A Hostess’s Diary: Postcards from a cozy friendsgiving night

Notes on hosting, decor details, and shared recipes!

Jan 20, 2026

I know posting about Friendsgiving almost at the end of January is very overdue, and that’s because I was truly sucked into life, sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way. But trust me when I tell you that the recipe I’m sharing at the end of this post will make up for how long it took me to write it!

The past few months, and especially the end of 2025, have been super busy for me, both in my career and my personal life. And despite really enjoying where I am professionally right now, and somehow managing to maintain what feels like a successful life–work balance, I think winter has a funny way of sneaking up on you. The days are short, and sometimes… a little rough.

And when days are rough, I like to sit down and reflect. I think about moments that made me happy, the wishes I once had for myself, where I thought I’d be by now, and where I’ve actually arrived. Sometimes that even means revisiting old vision boards, which feels especially buzzy around the end of the year and the start of a new one.

I was genuinely happy when I noticed that one of my main goals — to focus more on community, on hosting, on bringing people together in real life, with or without a big reason — was something I had actually accomplished. I was taken aback when I found a photo I’d added to a vision board years ago, and realized how deeply community has always meant to me!

Friendships are a blessing. Having good friends is something magical, and I know I’ve been very, very lucky.

I saw someone say on TikTok once that having amazing friendships, a thriving career, and a slightly unlucky love life might just be the perfect setup for a rom-com plot and honestly, I agree.

So, cutting the long intros.

I wanted to host Friendsgiving, though I’m not even sure calling it Friendsgiving is technically correct, considering it happened in the second week of December. But I wasn’t too concerned with naming part of it.

We kept postponing it because everyone’s schedules were so busy. By the time it finally came together, the weather was perfectly cool and rainy, and my house was super cozy.

The last time I hosted Friendsgiving was three years ago, and so much has changed since then. I feel like an entirely different person. Life has been full — almost overwhelmingly so — and the same goes for my friends. We’re all living such different lives, and in our friend group, we have a bride-to-be, an MA graduate with distinction who just returned from abroad, a friend thriving in her career, and an intelligent dentist who is also soon to be engaged. And me, discovering new parts of myself and reaching milestones in both my creative and professional life. The plan was to gather everyone together and celebrate all of us.

And so in the room where it was going to happen, I began curating every little detail of the event, from the decoration, to gifts, to the meals. As a wise mad once said; I arranged the menu, the venue, the seating!

The color palette was chosen to complement what was already around the house, with its earthy, deep tones and contrasting blue shades, because we don’t support consumerism here! Though it must be said that I toured the city looking for the perfect pumpkin-shaped pot, and luckily, I found the perfect one on a great deal.

The original date before life slapped us all on the faces lol!

As for the gifts and the little table details, I found almost everything at our local version of the dollar store, and somehow came across the perfect candles in a random shop near my house. They looked almost identical to the mini notebooks I was gifting the girls.

After wrapping all the little gifts with cute, fall-themed ribbons, I started designing the invitation and the menu to send to the girlies.

Preparing the menu was probably my favorite part. I wanted the food to be centered around nourishment, with ingredients that feel rooted and almost spiritually comforting. Things from our land, like figs, pomegranates, and pumpkins, cooked with good olive oil sourced directly from the mountains. Food that feels grounding and generous.

Some of my friends helped me with the menu, either bringing something with them or coming early to my house to bake together and share a bonding activity while it was pouring outside, and the sweet scent of cinnamon was filling lungs and hearts!

I made the beloved fan-fav pizza that everyone loves and asks for all the time. I don’t have an extraordinary recipe for it, but I really think it’s all about technique and the small details. I make the sauce at home and add just a tiny sprinkle of sugar for subtle sweetness, and I use basil I grow in my garden. I also used homemade pesto sauce that my very talented uncle (a retired chef btw) made. and the final touch was to make sure the cheese gets just a little crunchy, not burnt, but right on the edge. Literal perfection.

I also made two salads. One is a very random family recipe my mom came up with: finely chopped carrots, lots of lemon juice, a touch of cinnamon, and a bit of sugar. The other was a greener salad with mixed greens, dried figs, and pomegranate.

My mom made homemade cheese and spinach pastries, and my friend brought her famous fajita sandwiches. I also made a shepherd’s pie — very easy, but with a few of my own touches. I love adding dill to the potato purée. I kind of eyeball my way through it, but it turns out delicious every time.

But the star of the show — truly — was the soup.

This was the one dish I low-key Martha Stewarted my way into for the very first time. I hadn’t tested it beforehand. I looked at a few recipes, pulled inspiration from all of them, added my own little touches, and somehow it turned out incredible. I’ve listed all the ingredients below. It had this gorgeous, cozy, orangey color, a creamy texture, and such an interesting flavor profile. Everyone was obsessed with it, and we called it Mimi’s soup!

After filling our tummies with the yummiest food, we all lingered in the kitchen with my mom, moving slowly, cozy and content. We brought out the cake, a black forest cake, the cinnamon dessert my friend had made, and bowls of pomegranate, all set up to enjoy with flavored Ahmad tea. The kitchen felt warm and lived in, full of laughter and half-finished conversations.

While everyone was busy chatting and laughing, I quietly slipped away to prepare a little surprise. I had told one friend that we were celebrating our friend who had just returned from abroad with her MA, and I told that friend that we were celebrating our bride-to-be. Neither of them knew about the other, so when I surprised them both, the moment felt extra special.

I rented the most gorgeous Tiffany-colored graduation cap for my friend who is obsessed with Tiffany’s, and I DIYed a sweet little bridal headpiece for our bride-to-be. We took cute Polaroids, sang, danced, laughed, and filmed TikToks. It genuinely felt like a scene out of a movie.

By the end of the night, my heart felt so full. Full of laughter, gratitude, and love. The only way I can describe it is how lucky I feel, how happy I am that we were girls together. And that we still are.

(watch this lil montage below!)