Friendsgiving: Similar to Thanksgiving, but a feast to be enjoyed by you and your closest friends without the family drama.  As my countdown clock to Thanksgiving break got smaller and smaller, the more excited I got.  No class, homemade food, and my friends from home, what could be better?  

To celebrate the illustrious occasion, my friends and I wanted to host a Friendsgiving feast in honor of our friendship.  However, we faced a problem: Why would we want to have a replicate dinner of one we would have a few days later.  Thus, we brainstormed a list of alternatives. 

Appetizer Potluck

Everyone has faced this problem before.  Thanksgiving dinner is about 4 hours away, football is blaring on the TV, and you've already had about three plates of appetizers.  Whoops.  You love these delectable little treats, but always regret eating so many before dinner.  Instead of regretting it, why not make an entire meal out of it?

There are a lot of appetizers to make that are simple and super yummy.  Have everyone whip up their favorite and bring it over for an alternative dinner.  Potluck style makes it super easy.  No one person is stuck with making an entire dinner nor cleaning up an entire dinner.  Plus, everyone is bound to have something they like. 

Make Your Own Chipotle

I have to give credit to this idea to my Mom.  This past Easter, she didn't want to cook the stereotypical potatoes and ham, so she steamed some rice with cilantro, grilled some chicken, and mashed some avocados to create a Chipotle burrito bar in our very own kitchen.  It was complete with two types of rice, two types of beans, chicken as the protein, all the toppings, and of course guac.  To save ourselves the embarrassment of attempting to roll a burrito, we skipped the tortillas and just went for bowls. 

This is a great option because it's healthy and you can customize it for anyone's taste buds. Plus you can eat all of the guac you want without being charged extra.  Check out this recipe for Chipotle's guac to get the cooking started.  I recommend doubling the recipe because let's be real, you can never have enough guac. 

Italian Feast 

This is bound to bring you back to your high school gameday pasta parties.  What's better than making a tray of ziti and sauce and tray of broccoli chicken alfredo, complete with a mountain of garlic bread.  You'll also need some over decadent dessert to top off the meal, sundae bar anyone? The best part of this meal is that there's no pressure to look nice.  Sweatpants and messy buns are the suggested attire. 

No Cook Exploration

If neither you or any of your friends are talented in the culinary arts or are just simply lazy, traveling into a nearby city for the day can totally count as a Friendsgiving!   You'll spend the day wandering around the city.  Grabbing a coffee from this shop, a snack from there, and finishing off the day with a sit-down meal surrounded by your closest friends: The perfect day.  You don't have to spend a lot of money to make this day great because its all about spending time with those closest to you.  For those located in the Boston area, here's a list of cheap eats that are sure to keep your stomach satisfied. 

Have a happy Friendsgiving and, hopefully, a drama-free Thanksgiving!! Now,