Friendsgiving, an increasingly popular event celebrated around the time of Thanksgiving, gathers friends together to express their appreciation for one another.

The holiday is unique for every friend group, with some celebrating with a formal dinner and others keeping it casual and enjoying each other’s presence.

Janneliz Miranda-Hernandez, junior, is one student who celebrated friendsgiving this year.

Miranda said every person brought their own homemade dish to contribute to a friendsgiving dinner.

“Friendsgiving is just a time to be grateful that we have one another,” Miranda said. “I think it’s important to spend that quality time with your friends.”

She said this was the first friendsgiving her friend group has spent together, but they will continue to hold more throughout the years. 

“We are definitely going to create some [traditions] in the future,” Miranda said.

Miranda said this friendsgiving they wore masks at all times, with an exception for whenever they ate dinner, to stay safe during the pandemic.

Some friends celebrated their last high school friendsgiving, like Quentin Williams, senior, who appreciated the time with his friends before they left for college.

“Hopefully it will become a tradition even through college,” Williams said.

Williams said he and his friends went Black Friday shopping before gathering at one of their houses to eat Chick-Fil-A and pizza.

He said this is his friend group’s second year celebrating friendsgiving together, and they maintained their tradition of dressing up in button up shirts for the occasion, instead of normal casual wear.

“I love my friends,” Williams said. “We are all going separate ways next year for college, so it’s good to get together as much as we can.”

Theresa Santos, junior, included a past tradition into her friendsgiving event: eating dessert prepared by one of the friend’s family members.

“My friend’s aunt is a baker, so every friendsgiving so far, she has brought all sorts of yummy desserts to friendsgiving,” Santos said.

She said she spent her friendsgiving eating dinner with a few close friends, those who have been in her close circle throughout the pandemic.

“Honestly, nothing really changed because of COVID,” Santos said. “We have all been hanging out with each other, and there was no one new who we don’t usually hang out with.”

Santos said she appreciates how friendsgiving allows for a designated time to appreciate your friends.

“On Thanksgiving, I spend time with my family, but on friendsgiving, I spend time with my friends and appreciate everything they’ve done for me,” Santos said.