As the holiday season approaches, it seems like everything is focused on spending time with family.  Why shouldn’t you celebrate the holidays with your friends, too? That’s the whole idea behind Friendsgiving, a newly created tradition that has been growing in popularity, in which a thanksgiving potluck dinner is shared with a group of friends.

“I really want to have a Friendsgiving celebration with my friends this year because I never get to see them over the holidays,” said freshman Caroline Pangbourne.

Should you decide to host a Friendsgiving celebration this November, make sure you let all of your friends know.  A creative way to let people know is to send out handwritten invitations, our you could print out and customize a template from Pinterest or another website.

Before you even start thinking about food, make sure that you have enough festive decorations and costumes for Friendsgiving.   Some people may opt for the typical pilgrim costume, while others may just want to keep it comfortable.

“Last year, my friends and I wore pajamas” said junior Sarah Gottesman.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure that it’s fun and festive! Creating a theme for your Friendsgiving party can take your celebration to the next level.  Some popular themes are US history and the Olympics.

“My friends and I had a slumber party theme last year.  We all wore pajamas and baked cookies and had a dance party,” said sophomore Brittany Nahas.  “It was so fun and really brought us all together.”

Once you’ve chosen a theme, make sure that your table is set up properly.   Most importantly, there should be enough place settings for all of your friends.   The table can also be filled with items that match your theme, such as candles, decorative leaves, or an APUSH textbook.  You can also have your parents or siblings help you.

“Last year, my little brother dressed up as a turkey and helped out at my sister’s celebration,” said freshman Josie Harris.

Planning and organizing the food for Friendsgiving is not hard at all.   Choose one friend to be the host of the meal, and have the host provide the turkey.   If you are looking for a less formal thanksgiving dinner, the host could provide turkey sandwiches, or even just order a pizza.   Everyone else should bring a different dish, as Friendsgiving is meant to be a potluck-style meal.

Some Friendsgiving essentials are stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, cornbread, biscuits, sweet potatoes, and dessert, of course.  A fun activity is to have everyone bring dessert ingredients along with dinner, and you decorate cookies or bake together.

That being said, Friendsgiving is about more than just food.  Be sure to plan fun activities as well, such as watching a movie, playing a game, or having a dance party (which is also a great way to burn off all the calories you just consumed).

In the end, Friendsgiving is all about having tons of fun with your friends.   Make Friendsgiving a tradition, and enjoy the holiday!