History of the Day

Friendsgiving is a relatively new phenomenon rooted in the 2000s and 2010s, with one of the earliest references to the word being from the television series Friends, which featured several “Friendsgiving” episodes from 1994-2004 annually around the Thanksgiving season. Soon after, friendsgiving would pop up in Urban Dictionary in 2009. Following the recession in 2008, recent grads and laid-off workers, who found themselves unable to travel back home, decided to hold makeshift Thanksgiving get-togethers with their friends instead. Given the popularity of this first major Friendsgiving celebration, many groups vowed to hold a Friendsgiving the next year, and the tradition began.

So How Would I Celebrate Friendsgiving?

Fortunately, we can now host Friendsgiving under less dire circumstances! Given that it has no official date, Friendsgiving is a flexible celebration, typically held the weekend before or after Thanksgiving day, if not on Thanksgiving itself. Unlike Thanksgiving, there aren’t any major staple foods of Friendsgiving (such as turkey, pie, stuffing, etc.), giving groups more room to try new dishes together!

Friendsgiving is an interesting celebration, given that it’s more defined by its lack of, rather than embrace of, tradition. Thus, a lot of the preparation, the dinner itself, and afterparty are usually left up to your group. There are some best practices however: to help with the burden of 1 person preparing all the food and hosting the event, attendees to Friendsgiving feasts can chip in via a potluck system, bringing foods they find important (and tasty) to share with friends.

Friendsgiving Treat: Patty’s Cheesecake

Photo by Patty’s Cheescake

If you’re in St. Louis for the holidays and looking for the perfect dessert to bring to your Friendsgiving dinner, Patty’s Cheesecake is the place to go. Pat Upchurch is the founder of Patty’s Cheesecakes. She created the restaurant in 2018, inspired by her grandmother who passed down her amazing cheesecake recipes to Upchurch. Additionally, Upchurch was influenced by her chef father who helped teach her about the industry and spark her love for cooking and baking.

Their regular menu has 40+ options to mull over. From red velvet cheesecake to blueberry, basil, and bourbon cheesecake Patty’s Cheesecake has every flavor under the sun. In addition to their signature flavors, Patty’s Cheesecake also has 6 special petite cheesecake and 7 slice options for November with mouth-watering flavors like sweet potato pie and s’mores.