26 Ways to Have the Best Virtual Friendsgiving This Year

As much as I love attending Friendsgivings and spending quality time with my favorite people over the holidays, I know our safety comes first, which means we won’t all be able to get together this year. But that doesn’t mean we still can’t celebrate! Many Friendsgivings will be virtual this year, whether it’s on Zoom or FaceTime, and even though that may sound like it limits your options for making things fun, there are still plenty of ways you can make it memorable. From playing games to baking to having a book club, here are 26 Friendsgiving activities you can enjoy this year that will keep you and your friends in the festive mood.

Related: 11 Tips For Celebrating Thanksgiving Solo, From Someone Who's Done It

1. Send a card to a friend with reasons why you’re thankful for them. This is a great way to spread some love, and you can have them open it live on camera or before. If you know of any friends whose love language is words of affirmation, this is an especially good option!
2. Eat together virtually. Even though you can’t enjoy a potluck in person, you can still cook up some yummy foods and plan a time to meet online.
3. Watch holiday episodes together using Teleparty. If you’ve enjoyed using Netflix Party with friends, we have good news: Netflix Party is now Teleparty, and you can use it to watch Hulu, HBO, and Disney+ in addition to Netflix! Some examples of holiday episodes you can watch together are Schitt’s Creek‘s “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose” and How I Met Your Mother‘s “Slapsgiving.”
4. Send your friend a gift through Amazon. Show some love and gratefulness by sending your friend a present. Ask your friend what gift they would be interested in and if you can put their address in Amazon, so you can ship the gift their way more quickly.
5. Cook your friend’s most delicious dish with them. If you’re missing one of your friend’s tasty dishes, meet virtually and cook it! While it’s in the oven, you can catch up on each other’s lives.
6. Play an online game. Some fun options include skribbl.io, a Pictionary-style game, Scattergories, Uno, and Jackbox.
7. Have a book club meeting after reading a holiday-themed book. These Hallmark movies are also books, and these mystery books are perfectly cozy reads for fall. You all can also consider joining POPSUGAR’s virtual book club!
8. Play Jeopardy using Thanksgiving trivia. You can create a Jeopardy game here and find some Thanksgiving trivia here!
9. Bake a pumpkin dish together. It’s always a good time for a delicious pumpkin treat. You can makeTrader Joe’s skillet-baked pumpkin rolls, Starbucks’s pumpkin bread recipe, or whatever else you’re craving.
10. Bring your pets, if you have any, when you video chat. One of the best parts of Friendsgiving for many people is spending time with their friends’ pets. Video chat with a friend, and bring your pet with you!
11. Make the homemade version of a restaurant’s item together. Some examples include Magnolia Bakery’s banana pudding, Outback Steakhouse’s blooming onion, and Chili’s skillet queso dip.
12. Mix up different fall-themed cocktails. Every hour is happy hour when you’re with your friends! You can get creative with your cocktails, too ー we love this pumpkin spice s’mores cocktail and this pumpkin caramel hard cider cocktail. Afterward, discuss which one you and your friend like the most and the least.
13. Do a prepackaged craft or DIY project virtually. You’re never too old for crafts! Michael’s has lots of fun, inexpensive Thanksgiving crafts you can order and do online with a friend, or if you want a more advanced craft, try crocheting a pumpkin.
14. Host a live cookie decorating contest. We suggest using Trader Joe’s Gingerbread Turkey Trot Cookie Decorating Kit for easy and delicious fun!
15. Watch a Christmas movie. If you’re feeling the Christmas spirit, watch a Christmas movie “together” by adding your own commentary over via chat. Netflix has tons of great options.
16. Play Among Us. Among Us is a fun game you can play on your phones. Add your friends on the app, then play together.
17. Catch up on each other’s lives by playing Two Truths and a Lie. After social distancing for so long, you may not have gotten to catch up with all of your friends yet. A fun way to do so is by playing Two Truths and a Lie, a game in which each person shares two truths and a lie about themselves and others have to guess the lie.
18. Plan and take part in an at-home scavenger hunt. Make a list of home scavenger hunt items, such as a gift from a friend, a fall decoration, a carved pumpkin, something wacky, something brown, and so on. After, see who can gather the most of those items in a certain period of time.
19. Share your most fun holiday tradition. Does your family like to dress up like turkeys during the Thanksgiving season? Have you always been an early riser on Black Friday? Swap fun and embarrassing stories with each other for a good laugh.
20. Make a slideshow with everyone’s baby pictures and guess who’s who. Looking at baby pictures of your best friends can be so much fun. Send your baby pictures to one person who can make a slideshow with multiple choice options.
21. Brainstorm your favorite memories and qualities in your friends, then play charades. For each round, have one person from each team decide what they’ll be acting out together. After, they can join the main “meeting room” online and see which teammate can correctly guess first.
22. Talk about what makes you thankful for each friend in your virtual hangout. Just like receiving a card can brighten someone’s day, so can hearing what your friends appreciate about you. Share your favorite qualities in each friend.
23. See who can draw the best turkey. You can draw one from scratch or do a trusty hand turkey. The winner gets to decide who hosts Friendsgiving next year!
24. Have a virtual Friendsgiving with friends both old and new. It’s totally OK to have more than one Friendsgiving or to allow your friends to invite their other friends. The more, the better!
25. Play games that are already on a video chat app. Houseparty and Bunch are two video-chat apps that come with a variety of games. This makes for easier, quicker fun!
26. Share your favorite memories from past in-person Friendsgivings. Did you fall in love with a friend’s dish? Did someone make a hilarious joke you still laugh over? Share all the best memories.