The American International Day of Food and Friendship!

Normal Thanksgiving is for family, but Lagniappe Thanksgiving is for friends.

Lagniappe (pronounced LAN-Yap) is a French/Quechua/Creole word for "a little extra", or an extra unexpected benefit. It seems an appropriate word for "a little extra" Thanksgiving.

Event Details
  • Date: The 4th Saturday of June or thereabouts.
  • Where: Outdoors
  • Arrive: Around Noon or later.
  • Eat: Around 3pm (allows enough time for a stuffed turkey to be cooked and prepped)
  • Ends: Around 10pm
  • Host Provides: A large cooked turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes; plus coolers for drinks and seating, tables, outdoor games, music, etc.
  • Guests Bring: A dish to share (sides, snacks, deserts, etc.), their own chairs, and drinks to share.
  • Who Can Come: Invited friends and their immediate families
  • Fireworks: Optional. Just don't blow yourself up.
  • Rules: No one can be asked what they are thankful for. Just be thankful they came!

    • Exponentional Event Option
    A fun and sometimes intimidating option for hosting Lagniappe Thanksgiving is to use the Exponential Option. The first year the host invites friends to the event. Then the next year, each of those friends is allowed to invite a new friend to the event, and that continues each year until the event becomes a world wide party! That's no joke. The exponential option can get big quickly.

    How It Started
    Back in 2017 a family, looking for an excuse to get together with friends once the weather perked up, started planning a party. 4th of July was the perfect timing, but being the big American holiday that it is, it is primarily a family event (no friends). Also, this family wanted to cook a turkey because why only cook a turkey once a year? Plus Turkey is an American bird, so why not have a party for friends with an American theme BEFORE the 4th of July while the weather is at its best?

    So the event was started. It was initially called "Thanksgiving in July" as a side joke since it was always held in June, but folks started comparing it to the Christmas in July concept, and the family thought that was dumb. This new event shouldn't be compared to another spending money, commercial sounding made-up holiday. This even was a fun, laid-back, made-up holiday. Then in 2021 they discovered the word "Lagniappe" and it's perfect fit for the spirit of the event, and Lagniappe Thanksgiving was created!

    Can You Host Your Own Lagniappe Thanksgiving?
    Yes! Do it! Lagniappe Thanksgiving is a great way to start the summer and connect with friends and should be shared with the world. It doesn't matter what country you are from, you too can be part of this lovely concept. Don't have turkeys where you are? That is very sad, but just cook something else to share like a roast or a ham, anything to get the party started.