On a Sunday evening before Thanksgiving each year, a home tennis court in Jackson’s Woodland Hills neighborhood is transformed into a vibrant holiday venue. Glowing lights are strung across the sky, and long tables are topped with pumpkins and fall flowers. Plates are piled high with potluck fare, and there’s a warm feeling in the air no matter what the thermometer says. This is Friendsgiving, a family-friendly gathering that many of these community members say they wouldn’t miss.
“We are a pretty tight-knit neighborhood, and we really all like to spend time together,” says Melissa Hutchison, who along with Lisa Ireland had the idea for the first Friendsgiving party in 2023. They shared their vision with the Woodland Hills Garden Club, who took on the event as a club project.
The tennis court where the dinner takes place has a history of hosting neighborhood gatherings. Hutchison, who has lived in Woodland Hills for 22 years, recalls taking her children to an annual pre- and post-trick-or-treating Halloween party on this court for several years, when a different family owned the home. “Now my kids are grown and the neighborhood has welcomed a new generation of young families,” she says. “Once again, there is an annual celebration of neighborhood friendships on the tennis court, but now with a slightly new look.”
More than 100 people attended the 2024 Friendsgiving dinner, according to Ireland. “It’s just a fun, fun evening,” she says. “Everyone is asked to sign up and bring a dish and share those recipes with us. It’s really sweet to see people sharing the recipes they grew up with or that came from their grandmothers.”
The feast always includes turkey and ham to go along with all the family-favorite side dishes and desserts that attendees bring. Last year’s bounty was so plentiful that there was nearly not enough table space to hold all the homemade dishes—a good problem to have with so many hungry neighbors in attendance. Recipes included classics like sweet potato casserole and rum cake and regional specialties such as oyster dressing and curried fruit bake. All together, they formed a rich banquet replete with special memories of Thanksgivings past.
Meanwhile, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving played on an inflatable big screen for the children in attendance, who also had their own kiddie tables with room to draw and color while their parents chatted. “There were some people who were out of town the first year but then heard how much fun it was, so they really made an effort to come last year,” Hutchison says. “All the kids were running around the tennis court, and people who hadn’t seen each other in a long time were able to catch up.”
Last year’s tables were dressed in white tablecloths and kraft paper runners, along with piles of pumpkins, softly glowing tea lights, and low floral arrangements in silver julep cups. “There is a group of talented neighbors that comes in about an hour or so early to put out everything,” Ireland says. “It really comes together.”
While this November celebration at the home of Hailey and Jack Allin is one of the most memorable area events of the year, it’s far from the only time that these neighbors get together. The neighborhood also hosts Easter egg hunts, pool parties, and a fall cocktail contest. Come Christmastime, there is caroling and a recently revived tradition of luminaries lining the streets.
“We do it intentionally,” says Ireland, who calls herself a relative “newcomer” to the neighborhood at about six years here. “We want to make sure we’re having activities throughout the year that every neighbor can participate in and feel a part of. We intentionally make sure that we are gathering often and giving people of all different walks of life and times in their lives the opportunity to feel involved and included.”
The key to creating successful events like these, Ireland adds, is to make them easy to put on, relatively inexpensive, and simple to replicate. “Sometimes people can overthink an event and then it gets too complicated,” she says. “This way, it can continue on and there’s no heavy lifting.”
With a neighborhood that is almost 100 years old, traditions like these—both old and new—are important to residents seeking a connection to their environment and to each other. Much like Grandma’s casserole recipe, they forge a bond with those who came before while honoring the present moment.
“Friendsgiving in Woodland Hills is a new tradition in the same spot as the old tradition,” Hutchison reflects. “It’s pretty magical.”
Broccoli Casserole
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (8-ounce) jar Cheese Whiz
1 cup Minute Rice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour 1 cup boiling water over frozen broccoli and let stand.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, sauté celery and onion in butter until tender and transparent. Turn off heat, but leave skillet on stove while you add broccoli, water, and soup. Stir in Cheese Whiz and rice. Pour in a large casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
Margaret Zimerman Smith
Oyster Dressing
3 sticks melted butter
4 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed (this is Dorothy’s kids’ job, as they love to stomp on it)
3 pints jarred oysters, drained (reserve about 1/2 cup oyster liquid)
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix melted butter and Ritz cracker crumbs in a bowl. Lay 1/3 of cracker mixture down in a casserole dish, then half of oysters, another 1/3 of cracker mixture, then remaining oysters. Top with remaining cracker mixture.
In a bowl, combine oyster liquid, half-and-half, and Worcestershire. Pour over top of dressing. Bake, uncovered, for 55 to 60 minutes.
Dorothy Wafford
Curried Fruit Bake
1 regular can peach halves
1 regular can pineapple slices
1 regular can pear halves
5 maraschino cherries
1/3 cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons curry powder
On the day before desired serving time, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Drain fruit and dry well on a paper towel. Arrange fruit in a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish. Melt butter and add brown sugar and curry powder and stir well. Spoon over fruit. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Remove from oven; cool and refrigerate overnight.
Thirty minutes before serving, reheat fruit in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.
Mary Alice White