Thanks to social media, boards are having a pretty big moment in gen-Z food culture. During Thanksgiving last year, we witnessed the birth of the ‘bring a board’ trend on TikTok. This year, the trend has reached peak popularity. So, if you’re thinking about a celebratory feast, you can’t go wrong with a board party.

Boards Parties — A New Era of Hosting

Wooden boards have been serving as a steadfast surface for food for centuries in culinary history. Classic French charcuterie boards have elevated the tradition into an art form. Inspired by that, board parties are now a go-to for all hosts. Here, each person brings a board laden with a different kind of treat, and then everyone starts to tuck in together. The boards can be piled with anything from McDonald's nuggets to pizza slices, from candies to pastries. According to Rayann Prophet, whose TikTok video started the ‘bring a board’ trend, it’s the new potluck.

Variations on the Theme

In 2018, Instagram birthed the trend of grazing tables with plate-less yards of overlapping snacks. After enjoying nods from celebs like Tom Hardy and Kendall Jenner, the trend then trickled down to artfully presented decadent deli spreads on wooden boards by charcuterie influencers. Recently, the internet exploded after food blogger Justin Doiron introduced the butter board, resulting in a whopping 8.6 million views in TikTok. The slathering of butter across a slab of wood even earned coverage in The New York Times.

The Reason Behind the Popularity of Boards

Board parties are becoming mainstream these days because boards are more accessible and blissfully portable as opposed to tables or any other surface. They provide stress-free ways to host parties, and are visually attractive as they act like a blank canvas for culinary creativity. There are no rules for presentation; instead, it's the imperfections that make the videos more interesting. The trend now looks ready to rule and conquer the spooky festival of Halloween too, and we can't wait to see how it's treated during the winter holidays!