Friends-giving, a mash-up of the word friend, and Thanksgiving that refers to a large meal among friends eating during the Thanksgiving season. The level of formality is dependent on the participants, but the word first appeared around 2007 as an informal replacement for the holiday typically spent with family.

Friends-giving combines the very best parts of Thanksgiving with a lower-stress guest list (no holiday family drama!) This new holiday gathering can be celebrated in the weeks leading up to actual Thanksgiving, or if you live far from your family, Friends-giving can happen on the day itself.

A Friends-giving celebration may be an annual tradition for you and your friends now, but it’s actually new enough that “Friends-giving” didn’t make it into Merriam-Webster’s dictionary until January 2020.

Many people make their Friends-giving celebrations a potluck party (everyone brings a dish), to minimize the stress for the host—that way, everyone can simply relax and enjoy. Friends-giving can be celebrated any day, any time of year, but most gatherings take place in November, particularly the weekend before Thanksgiving. I will personally be doing this during my school lunch period. My senior friends and I, will be gathering in the band room so we can have a so called ¨Meal¨ together and call it our ¨Friends-giving¨!