Friendsgiving is essentially Thanksgiving, but instead of with family, you’re with friends. It’s also just a great excuse to eat a bunch of great food. Still, with all the people, food, and drinks, things can sometimes get out of control. To make sure everything goes smoothly, here’s a handy guide to making sure your turkey and friends are stuffed and happy at the end of the night!
- Make a potluck.
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Unless you are Gordon Ramsay himself, it’s probably best to set up a potluck – cover the main dish yourself, and let your friends bring the sides. This way, you’ll be stress-free and everyone will leave stuffed and satisfied. Set up a spreadsheet with the desserts and sides you need and let your friends decide what they can bring!
- Plan fun games to play.
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Instead of watching TV or looking at your phones, keep your friends entertained with games that encourage bonding. Play charades or Cards Against Humanity, pull out some puzzles, or come up with a fun drinking game! This is the time to commemorate incredible friendships, and what better way to do that than by being silly?
- Decorate your space.
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No need to decorate as hard as the Kardashians, but at least add a little “oomph” into your place. Fill the table with white candles, have pumpkins lying around, put pinecones here and there, and hang up some string lights. By setting up a beautiful and welcoming setting, your friends will see how much you care.
- Get creative with drinks.
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This is Friendsgiving we’re talking about, so there’s no space for bagged wine or ten-dollar alcohol. Get creative with the drinks: make pumpkin spiced coffee cocktails or gingerbread pudding shots. This day is all about exciting food and drinks —and friends, of course! Cafeteria food and college dining habits won’t fly at this event.
- Give thanks!
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Who doesn’t like being smothered in compliments? While roasting our friends might be more fun, keep the roasting for the sweet potatoes on this holiday. This is the day where you commemorate glorious friendships and explain why you are so grateful to have met them. Like Marcel Proust, the French novelist, marvelously put it, “Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy. They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
In college, your friends tend to become your family, so Friendsgiving is pretty important. Even if you don’t have the time or money to do some extravagant Friendsgiving dinner, take the time sometime this month to tell or show your friends how much they mean to you. Sometimes we take the people we have in our lives for granted, but it is during holidays like these that we are reminded of their merry spirits that make our lives worthwhile.
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