Your first Thanksgiving

Freedom! Wait—who's going to do the dishes?

By Michelle Lanz, Special to Metromix

You’ve achieved the dream: You’re out on your own, hundreds of miles away from your parental units. You can stay out as late as you want and eat cupcakes for breakfast. Except, well, it’s near Thanksgiving, and this year Mom and Dad are taking that much-needed vacation to the Bahamas…and won’t be back until December.

It’s time to take Thanksgiving into your own hands. Gather the friends, the food and the copious booze. But how, exactly, do you create a Thanksgiving fête on your meager, post- (post-post, perhaps) college budget? You consult the experts. Which would be us. So click through to find all the ingredients necessary for a new-fashioned Thanksgiving.