Choose a date for Friendsgiving. (Consider choosing a day when you have plenty of time to prepare and cook, if you're planning on cooking for your gathering.)

Put together a guest list.

Invite friends. You can create your own invitation in a free program like Canva or create a virtual invitation through Evite. You could also design and print out an invitation to send in the mail.

Plan your Friendsgiving menu. Oftentimes, friends are invited to bring their own dishes to Friendsgiving. You can assign a dish to your friends or have a virtual signup so that you know what's going to be brought and confirm there are no duplicate recipes.

Once your menu is planned, create your cooking timeline. Take the recipe that's going to take the longest time and build your timeline around that.

Grocery shop. Preferably do this a few days before your event, but up to a week in advance if you're making a whole turkey because those take a few days to defrost in the refrigerator.

Decide upon serving pieces before you cook. I will label mine with a sticky note and pop them back into the cabinets so I know what I'm using well before I'm cooking and then searching for something to place my final dish in.

Prep as much as you can in advance. If you want to take the stress off yourself the day-of your Friendsgiving event, chop veggies and fruits in advance. Also consider making anything that can be made-ahead and stored in the fridge, like most casseroles or homemade cranberry sauce recipes.

The day of, have your cooking timeline printed out and a plan. Also, keep your cool. It can be stressful cooking for your people, but at the end of the day, this is about spending time together, not the perfect meal.

Interact with your guests and have fun!