Thanksgiving break is many college students’ first chance to go home since starting the school year. Students crave sleeping in their own bed, seeing their family and pets, and eating real food. At this point in the school year, all students want is a home cooked meal. The dining hall is dreadful and living off of random food items in the apartment is getting old. Thanksgiving break doesn’t just mean going home to a home-cooked meal, it means going home to a full Thanksgiving feast.

Instead of patiently waiting until you are home for a delicious Thanksgiving meal, why not plan one with your friends? Planning a Friendsgiving with your college friends is a fun way to get together and pass the time you would otherwise be spending counting down the days until your departure for break. Friendsgiving is something I wish I have done for years. This year is my first Friendsgiving, but from this experience I know it will not be my last. Here’s why you need to plan a Friendsgiving with your friends if you haven’t done so already:

Spend time with great company

As college goes on, students’ schedules become more and more busy. Students have endless exams, projects, and presentations- especially right before a holiday break. There’s hardly enough hours in the day to get everything done. There’s little time to just hang out with your friends without having to worry about what you could be getting done instead. Friendsgiving allows you to spend time cooking and baking with your friends. When all of the fun preparations are complete, you are then able to sit down together and just enjoy each other's company.

It's a time to appreciate the people that mean the most to you

Your college friends are family. At this stage in our lives, we spend more time with our college friends than we get to spend with our own family. Obviously, the people we choose to spend our time with mean a lot to us. Friendsgiving allows you to work together to create a delicious meal. Food is known to bring people closer, so why not allow it to bring you closer to your college family.

Learn new recipe’s and other’s traditions

What I find intriguing about holidays is that every individual’s family celebrates a little differently. Your Thanksgiving dinner could look completely different from your best friend’s Thanksgiving dinner. Friendsgiving allows everyone to contribute signature recipes that are important to them. When you sit down at the table together, you could be trying out new recipes. Friendsgiving allows you to discuss and learn how your friends celebrate the holiday.

You get to eat real, cooked food

For a night, you don’t have to live off of either the dining hall or whatever you can concoct from the items in your fridge and freezer. You get to eat real food made from real ingredients- mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, stuffing, and turkey. If you’re lucky, you’ll have leftovers that will last you until you get to make your departure for home.