A decade or so ago, the rise of Friendsgiving emerged. This is where your friends gather sometime around Thanksgiving and share a meal.

It started as a second Thanksgiving meal (complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc.), but has evolved into different iterations over time. People began saying, “Why have the same meal twice when we can do something different?”

The neighbors I had before moving to Kankakee have an annual Neighborsgiving the night before Thanksgiving, where we enjoy an Italian dinner. This way, we’re not doubling up on tryptophan.

This event has become even more special as we went to college and moved away, and now we all are back in town for Thanksgiving and can reunite with the neighbor crew at the same time. It’s grown with time, too, as we now bring our partners as well as the next generation of neighbor kids.

There are few things better in life than gathering with people you love and sharing a meal. This inspired another Friendsgiving tradition, where the Thursday before Thanksgiving, friends gather at Knack Brewing in Kankakee, and everyone brings a dip to share. This has become known as Dipsgiving.

We had our second annual event last week, and I wanted to share a few of the delicious recipes Keegan and I have made.

Cold Beer Cheese Dip

• Ingredients: 1/4 cup of beer; 2 packets of cream cheese; 2 cups of shredded cheese; 1 tsp. caraway seeds; 1 tsp. garlic powder; 1 Tbsp thinly-sliced chives; salt and pepper to taste.
• Directions: Mix everything except the chives. When evenly mixed, top with chives and serve with pretzels. (Tip: I used Knack beer to make it locally sourced!)

Garlic Olive Dip

• Ingredients: 1 cup sliced olives (green olives, black olives, or your choice of olives); 8 ounces cream cheese (softened to room temperature); 1/2 cup mayonnaise; 1/3 cup sour cream; 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (shredded); 1 clove garlic (minced); 1 tsp. Italian seasoning; 2 Tbsp olive brine (olive juice from the jar).
• Directions: Chop olives finely; In a mixing bowl, combine chopped olives, cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, shredded cheese, minced garlic, Italian seasoning and olive brine; Using a hand whisk, food processor or spoon, mix the dip ingredients until they are well combined; Refrigerate in an airtight container (or covered tightly with plastic wrap) until ready to serve; Serve with crackers, pretzels or vegetable sticks.

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

• Ingredients: 1 (15-ounce) can of pumpkin; 1 (5-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix; 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice; 1 (16-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed.
• Directions: Mix pumpkin, pudding mix, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. Then, fold in whipped topping. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve with graham crackers or wafer cookies.