With the holiday season coming up, it’s time to think about embracing old traditions and starting some new ones for yourself and your friends. In several weeks, you will gather around the dining table with your family and celebrate gratitude for one another while stuffing your bellies with delicious food. But while Thanksgiving with family is awesome, there’s a new tradition that’s taking over college campuses: celebrating Friendsgiving.

Friendsgiving is exactly what it sounds like: Thanksgiving with your friends! It’s often held on a day other than Thanksgiving, but can be the main event for those who don’t have a family dinner to attend the day of. (Timing is really up to you!)

To host the perfect Friendsgiving, you can either embrace a traditional dinner style held during the afternoon or a party style held in the evening. Either way, your Friendsgiving will be a crowd pleaser with your close friends. 

Never hosted Friendsgiving before? Learn from someone who has! Here are my top eight tips for a killer Friendsgiving celebration:

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Top 8 Tips for Friendsgiving Success

1. Pick a location with a BIG table and kitchen

Whether you have five friends or 15, choosing the perfect location is crucial. Make sure you have plenty of room for all guests and the food of course. This is pretty non-negotiable and should be the first step of your planning. If no one has an available house (and it’s warm enough where you live), one idea is to go to an outdoor park and turn Friendsgiving into a potluck picnic (make sure to bring some blankets to bundle up!).