At the end of November, students get ready for a week-long break and prepare for two versions of the same holiday: Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving. While Thanksgiving is the centerpiece of the month, meant to bring family together, Friendsgiving is a time for chosen families to do the same. 

“Having a chosen family gives you the opportunity to choose who you surround yourself with,” Jay White, freshman, said. 

A chosen family is defined as a group that comes together on the basis of love, not required to be related by blood or marriage. For many teens, friends are their chosen family, as they create a feeling of belonging. Like Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving is a time to reconnect and look back on fond memories one has had with the people around them. 

“[My Friendsgiving] felt so natural. Every conversation flowed effortlessly. With everyone contributing, it felt like an event that everyone truly wanted to be at,” Sydney Tanner, senior, said. 

Some high schoolers find it can be hard to make time outside of school due to sports practice or work to coordinate plans; however, two Etowah students worked around this and planned a dinner with their own chosen family made up of 20 other students. The two hosts split responsibilities as cook and decorator. The cook made three main courses: roasted chicken, collards, and peas. Guests each brought a dish of their own, similar to a potluck, to contribute. The decorator decided on the venue, and, together, the hosts designed invitations and assigned the theme: a black tie gala. 

“I wanted it to feel like winter wonderland, like when you go Christmas tree shopping for the first time,” Erin Murphy, senior and one of the hosts, said. 

Hosting a Friendsgiving is not just an excuse to celebrate Thanksgiving twice but for people to show love and appreciation for one another. Additionally, it can be a lot better than eating dinner with your 3rd cousin and weird uncle every year.