of the noodle boiling, layering, and baking, so plan accordingly!

4. Serve some homemade pumpkin pie

Pumpkin pie is one of those dishes that everyone buys from the store because it looks more complicated to make than it truly is. A homemade pumpkin pie, on the other hand, is guaranteed to turn some heads at a Friendsmas party. Plus, you can customize it with your favorite spices or additions like coconut cream for even more of a unique flavor.

5. Make a turkey-based appetizer with turkey meatballs

Serve up a Thanksgiving experience in miniature with some ground turkey meatballs. A bowl of these meatballs, with toothpicks and bowls of cranberry dip, are a little holiday meal unto themselves. We’d add gravy and mustard dip for even more flavor options!

6. Flatten the turkey before serving

Did your friends vote to put you in charge of making the turkey, even though it is your first time? Don’t worry, you can make a juicy bird with ease by spatchcocking it! Instead of roasting the entire thing, try flattening it out and separating the legs and thighs so everything cooks evenly. It also saves time at the dinner table by partially carving the bird in advance.

7. Serve some spiced apple cider jelly shots

Want to try a unique Friendsmas food idea that’s both a shot and dessert? These spiced apple cider jelly shots are really something else! You’ll be using ginger-flavored vodka and Angostura bitters for the alcoholic kick. While they look fancy you’ll need less than half an hour to complete a batch.

You know what goes great with shots? Party games! Give a Christmas twist to these Friendsgiving game ideas and you’ll be all set.

8. Upgrade your stuffing with bacon and mushrooms

Bread stuffing is a must-have at a Friendsmas party, but it doesn’t have to be as boring as the stuff you get in boxes. This recipe from Taste of Home uses bacon and mushrooms for extra flavor. Plus you’ll be making it in the slow cooker for a unique stuffing that won’t end up as holiday leftovers.

9. Set up a hot chocolate bar

Hot cocoa has to be on a list of Friendsmas food ideas. So let’s get a little fancy with a hot chocolate bar where everyone can choose from a variety of syrups and toppings? Peppermint syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles, cherries…A hot chocolate bar is the perfect beverage station for a Friendsmas party!

10. Add a citrus kick to your root vegetable medley

Root vegetables are a traditional Christmas dinner party staple that need a flavor upgrade. So how about a little grapefruit and thyme glaze to make your carrots and sweet potatoes really shine? This root veggie medley tastes like something from a Michelin-starred restaurant, yet it’s both inexpensive and easy to do yourself! 

11. Try an unusual orange and red onion salad

A salad can be a striking and colorful addition to the dinner table with the right ingredients. Make something that everyone will want to try with this recipe for an orange and red onion salad. The two flavors mesh surprisingly well together. Not to mention the festive autumn colors add a bit of beauty to the dinner table!

12. Get spicy with jalapeno mashed potatoes

Mashed potatoes are another Christmas dish that tends to look and taste the same at every dinner table. Let everyone know with a glance that they’re in for something special with this recipe for jalapeno mashed potatoes! Topped with crispy jalapenos, bacon, and cheese, each bite is like munching on a yummy jalapeno popper.

13. Bake a batch of caramel apple cookies

Caramel apples are one of those flavors we most associate with fall and winter. Bring them together as soft caramel apple cookies that are guaranteed to leave no leftovers! 45 minutes of prep time is all you need for a couple dozen pillowy, spicy cookies.

14. Arrange an artistic Christmas charcuterie board

Charcuterie boards are build-a-snack platters that everyone will enjoy. Best of all, you can customize them to suit any party occasion. A Christmas charcuterie board can include traditional favorites like salami and cheese. You can customize it a bit to suit the holiday, however, with the right additions. Try cranberry dip, almond-crusted cheese logs, and a few red, white, and green foods for festive color! 

15. Make your own dinner gravy

Homemade gravy from scratch has a lot to offer if you’ve never made some before. For one, you can season it as you like with cracked black pepper, thyme, rosemary, and other herbs. Plus, it keeps for months once you freeze it so you’ll have gravy for future dishes!

16. Whip up a healthy beet hummus

Friendsmas food ideas are often loaded with meat, fat, starch, and sugar. If you want something guilt-free for guests to enjoy, make a batch of beet hummus! It does double duty as a vegan side or a dip for pita chips. You can also include carrot sticks and other vegetables as a healthy snack option.

17. Serve an unbeatable fig cranberry sauce

Upgrade your holiday cranberry sauce with this Friendsmas food idea! Figs and cranberry sauce are like peanut butter and jelly. Like any cranberry sauce you can use this figgy version as a dip for cheese, bread, and chips as well.

You should have a Friendsmas party venue long before you start mixing your cranberry sauce, however. Have you seen some of the Friendsmas dinner venues Peerspace has to offer? We have spaces like this art gallery and karaoke studio in Uptown Chicago, IL, that are as artsy as they are functional! 

18. Combine textures with funeral potatoes

Despite the macabre name, funeral potatoes are nothing to mope over. It’s just what you call a potato casserole with cornflakes spread on top! You get a crispy and savory comfort food casserole with soft cheese that’s unique yet easy to make.

Help get your party venue perfectly decked out using these festive Friendsgiving decoration ideas!

19. Fry up some crispy blooming onions

Who doesn’t love the steakhouse favorite blooming onion? These crispy pull-apart wonders take a little more time than some of our quicker Friendsmas food ideas to create, but few are guaranteed to leave no leftovers as a blooming onion with dip! 

20. Add a colorful couscous salad to the table

There’s guaranteed to be a lot of tan and brown at the dinner table. But we can add a splash of color with a couscous salad. Besides the brilliant white couscous pearls, you’ll have green cucumber and red tomatoes using this recipe. All three Christmas colors in a single bowl! 

21. Slow cook a hearty cauliflower soup

How about a soup that eats like a main dish rather than a side? Cauliflower soup is dense and warming, especially with toppings like cheese and crumbled bacon. Like all slow cooker recipes, you can set and forget them as well. Leaving you time to get the venue ready for your upcoming Friendsmas party!

22. Bake a creamy, crunchy green bean casserole

Green bean casseroles are one of those nostalgic Christmas dishes we all crave as the holidays get closer. Be the one to put a smile on everyone’s face with a green bean casserole of your own! It’s the perfect side for turkey and other Friendsmas staples.

23. Add finger food with almond bacon cheese crostinis

Don’t skimp on the appetizers when putting together a list of Friendsmas food ideas! A few almond bacon cheese crostinis won’t be ignored by anyone. And for something so fancy looking, it takes just 30 minutes of prep and bake time to serve up a warm batch.

24. Make one pot pumpkin mac and cheese

Christmas time means pumpkin-flavored everything! Good thing it’s such a great flavor; it goes well with all dishes. Including mac and cheese, which you can prove using this recipe for pumpkin mac and cheese!

25. Save the pecan pie bars for dessert

Last, but not least, we need a holiday-inspired dessert for your Friendsmas party. Pecan pie bars, anyone? With the addition of milk chocolate and toffee, these tasty treats might be even better than the regular pie! 

Friendsmas food ideas: conclusion

Friendsmas food ideas need to be diverse since you have to include everything from appetizers to dessert. We think Peerspace’s collection of festive dishes is enough to make an entire menu! Have we been helpful to your party planning needs? If so, let us help further by browsing a few of our Christmas party venues near you.

Find unique event spaces for your Friendsmas party on Peerspace