When it comes to the holidays, the season isn’t complete without a festive gathering with friends. I hosted Friendsmas this year for the first time and I can easily see this becoming a tradition.

My tribe and I have been friends since high school, so there was something very special about seeing our kids all playing with each other for the first time while we enjoyed each one another’s company. We had good food, the kids had their own table of activities, and we filled the house with laughter. 

I grabbed a few supplies to set up games and activities for the kids, headed to the store to get the groceries for dinner, and got a few holiday decorations to complete the set up.

The Menu

Let’s Chat

The best thing on the menu was the pistachio crusted lamb! The kids might disagree lol, but it was delicious.

Close Second

Second place goes to a crowd pleaser. The sugar cookie cheesecake bars were a hit! There weren’t any left and they were very simple to make. I almost was tempted to give these first place but I felt like a “real food” should hold that title lol.

For the kids table I set everyone up with their own station. My son was only 10 months so he didn’t get the same treatment but that actually worked perfectly. I was able to split the table into 4 equal sections for the other kids.

Each section had:

  • A wooden Christmas tree to decorate
  •  A mask or  tote bag to color
  • A small gift bag to store goodies from the games

I used ribbon to make a clear divider for each space. For easy clean up, I used kraft paper as a table cover and set the table up on top of a blanket. This allowed the kids to eat at their table without anyone worried about making a mess, spills, or marker oopsies.

The kids had 2 games in addition to the table activities. I made a Christmas tree shaped punch board with small toys for prizes and a saran wrap ball with snacks and prizes to unravel.

Not as many as you would think! With 5 kids in the house we were pretty busy, I spent time facilitating games for the kids or finishing prepping food and then I enjoyed company but I did manage to get a few before everything kicked off.

Not a thing! If anything I would try to incorporate this same type of gathering for us and the kids more during the year.