by Crystal Han

No one knows the exact origins of Friendsgiving , but it ’ s speculated that it began during the Great Recession of 2007- 2009 . Young adults who ’ d moved to big cities for jobs were suddenly unable to afford to travel back home for the holidays , so they held a Thanksgiving gathering for their friends instead . As a result , Friendsgiving is often seen as a celebration for 20-and-30-somethings who haven ’ t settled down and started families yet , however it ’ s just as beneficial , if not more so , for older , established adults .

Margie Morelos-Galvan , who owns and runs California Inspirations Catering said , “ At the mid-age that I ’ m at , my time is limited for my friends . It ’ s not like when I was younger , and I could go out every Friday night or I was free on the weekends . When you have a family and you start taking care of your parents , you don ’ t have the time .” For the past four years , she has been hosting Friendsgiving for the friends she ’ s made throughout her life — from childhood neighbors and school friends to colleagues and mentors in the catering business . It has become an event that she and her buddies look forward to and it ’ s one of the highlights of her year . “ This is a time for us to all come together and be like , ‘ Hey , look , I ’ m just busy . But the friendship is alive and well and I ’ m so happy to spend time with you .’ It ’ s almost therapeutic for us to just take a step out of our normal , responsible lives and just be with other adults ,” she explained .

It also gives her a chance to bond with her daughter in a different way . Now that her daughter is grown and leading her own life , Morelos finds that she isn ’ t able to get as much family time with her during the holidays , an experience many families can relate to . By inviting her daughter to her Friendsgiving parties , they ’ re able to spend some adult time together that they might not get to have within the traditional holiday setting . “ She gets to know me outside of the family , more with my friends ,” Morelos said .

In general , Friendsgiving tends to have a more casual vibe than its Thanksgiving counterpart . Almost every family has some sort of drama or difficult relatives . Some people may even be estranged from their families , which leaves them out of familyoriented holidays altogether . Having a gathering with only friends negates a lot of that stress and ensures everyone can have a good time . “ Everyone gets to step out of their normal home life . Whether you have a great family or you don ’ t , it ’ s just really relaxed . I haven ’ t seen any negatives yet ,” Morelos- Galvan said .

The casual nature of Friendsgiving also gives people the chance to break away from holiday traditions and try new things . At her last Friendsgiving , Morelos-Galvan decided to adopt a luautype approach and roast a whole pig instead of a traditional turkey . Not only was it a fun , new experience , but she found that no one missed the turkey .

Another year , the theme was “ bring your own tradition ,” where everyone brought something from their own culture . “ We had some Filipino dishes , Chinese food , Hawaiian food , Mexican ,

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