What the potluck wheel does
Every Friendsgiving has the same problem: three people bring rolls and nobody brings gravy. This potluck wheel fixes that. Start with the classic Thanksgiving spread, edit it to fit your table, add your guest list, and assign every dish at random in one click. You can also spin the dish wheel for one guest at a time if you'd like a little suspense while everyone watches.
How to use it in 3 steps
- List your guests, one per line.
- Edit the dishes. Remove what the host is cooking and add any family favorites.
- Press Assign all, then copy the summary and share it with your group.
Ideas and tips
- Leave the turkey off if the host is roasting it, so guests get the sides.
- Count non-food items like ice, plates and drinks as dishes. They're easy wins for guests who don't cook.
- Add dietary options like a vegan main or a gluten-free dessert so everyone has something to eat.
- Not happy with the draw? Press Assign all again to reshuffle.
How to organize a Friendsgiving potluck
Start about two weeks out. Pick a date and a headcount, then decide what the host covers. Most hosts take the main and the oven schedule, because a turkey or a large roast ties up the kitchen for hours. Everything else goes on the dish list. Assign dishes a week ahead so people have a weekend to shop, and send a reminder two days before with the final list and what time food should arrive.
Ask guests to bring their dish ready to serve, in something they don't need back. Oven and stovetop space runs out fast, so it helps to say up front which dishes will be reheated and which should arrive at room temperature.
Balancing the dishes
A good spread is mostly sides. For every main, plan three or four sides, one or two desserts and at least one drink item. Mix textures and temperatures: something crunchy (a salad or roasted vegetables), something creamy (mashed potatoes or mac and cheese), something bright (cranberry sauce or pickled onions) and something bready (rolls or stuffing). If two guests land on the same kind of dish, rename one so you get variety — two different pies beat two pumpkin pies.
Dietary tips
Ask about allergies and diets in the invite, not the day before. Add at least one vegetarian main or hearty side, one gluten-free dessert and one dairy-free side to the list so those guests have a full plate. Ask cooks to put a small label next to their dish listing major allergens like nuts, dairy, gluten and shellfish. Keep serving spoons separate so a nut-free dish stays nut-free.
What to bring if you can't cook
Not everyone wants to cook, and that's fine. Drinks, ice, a store-bought pie, a cheese board, dinner rolls, napkins, plates, cups and to-go containers for leftovers are all useful. Add these to the dish list so the wheel can hand them out fairly, and the people who love cooking get the dishes that matter most to them.