Friendsgiving, the New Trend for Thanksgiving Celebrations
When you hear the word “Friendsgiving”, the famous television show Friends will surely come to mind. And you really wouldn’t be mistaken! Friendsgiving is a term that has been coined by putting together the words Friends and Thanksgiving. And actually, the same term defines it well: celebrating Thanksgiving with friends. It’s a perfect example of how traditions are evolving to adapt to new generations.
As many of you know, my mother’s family is from the United States, so Thanksgiving is a very important holiday for me. Traditionally the Thanksgiving celebration is celebrated surrounded by family, and focuses on giving thanks for the blessings received during the year. According to historians, the tradition began in 1621 in North America. If you want more information about the history of this celebration, here is another post about what Thanksgiving is and why I celebrate it.
When to celebrate?
Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, and because this celebration is reserved for the family, Friendsgiving is usually celebrated on the Wednesday before or the Friday after. Although the term has been used since 2006, in recent years it has begun to grow in popularity, and even has its own hashtag on social media: #friendsgiving .
It can be the perfect excuse to simply spend a great evening surrounded by your people before the hustle of all the Christmas celebrations.
It can actually be the perfect excuse just to spend a great evening surrounded by your people before the hustle of all the Christmas celebrations. We already know that the Christmas season is full of events, company dinners, meetings with different groups of friends, family celebrations… And that in a very short period of time we have a very full agenda to be able to enjoy them all to the maximum. Why not advance some of them? This way we can enjoy before the holidays and in a more relaxed way.
It would be a good idea, if you are going to celebrate it, also keep in mind that the Friday after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, date in which many stores and department stores offer important discounts. As Thanksgiving is the celebration that kicks off the Christmas season, these discounts can make Christmas shopping easier. In addition, the following Monday is Cyber Monday, in which online shops also have a lot of discounted products.
How to celebrate?
The idea of this party is to get together with friends and celebrate the bond that unites you. It is about celebrating generosity, friendship and spending a special day together with those who are often your chosen family and with whom you live your day to day life. It can also be a good opportunity to reunite with friends who live far away, or who due to circumstances you can no longer see as often as you would like.
It’s about celebrating generosity, friendship and spending a special day together.
The traditional Thanksgiving dinner is held very early, about mid-afternoon, since it is usually a very large meal. It is also customary to set a very nice table, with elegant plates, cutlery and glassware and a very careful decoration. Details such as decorating with flowers and autumn elements, labeling guests’ names or placing a centrepiece are taken into account.
For Friendsgiving maybe it’s not necessary to make it so complicated (although I love taking care of all those little details, but that’s up to you). The custom is that each guest brings a prepared dish for dinner, and that way you share, distribute the work, responsibility and expense. Everyone collaborates in the preparation and also when it’s time to clean up. And if there are leftovers, they are shared among everyone!
As for the menu, since it is a less formal celebration, it allows much more flexibility when it comes to choosing the dishes. It can also be done in a low-cost format than the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, if desired. The most convenient thing is usually for the host to take care of the main course, as it usually involves cooking and serving hot, as well as being bulkier. Other guests can share appetizers, entrées, side dishes and desserts. However, it can really be distributed as you like
There are some recipes that are very typical of these holidays, such as sweet potatoes, stuffed turkey or pumpkin pie. Here are two that you could very well use for this dinner: Mini-quiches with bacon and vegetables as an appetizer and Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake for dessert. The cheesecake is INCREDIBLE!.
What do you think?
I think it’s a great idea and I’m going to start celebrating it from now on. However, I’m sure there are different opinions about it. Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think about this new celebration. Do you like it? What would be the best way to celebrate it in your opinion? Or if you have a cool recipe that you think might go well in this celebration, tell me about it! I love to read your comments. 🙂
