Last night we had a wonderful Friendsgiving dinner and I wanted to share with you some details and pictures today! We started doing a Thanksgiving with friends a few weeks before the actual holiday about 6 years ago, but this year we hosted our largest group of 14 adults + 6 kids.

Our first task was figuring out how are we going to fit 14 people around our table that seats 8 max?! The room isn’t wide enough to add length to the table, but there was room to add width and make it a giant square. We borrowed an old folding table from my parents and put a piece of wood that fit the dimensions of our table on top. To make the two match up we shimmed a few boards between the two.

I got two large pieces of a charcoal gray fabric from the fabric store to serve as our tablecloth that made the two surfaces one even more. We didn’t have 14 matching table settings and instead of almost everything matching, we decided to embrace an eclectic group of layered plates in harvest colors.

You know the best place to get a bunch of warm-toned plates with the occasional floral pattern? Thrift store.

Most of the plates were 50 cents to a dollar and we (okay, I) had so much fun finding some treasures and mixing patterns on the larger plates with smaller ones.

We kept the place cards simple–alternating apples and mini pumpkins with our friends’ names written on top. It was seasonal but no fuss. While we hosted the night, the food assignments were divided between everyone. There was so much amazing food. We, ourselves, took care of the mashed potatoes, turkey and drinks. Soma sent us one of their gorgeous glass water filtering carafes to try out and it was pretty enough to put right on the table from the fridge. The award winning filter is made from coconut shells and plant resin (so no little black floaties like the other water filter pitcher–you know) and works fast so when I had to refill it halfway through dinner, it took no time.

Also, the beautiful shatter-resistant glass carafe keeps the water ice-cold, crisp and fresh. We dressed it up even more by adding a few lemon slices. We had to laugh when in between talking about our jobs, favorite shows, holiday plans–we found ourselves answering questions about the Soma over dinner. It really is a great concept and an even better company–every filter you buy from Soma includes a donation to charity and I love that they deliver replacement filters to your door every 60 days.

It was such a fun night with amazing people. We feel so blessed to have friends close by to share a meal and laughs with–it’s something we don’t take for granted. Do you do a friendsgiving? Have you tried the Soma? I am going to get a couple for holiday gifts–I’ve got a whole table of friends interested. Ha!

Thanks to our friends for such a great night and to Soma for sponsoring this post. Water Filter Note: The Water Quality Association (WQA) tested Soma to NSF/ANSI Standard 42 requirements for materials safety, and chlorine, taste and odor reduction. PACE Analytical tested more specific contaminants both at EPA contaminant regulation levels and at NSF Standard 53 levels. The Soma water filter has been third-party verified to reduce lead, selenium and arsenic levels as well.