How to Host a ‘Friendsgiving’ at My FSU Apartment

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Enjoy a chef-inspired 'friendsgiving' at your YOUnion apartment with full-size, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and extra cooking space for the preparation of your delicious feast!

The holiday season brings several things to be thankful for, including pumpkin pie, cooler weather, delicious turkey with all the fixings, and most importantly, get togethers with those we love most. As a student at Florida State University, you may find yourself celebrating new Thanksgiving traditions this year. If you're unable to head home for the holidays, hosting a ‘friendsgiving' – a potluck meal among friends – at your new FSU apartment can be just as much fun! For a Thanksgiving holiday all your friends and roommates will remember, check out these tips on how to host your first ‘friendsgiving'.

5 Tips for Hosting ‘Friendsgiving' at your FSU Apartment:

  • Spread the Word: First things first, to get the party started you'll need to create an online invite welcoming all your friends who are staying in Tallahassee for the holiday. A Facebook invite can be a great way to spread the word quickly and conveniently – plus all invitees can chat about the upcoming festivities here.
  • Create a Menu: One of the best parts of the Thanksgiving holiday is the food, so creating a potluck menu should be a top priority! As a part of the Facebook event, you can create a food/supplies sign-up sheet. You may choose to request certain items to ensure a wide-variety of different offerings, or you may prefer to let your friends bring a dish that's special to them. Either way a sign-up sheet will help you make sure all your bases get covered and you don't accidentally end up with 10 green bean casseroles. If you've never planned a Thanksgiving meal before, Allrecipes has put together an awesome menu for beginners.
  • Cooking and Meal Prep: It's typically the host's job to prepare the main dish, most commonly a turkey or a ham. Rely on your friends to cover the side dishes because even though you're hosting ‘friendsgiving', you'll want to be able to enjoy the company of your guests. While your turkey is baking your friends can take advantage of your FSU apartment's fully-equipped, chef-inspired kitchen to heat up or store their dishes in the refrigerator until they're ready to be served. While a quick warm-up in the microwave or oven is no big deal, it's important that your friends fully cook and prepare their dishes at home as the kitchen will become overcrowded if everyone's trying to cook at once.
  • Make Room: Once you have a rough headcount, you can start planning for how you want the party to flow. Do you want to host a more traditional meal where everyone sits at the table, or will friends spread out and mingle around the apartment? Either way is perfectly fine, but you'll want to make sure that you have enough seating and space for your guests one way or the other. Maybe set some chairs and a small table out on your private patio/balcony or move your living room furniture around to make room for additional tables and seating. 
  • Leftovers for Days: You're likely to have a lot of food leftovers – which is great for post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches, yum! Be sure to have gallon-size Ziploc bags and Tupperware on-hand so both you and your friends can enjoy the benefits of ‘friendsgiving' again! If you want to make cleanup easy as well, consider using plastic plates and cups that can easily be recycled after use. The last thing you want to worry about at the end of the day is a sink full of dirty dishes!
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