We’ve all heard of Thanksgiving, but friends-giving? What is that? The name speaks for itself. Friends-giving is the unofficial holiday to give thanks to the people who were there through the thick and the thin– your brother from another mother, your sister from another mister, your soul mates for life. With that stressful time of year of countless hours of answering questions about what you want to do in the future with close relatives, it is a good idea to get away with friends back at home to do the most untraditional thanksgiving celebration.
Send out those invitations
It doesn’t have to be super fancy, but it would be fun to send, as it can be your group’s own inside joke. Be creative with the invitation. It can be a familiar memory, an inside joke, or simply an aesthetically pleasing card. Make it mysterious and leave notes around the place. Maybe even conduct a scavenger hunt to make them find the clues. The creativity is endless!
Decide on the dinner place
It would be great to be able to diverge from the traditional turkey celebration and go for a more untraditional meal instead. Go out for hot pot or an interactive dinner! Focus on the interaction aspect of the place since it would be a nice breath of air from attending constant traditional family dinners. Places like hot pot, KBBQ, or Shabu Shabu are untraditional but tons of fun, especially with friends. Maybe even create your own potluck at someone’s house, and have a challenge on who can bring the most untraditional meal to the table.
Come up with meaningful gifts
They don’t have to be elaborate gifts, save that for Christmas! They can be meaningful trinkets to represent your friendship. Invest in a lasting friendship ring, necklace or bracelet. Create something meaningful for your group to remember you by. It can be as inexpensive as you like, as long as it carries a deep meaning and connection with your friends. This is perfect for friend groups who want to collaborate on any gifts without having to come up with a separate gift customized for each friend! A meaningful gift can be any symbol of your group. Maybe you have a name you go by on your Facebook group, or even an inside joke that is only shared between each other. Any trinket can do, the more absurd, the better, it can just be your friend group’s own little secret.
Think of something to do after dinner
Burn off those calories and go do an activity together for some bonding! Things like shopping, going to the beach, dancing, or biking around the park together.
Create challenges throughout the day
This will help you get away from the social media on your phone and help you focus on quality time spent with just you and your friends for the rest of the day. On the car ride to your destination, play games and come up with challenges to do throughout the day. Make whoever uses the phone first at the dinner table pay the tip for the entire meal or make a person take an ugly selfie as a dare and post it on Instagram. Share your first impressions of each other, and impressions of them now. There are tons of games you can play throughout the day alongside your main activities.
At the end of the day, look for a peaceful place
After a long hectic day, it is great to just relax and chill in silence. Admire each other’s presence and be nostalgic. Before you depart from your friends, make sure to give them the encouragement they need to continue the rest of their year if you are not planning to see each other for some time soon. Give them that hug. End your day with love and support from your friends and bid them farewell until next time.