If you’re like me — busy or tired most of the time — you probably don’t care to do much this holiday break. There are too many deadlines, too many events and too many exams. Although, every once in a while, I really just need a relaxing night at home. Enter the most casual Friendsgiving you’ve ever seen. Basically, an average Saturday night with roommates but make it fall.
Start with Dessert
Trust me, it won’t spoil your dinner. Bake some apple pie and or pumpkin spice cake. Light your favorite candle and play some of your favorite dance-really-badly-in-the-kitchen songs. Depending on how many different things you make, you’ll probably have leftovers for the next few days.
Cider Season
In this household, we’ve recently discovered how to make homemade mulled wine. We were lucky enough to already have whole cloves, star anise and cinnamon, but these are super easy ingredients to find. For an alcohol-free drink, you can use almost the exact same recipe by simply skipping the wine and using more apple cider. It’s just as delicious!
Games and Reruns
There’s nothing like a few hours of Jenga and Jeopardy. I’m incredibly competitive and if the category is art-related, I refuse to get the answers wrong. All the history questions make me scramble through my AP World History mental files. But as the night goes on our rules change to wrong answers only and it really is the best. This entire night cost us almost nothing, and I’m tempted to make it a weekly or monthly tradition.
Some people visit family during school breaks, some arrange big potluck dinners with friends, some go out with a significant other. Depending on the year, I’ll do a combination of all three, but this is just casual enough that it works for me during this incredibly stressful midterm season. Thankfully, it’s not breaking the bank since we’re already planning on doing this again.