Experience Thanksgiving
Sharing Thanksgiving dinner with local hosts in their home is a unique cultural experience. FIUTS students are invited to sign up to be matched with a host for this occasion. Our hosts live all over the greater Seattle area and are excited to share their holiday with you!
Information for Thanksgiving sign-ups will be shared on the e-news and event calendar. Please read below for more important details on this program!
When is Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November.
What is Thanksgiving?
Traditionally, Thanksgiving celebrates people coming together to show gratitude for what they have, and is a time of year when friends and family get together to eat a meal and often recognizing what they are thankful for. Certain kinds of food are often eaten at Thanksgiving, including turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie, with different variations depending on different families' or groups’ cultural backgrounds, diets, and traditions. While some religious institutions hold Thanksgiving services, Thanksgiving is not necessarily a religious holiday, and it is celebrated by people all over the country regardless of religious belief.
It is important to acknowledge that the traditional “story” of Thanksgiving is highly controversial. Many people in the United States were (and still are) taught about a historical event known as the “first Thanksgiving” that was supposedly celebrated by Pilgrims (European settlers in what is now Massachusetts) and Native Americans during the Pilgrims’ first harvest in 1621. However, in recent years, there has been increasing public acknowledgement that this narrative is both historically inaccurate and deeply harmful to Native people. We encourage international students participating in Thanksgiving celebrations to read more about these issues in this article from the National Museum of the American Indian, which provides historical context as well as the perspectives from many Native Americans on the holiday.
In light of this growing awareness, many people are refocusing their Thanksgiving celebrations to place more emphasis on family and gratitude, rather on the holiday’s historical origins. For many people, they value the chance to share this special meal together with others, which is why they want to welcome you to their homes.
How does the FIUTS Thanksgiving Dinner program work?
Students sign up to be hosted by local community members who are volunteering to host because they want to welcome you to their celebration. Hosts sign up through FIUTS and let us know how many students they can host. Then, FIUTS staff connects students with hosts via email, and hosts contact students directly to let you know where their dinner will take place and what time to be there.
Where and when will the dinners take place?
Hosts live all over the greater Seattle area. When you are matched with a host, you will receive their address, and they will contact you to let you know how to get to their house. Thanksgiving dinner is often a little earlier in the day than a typical dinner - sometimes around 3 PM or even earlier. However, the schedule depends on the host, so they will tell you what time to arrive.
Who are the hosts?
All kinds of people! Some are families with children, some are students or young professionals spending the holiday with friends, some are retired people whose families are visiting for the holidays. Our community of hosts is very diverse, but what they all have in common is that they are interested in meeting people from other countries and cultures, and want to show hospitality to international visitors by inviting them for Thanksgiving.
How much does it cost?
It is free to participate, though we do suggest that students bring a small gift for your hosts to thank them for their hospitality. A good gift would be something like a small dessert (for example, a box of chocolates) or some flowers, or a small item from your home country if you have one. A gift is not required but it is a nice gesture!
Can my friend and I be hosted by the same host?
Sometimes. Some hosts can accommodate more than one student, and some cannot. If you and your friend sign up together, we can try to place you with the same host, but you MUST let us know at the time that you sign up!
Please be aware that hosts are usually inviting you to their Thanksgiving celebration with their own family or friends, so not all hosts have room for many more people at their tables. Even if you can't go with your friend, going by yourself and meeting new people can be a great experience!
DOES THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON HOLD classes on Thanksgiving?
No. Thanksgiving is a national holiday and the university will be closed.
If I sign up and then decide not to go, can I cancel?
Unless there is some kind of emergency that prevents you from attending, once you sign up you are expected to attend Thanksgiving. Keep in mind that hosts must make plans in advance for how many people will be coming to dinner, and it is inconvenient for them when people cancel at the last minute. It is important to be respectful of hosts who are offering their hospitality, and canceling at the last minute is not acceptable.