Friendsgiving, a new tradition to be thankful for
By Ellen McCarthy November 25
Shauna Alexander’s Friendsgiving story began in the traditional way: She was avoiding her family.
“I was having some tough times with my parents — as one does when they’re 25,” she recalls. “It was just growing pains with the folks.”
So, instead of going home to New York for Thanksgiving that year, Alexander lied and told her parents that she had to work on Friday and was stuck in Washington.
Then she went out and bought the video game “Rock Band,” cooked a bunch of food and invited all her friends who were left in town over for dinner.
The evening was laid-back and boozy and so, so much fun. That was five years ago — and Alexander hasn’t been home for Thanksgiving since.
She is among those who ardently believe in the superiority of a Thanksgiving spent with friends. Benefits: no travel, no drama and the ability to sleep in your own bed, assuming that you don’t pass out on your buddy’s couch. It’s not that Friendsgiving advocates aren’t thankful for family. They definitely are. Just, you know, from a distance.
“There’s something to be said for friends being the family you choose, as cliche as that statement is,” says Alexander, now 31. “You get to be with people you actually want to be around, and aren’t just obligated to be around — crazy aunts and uncles and brothers you might not get along with.”
a very nice selfish tradition.