For many college students, Thanksgiving is the first time to visit home during fall semester, but before you pack your bags, you may want to host a mini Thanksgiving Feast in your room.
Start with sending out a Facebook invite to your closest friends and tell them all to bring something over, because good food doesn’t come cheap and even if you are hosting, you do not want to foot the entire bill. Split out purchases among friends for everything from food to napkins and have them drop it off prior to the party so you can set up with the assistance of a few friends.
For quick and easy food, tell your friends to hit up your local Whole Foods for pre-made turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and rolls, all of which can quickly be heated up in the microwave prior to the event. Do not forget desserts, like pumpkin and pecan pie with a little ice cream to serve on the side.
If you’re interested in cooking, mashed potatoes, veggies, stuffing, and rolls can all easily be cooked in common room kitchens on the stove top and in the ovens. Check out this article (hyperlink there to Kristina’s article about Thanksgiving food you can cook in your room) for more dorm-friendly Thanksgiving recipes that you can whip up with friends before the feast.
If you really want to go all out, deck out your door in festive colors and accessories the week leading up to the party so guests will really get into the spirit upon arrival.
During the feast, pass around a pad of paper and pen so everyone writes down what they’re thankful for. Before you dig in to your food, make sure everyone dropped their thankful notes into a hat and pass it around trying to match the note to the guest.
For delicious DIY party favors, whip up some quick and easy Pumpkin Cream Cheese Truffles to give out in gift bags for your friends to enjoy on the trip home for the holiday.
Another fun DIY to do before or after your feast that will bring out the young at heart is to create pinecone turkeys that your guests can keep for themselves or give away at their family’s feast to the children in their lives.
To get into the Thanksgiving mood, don your most festive autumnal clothes like cozy sweaters, colored pants in shades of hunter green and maroon, and your favorite riding boots.
Photo sources: Pinterest.com, FRCFlorida.org, theBERRY.com