8 Tips for Throwing a University Friendsgiving

Friendsgiving

A great alternative to heading home for Thanksgiving is to hold a Friendsgiving at university. This is just like a regular Thanksgiving celebration — in that you eat delicious food and you’re surrounded by people you care about. However, you can host one whenever you want and you have more freedom as to the menu. Here are some tips to make it an event everyone will enjoy.

1. Have a Potluck

Take the pressure off the host by sharing the cooking among all the attendees. Make sure everyone coordinates what they’re bringing to have a variety of dishes.

2. Think About the Drinks You’ll Serve

If any of the guests invited to the party prefer not to cook, you can always assign them drinks duty. In addition to the classic choices of beer and wine, you could serve cocktails (or alcohol-free “mocktails”) or a hot drink like warm cider.

3. Offer a Selection of Desserts

Ask a few people to bring a dessert to have various options at the end of the meal. Pie is always a top choice, but cookies are great if people are already quite full from the main course.

4. Consider Chicken Instead of Turkey

It can be challenging to cook turkey if you’ve never attempted it before. Plus, the size of your oven may be a restriction. A better option could be to serve chicken, since it’s faster, easier, and more versatile to cook.

5. Get Experimental

Show off your creativity by putting a personal spin on a traditional dish. Your options are limitless — although some are likely tastier than others. If you want to prepare a dish you’ve never made before, it may be worth doing a trial run. That way, you can taste it yourself before sharing your creation with others. In fact, this is a good practice even if you’re making something traditional, just to ensure you know what you’re doing.

6. Make Sure You Have Sufficient Dishes and Utensils

Something that’s easy to overlook at your first large gathering is the need for more plates, utensils, and glasses than you likely have in your apartment. You may need to coordinate with a couple people to ensure you have enough. Don’t forget the serving spoons!

7. Set a Start Time

Unlike with other parties, guests shouldn’t arrive fashionably late for a Friendsgiving. If everyone arrives at the same time, you can start eating immediately when the dishes are at their best.

However, any guests who want to put finishing touches on their dishes at your place should arrive a little before the official start time.

8. Keep the Oven Hot for When Guests Arrive

You’ll most likely need to reheat several of your guests’ dishes. If your oven is already hot, you’ll be able to do this in a minimal amount of time.

To host your next Friendsgiving, you’ll need to live in an apartment that’s large enough to accommodate all your friends and that has a full-size kitchen. For University of Waterloo housing that ticks all the boxes, there’s MyRez. Book a video tour to explore where you could be living.

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