I t’s the little details that make the Thanksgiving meal, like the jellied cranberry sauce that comes ready-to-serve out of a tin can, sociology senior Sheeri Bornstein and English writing senior Nikki Narvaez said. 

Roommates Bornstein and Narvaez, like many Loyola students, will spend their Thanksgiving holiday in New Orleans with friends instead of family – a “friendsgiving” celebration.

Due to the date of the holiday this year, there is only a two-week gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas break on the Loyola calendar, making the option of going home for Thanksgiving much less feasible according to these two students.

“It’s not worth me spending the money to go home for a few days, then go back to school for two weeks and pay for another $500 flight back to California,” Narvaez said. “As much as I’d love to see my family, it’s not worth the money to me at this point.”

Due to similar conflicts in past years, this year will mark the third Thanksgiving of her college career that Narvaez will spend in New Orleans and away from her family in San Francisco. It will be the first holiday away from home for Bornstein, a native of Savannah, Ga.

For some students who can’t make it home for Thanksgiving, travelling to a friend or relative’s house within driving distance is an option as well.

English writing sophomore Phil Kane will be spending the holiday with a friend and his family in Florida.

“I’ll be eating at my friend’s house because he was gracious enough to offer a place to go for the holidays,” Kane said. “I’m really excited to see how things change this year eating in a different city with my friend’s family and not my own.”

Though these students admit that missing out on their family’s Thanksgiving traditions can be rough, the two roommates aren’t letting distance stop them from celebrating the holiday in a fun, unique way.

“My family has a fairly standard Thanksgiving dinner, but since I was raised Jewish and Hanukkah falls on Thanksgiving this year, I will be incorporating my family’s Hanukkah traditions and foods into Thanksgiving this year,” Bornstein said.

Bornstein said Thanksgiving won’t fall during the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights for another 79,000 years.

“For ‘Thanksgivikkuh’ I will be making sweet potato latkes and pumpkin doughnuts, but the canned cranberry sauce is always a staple,” Bornstein said.

Narvaez said that although she would love to have traditional Salvadorian dishes like the “panes con chumpe” that her family prepares every year on Thanksgiving, her lack of cooking skills makes it challenging to pull off.

But that doesn’t make Thanksgiving any less special, Narvaez said.

“I enjoy the big Thanksgiving environment that I have found here in New Orleans.  I experience new foods and new ways to celebrate Thanksgiving and that’s pretty exciting,” Narvaez said.

According to Kane, the most important thing to remember in celebrating Thanksgiving- no matter where or with whom you may celebrate it with- is the meaning behind the holiday.

“This holiday is a time to be thankful for all that you have,” Kane said. “Where I am for the dinner isn’t going to change that.”

Shannon Donaldson can be reached at [email protected]

Ashley Rossi, music industries sophomore, utilizes items from the “C store” to incorporate in her meal. When preparing for “Freindsgiving” many students take advantage of the closest available resources. (ZACH BRIEN/ Staff Photographer)