As an international student, I was given two options for thanksgiving this year. One was to return home, to my grandparents’ house in Chicago and celebrate it with my family. The second option was to stay in the dorms and make most of it by myself. I chose the latter, thinking “hey I could study for finals” (kind of, not really). Little did I know, all my friends would be choosing the same option, leading to an extravagant, fully-organized friendsgiving. Planning friendsgiving for the first time, I looked to the internet for help. Now, I’m here to give you some guidance!

1. Plan out the list of people.

It needs to be a solid group of people, preferably more than three, but less than seven. You should look back to your past friend groups and see if spending time within this group has brought you joy (think of times spent together in lengthy terms not just simple lunches) or stress. Think of mutual friends, that they might bring, and food preferences, because the similar the better.

2. Location, location, location.

As broke college students, you need to take into consideration the housing aspect. If you go to friend A’s area, will you be able to find cheap air bnbs? If you go to friend B’s location, can their dorm fit all of you? If you go to friend C’s campus, will there be things to do? For my group of friends, we focused mostly on the third aspect, things to do, because, New York.

3. Make reservations.

Thanksgiving is a massive holiday, especially in New York. If you cannot cook, or don’t have the necessities to cook, you should look into restaurants who serve thanksgiving dinners and so on. And the earlier you do this, the better it is. In addition, you should look for places to eat on Black Friday, before/during your shopping spree, as well as, brunch on Sunday after all the chaos is over. It’s good to make reservations for other meals, moreso if you have a big group with you. Even if you have to cancel as the time comes near, its better to be prepared than hungry.

4. Buy college sweatshirts.

This is more of a personal thing than a general advice, but I think a nice touch to friendsgiving is the giving aspect. Since it would get more difficult to meet your friends after thanksgiving, with finals amongst other reasons, givethem something that is personal and warm. I think having college sweaters from your friends’ schools is a cute (although slightly expensive) addition to thanksgiving.

5. Pick up friends.

If possible, it would be great to pick up your friends at the airport, bus stops, train station. Even better if you have a cute sign! You can do a magical run-hug-and-cry moment like the movies and they'll appreciate you even more.

6. Remember Family.

As you go through friendsgiving, remember and remind your friends to contact family at least once. Even though as independent adults in society (or almost twenty-year-olds) we tend to prioritize friends, family is missing you and would appreciate a phone call.

7. Patience.

Last but not least, it is so important to be patient throughout the whole process. It is so difficult to not agree on things and/or over-plan for friendsgiving. The key is to know that everyone is stressed from college and that under everything, you are there because you appreciate each other's company. Everything is not going to be smooth and perfect, but that is all part of the holiday season!

I’m not sure how my first ever friendsgiving will turn out, but I am thrilled to be re-united with my friends. I hope everyone feels the same way and if you don’t, just think of this time as a break from academics. At least you don’t have to wake up for 8a.m. class.

BE EXCITED BECAUSE WE ARE ALMOST THERE!!