Coming from a big, ethnically diverse family I’ve always said that Thanksgiving with us is like “having dinner with the United Nations.”
I love the holidays and Thanksgiving is one of my favourites. Not only because I get to see my family but because it’s the one day where it’s completely acceptable to eat until you’re so full you have to unbutton your pants in order to breathe – don’t act like you haven’t done it before. Or, you can just do what I do and make sure to wear your comfy “fat pants” with a stylish, loose shirt so that you have room to stuff yourself without being incredibly uncomfortable.
Thanksgiving isn’t just about the food of course; it’s about being thankful for the things and people in your life.
If having amazing friends is one of the things you’re most thankful for, chances are you also celebrate Friendsgiving. For those of you who don’t know about the wonderful celebration that is Friendsgiving allow me to break it down for you.
Friendsgiving is an annual celebration that happens either before or a little after Thanksgiving to show all your nearest and dearest friends just how much you appreciate them. It takes the appearance of a regular Thanksgiving celebration in that there is always food, booze, and people.
However, the food is not as fancy or as well put together as a traditional Thanksgiving feast. Let’s be honest, it normally consists of a bunch of random food that’s cheap but still good enough to eat. The booze is some what of a different story in that there is an abundance and usually a variety. And of course the people, who make the whole celebration really special.
In theory, Thanksgiving is the day that you’re supposed to stop and really think about all you have to be thankful for.
Friendsgiving, in theory, is the same concept in that you stop to say, “I’ve got some pretty awesome people in my life and I just so happen to call them my friends.”
If you and I are attending the same Friendsgiving, this outspoken revelation of appreciation normally takes place right before we eat and after we’ve all had a couple of drinks. Classic.
Friendsgiving for my group of friends started back in college. At the time, some of us had graduated but most were in the middle of senior year. Looking back I think we all felt like the end of an era was around the corner and we were trying desperately to capture whatever we could before it was over. Out of that reality and fear came our first Friendsgiving.
As we’ve gotten older and we’ve gone off into our own lives, this tradition has become more of a way for us to see each other. Even though we have social media, group text, and all other means of keeping track of one another’s lives the truth is we miss having actual conversations. Of course, the eating and drinking have their valued place in this reunion too – I mean, we may be out of college but we haven’t changed that much.
The bottom line is that no matter how your Friendsgiving came to be or what you think of it, it’s still every bit as important as an actual Thanksgiving. If like me you consider your friends apart of your family, you get to celebrate two things. 1. Two special occasions that included good food in November and 2. The opportunity to remember that you really do have a lot to be thankful for.
