There once was a group of friends in college that in their struggles of coming into adulthood attempted to have a Thanksgiving meal called "Friendsgiving". It was an evening full of laughter, food, and the never-ending stream of college shenanigans. Every friend group needs to celebrate this holiday of feasting, as we all need a trial run to figure out how to do it right before we step into the real world. So, here's a list of things you and your friends need to pull off a "Friendsgiving", before you have to pull off a real Thanksgiving.
Step one:
You need a location; being in college this can be difficult or easy depending on the situation. Some friends live in Fraternity/Sorority houses, others in cramped dorm rooms, but luckily some live in their own houses or apartments. Designate those people to be the gracious host of the extravagant event (luckily three of our friends live together). There priorities lie in making sure there is enough seating (we used lawn chairs and ice chests), table space and plenty of open floor space to accommodate everyone comfortably.
Step two:
Scheduling is one of the most important things, figuring out a time and day that worked with everyone's schedule is basically impossible. You kind of just figure out a time that works for lets say at least half of the people, and you just plan it and people either show up or they don't. (We started eating at eight no matter who was there) The schedules that college kids have for the evening varies; it's really dependent on the individual. There are three types of college kids when it comes to arrival times. There are the people who arrive ten to fifteen minutes early with everything in order. (I wish I was this type of person.) The type that runs in right on time but forgot one of the two things they were supposed to bring (me). And lastly there is the type that at eight o’clock they still have a pie in the oven with 45 minutes left to cook and so they ask everyone to wait on them, but no one does because they are late to everything including class.
Step three:
Food is the most important and crucial part of it all, also known as the holy grail of "Friendsgivings". Living in Oklahoma we luckily have some people who know there way around a kitchen. For a bunch of haphazard and time strained college students, we whipped up quite the meal. We had tables and counter tops covered with ham, turkey, green bean casserole and three sweet potato casserole dishes. (Some people forgot to look at the Google doc that we sent out to organize foods)
Step four:
Okay, I know I said that food was the most important and crucial part, but let's be real it’s the desserts that everyone wants. Assigning desserts was easy as people just love dessert for some unknown reason. (We had your basic pies, apple dumplings and even a friend’s mom's famous chocolate chip cookies)
Step five:
Friends, you have to have a group of people around you that support you, love you and make you laugh. It's right there in the name "Friendsgiving", it's a time for friends to reminisce on past adventures, give each other a hard time and make new memories. So go out and have a "friendsgiving" that rivals your own family's Thanksgiving.
