As all the Halloween candy becomes discounted, and Christmas décor becomes the eye sores many of us see at stores, one holiday is the midst; Thanksgiving. The holiday we associate with gratefulness and reminiscing of meaningful times with friends and family. As many become elated with the idea of turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, some students begin to think of how to celebrate in their dorms with the friends they’ve made at college. This mini celebration derived from the original Turkey Day has slid across the nation becoming popular amongst universities, and it so happened to hit Buena Vista University too.  

“Yes, I do celebrate Friendsgiving!” Brandon Foster happily declared.  

“I do not celebrate Friendsgiving, [but] I would give it a shot. It’s when friends come together for food, I think it’s important to keep in touch with friends and have a relaxing time,” Gavin Plowman said.  

Not every student chooses to celebrate but the ones who do are all about the food! Food has a special way of connecting all walks of life, and holiday food is always comforting. Students at BV who have celebrated Friendsgiving before say they usually congregate in their dorm floor kitchen to have their family-like meal. Through a pot luck fashioned style, everyone invited brings something for the whole group. Food can most certainly range from traditional to pizza and anything to everything else in between.  

“Mac and cheese is something we always have,” Tillie Heithoff said.  

“My favorite dessert is dirt cake, I love it,” Foster said.  

While pumpkin pie is the typical OG dessert of Thanksgiving, at Friendsgiving it is not always affordable or too time consuming to make for college students. Although, if you cannot live without the pumpkin pie, a fun alternative would be vanilla bean ice cream sprinkled with pumpkin spice! This simple and cheap alternative is best paired with vanilla wafers and can serve many people, while also satisfying your pumpkin spice and everything nice needs.  

“To me, it [Friendsgiving] means love. I came here and I didn’t know anyone. Then I met this amazing group od friends who really care abut me, and it means the world to me,” Foster said.  

Similar and equal to Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving is all about spending time with the people you are most grateful for, the ones you appreciate in your life. While many are excited for winter break, it can be easy to overlook the one holiday that falls after Halloween and before then. Friendsgiving is derived from it, and for those who find this sub-holiday important it will most definitely not be forgotten. Particularly here at BV where many students, even some Alumni and faculty, consider it their home away from home, not because of the campus, but because of the people 

“The gathering of who you consider good friends to be, that’s what matters. Epically since some people are far away from their home, it’s a great way to get together with the family you’ve made here,” Charisma Mendez concluded.