Midterms are winding down and that means Thanksgiving is coming up soon! If you’re planning on staying in the city for Thanksgiving, hosting a “friendsgiving” can be a super fun way to make a ton of great memories over the holiday break. Here’s some tips on how to plan the perfect friendsgiving for this year’s celebration.
1. Finding the Best Venue
Finding a place that can hold many people can be a struggle, especially between the NYU dorms and tiny NYC apartments. Between your friends, find out who has the most room in their apartment (and would be willing) to host friendsgiving at their place (be sure to ask politely!). Even if you’re not planning on inviting a ton of people, if you plan to cook together, ample space is definitely a top priority.
2. Shop together and SHOP EARLY
Try not to go shopping for meal ingredients the day or two before the actual holiday. You’ll end up encountering huge crowds and probable empty shelves in the process. The earlier you shop, the better and easier it’ll be. Also plan to split up costs and grocery trips evenly between you and your friend group. Divvying up shopping for all ingredients separately and splitting up costs will save your wallet from taking a hit, and will prevent people from buying the same items.
3. Bring Extra Cooking Utensils and Silverware
If you’re planning on cooking together, you’re going to need a ton of silverware and utensils to go around. The mess of cooking (and eventual eating) might get a bit chaotic so having extra forks, spoons, knives, and plates is going to be key. Doing dishes during cooking might be stressful and we don’t want anyone fighting over the last spoon on the counter. Extra cookware is also helpful in the event of any kitchen mess-ups or food disasters.
4. Make Big Portions
Maybe it’s just you and your three closest buds for friendsgiving. But the best part of Thanksgiving is having heaps of leftovers to eat for the next few days. Make extra portions of each dish so you and each of your friends have enough for the next coming meals. Be sure to bring plastic or glass containers to store food in as well!
5. Relax and Have Fun
While Thanksgiving might be initially stressful in the planning and cooking stages, it’s ultimately about coming together with people you love and having an enjoyable time. Forget all the stress about school and life and indulge just in the moment. Show yourself and friends some love and eat a bunch of good food on the day.