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Thanksgiving break is right around the corner! Most empty nesters (AKA parents) have been looking forward to their children鈥檚 return from school since, oh, Move-in Day, but some collegians will be staying put and spending Thanksgiving on campus for one reason or another.

If you fall into that category, our College Guide to Spending Thanksgiving Alone will help prevent you from boo-hooing into your dining hall turkey.

Drumroll … Thanksgiving Break is Here!

For most college students, Thanksgiving break is honestly a break鈥攖he opportunity to take a breather from classes and studying. Students who are living on campus or in off-campus apartments generally return to their parents鈥� or families鈥� homes for the November holiday. From the Wednesday before Thanksgiving through the Sunday (or even Monday) after, it鈥檚 perfectly acceptable to do little more than stuff yourself silly on turkey and pumpkin pie, watch football, visit with friends and family, and hit the Black Friday sales for some hardcore holiday bargain shopping. Oh, and eat plenty of leftovers. Let鈥檚 not forget the leftovers!

Primarily celebrated in the United States and Canada (although on different days of the year) some international students stay on campus because their cultures do not celebrate Thanksgiving.

Other students who would like to go home are simply unable to make the trip for a variety of reasons, such as:

• Home is just too far away, making the drive too long for a mini-vacation so soon before the semester鈥檚 end
• Gas prices are too pricy to justify a road trip
• Airline ticket prices tend to skyrocket during the holidays
• A last-minute emergency pops up, making the trip impossible

Celebrating Thanksgiving at School

Classes are cancelled on most college campuses during the week of Thanksgiving. Some schools do close their residence halls as well, but if you鈥檙e allowed to stay on campus and find yourself needing to do so, it鈥檚 easy to feel sorry for yourself.

A lot of people experience a bout with the winter blues, and the holidays can be a stressful time of year. But if you 诲辞苍鈥檛 feel bummed out that you鈥檙e spending Turkey Day at school鈥攕ome people 诲辞苍鈥檛 have families or 诲辞苍鈥檛 get along with their families鈥攖hat鈥檚 okay, too.

Whatever your situation may be, here are some tips and tricks for spending Thanksgiving alone:

First and foremost, make sure you鈥檙e allowed to be on campus. As mentioned above, some schools do close the residence halls, requiring students to go home or find alternative living arrangements during Thanksgiving Break.

Find out if food will be available on campus. Even if the dorms are accessible, the dining halls might be closed due to lack of employees. But if you attend a large state university with multiple cafeterias and food courts, there鈥檚 a chance that something will be open. Just be sure to find out ahead of time, or you could wind up eating ramen in your room.

Decide what you鈥檒l eat for Thanksgiving Dinner. If you鈥檙e able to eat on campus鈥攁nd you have no qualms about eating college cafeteria food for Turkey Day鈥攖here鈥檚 not much to worry about. Some colleges even offer Thanksgiving buffets for students who are staying on campus. But if you鈥檇 prefer something a little better, you鈥檒l need to make alternate arrangements. A few ideas:

• Pick up a ready-to-go meal from a supermarket or restaurant. Even though it鈥檚 a big holiday, some grocery stores and some restaurants will be open. Many supermarket delis offer pre-cooked holidays meals with turkey, mashed potatoes, and all the usual favorites; many restaurants offer traditional Thanksgiving meals, too.
• Cook your own meal. Many modern residence halls are complete with full kitchens for student use. If you鈥檙e not the only person who will be staying in the dorm (or even if you are, and you 诲辞苍鈥檛 mind cooking for one) you could cook your own food at school. It may not be as good as Mom鈥檚 or Grandma鈥檚, but it鈥檚 probably better than nothing.
• Eat with local friends. Chances are you have at least a few friends who live in town and commute to school. If you鈥檙e friendly enough鈥攖ranslation, you have spent time together outside of class on several occasions鈥攜ou might be able to score an invite to their family鈥檚 Thanksgiving festivities. Being annoyed by someone else鈥檚 relatives is almost as much fun as being annoyed by your own! Don鈥檛 forget to bring a (grocery store) pie to score big points with the host.

Make Your Non-Food Plans

There鈥檚 more to Thanksgiving Break than food. Even students who claim they鈥檝e got massive amounts of studying to do will wind up with some down time before classes start again.

If it looks like you鈥檒l be alone for most of the holiday鈥攜our hall mates will all be gone and you 诲辞苍鈥檛 have any local commuter friends鈥攜ou could always volunteer at a shelter or church. And if that鈥檚 not your thing, that鈥檚 okay, too. If the weather permits, you could do a bit of sightseeing in your 鈥渘ew鈥� hometown. If your wallet permits, you could even do a bit of Black Friday shopping.

Going home after all?

Posted on 11 Nov

Melissa Rhone earned her Bachelor of Music in Education from the University of Tampa. She resides in the Tampa Bay area and enjoys writing about college, pop culture, and epilepsy awareness.