By: Katrina Gabrelian
While sitting at your desk, working on a very important deadline you hear a buzz from your phone. You open the message to see an e-invite to a Friendsgiving celebration at your friend’s house a week before Thanksgiving. This excites you because you cannot remember the last time you were able to hang out with your friends.
Friendsgiving is an event that has grown in popularity over recent years, especially among younger generations. It is a variation of the Thanksgiving holiday where it is celebrated with friends instead of family.
Traditional Thanksgiving customs entail eating a well-organized dinner with family that consists of customary foods such as turkey, yams and cranberry sauce. However, Friendsgiving disregards the traditional foods and opts for more fun and easy options such as mac ‘n’ cheese, pizza, and ready-made food.
In addition to the event’s festive foods, the purpose of this celebration is to share thanks with close friends. For many people, friends become as close as family therefore many want to express how thankful they are with a fun get together. These celebrations give people the opportunity to spend the holidays with friends and family without having to sacrifice one for the other.
Because Friendsgiving is a celebration for younger audiences, it is often changed to make it less strenuous for the host and the guests. For example, the event is more casual than the regular formal Thanksgiving dinner. Food is served in a potluck manner in which each guest brings a dish as a contribution. In turn, the host is only expected to provide the setting of the party and does not have to spend hours working away in the kitchen.
What makes this holiday different from every other Friday night with friends is the sentimentality attached. Although food is a major focus of the holiday, remembering what you are thankful for is what gives the event a deeper meaning. When people come together in the event of a holiday, they feel affectionate towards each other. Therefore, holidays such as these will give friends the opportunity to gather together and share their appreciation for one another.
In today’s busy and fast-paced world, people often do not have time to gather often or maybe even at all. This can be found especially in today’s younger generation. From school life to work life, people often have busy calendars and don’t have much time to dedicate to friends. In addition, the holiday season often causes people’s schedules to become even more chaotic.
Therefore, a formal event such as Friendsgiving gives people the necessary opportunity to gather.
Friendsgiving is a fun, non-traditional way to extend the values of Thanksgiving to your friends. It provides a reason to allow friends to get-together despite their busy schedule and show thanks for the valuable friendships that they cherish greatly.
The Plaid Press 