Nina Agdal Opens Up About Being Away from Her Family for the Holidays: 'It's Not Easy'

Madison McGaw

Nina Agdal is missing home a little extra as she prepares to celebrate her second holiday season away from her friends and family in Denmark.

The 29-year-old model, who partnered with Belvedere this year to host a Friendsgiving dinner, tells PEOPLE that she hasn't seen her family since February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luckily, Agdal has support from her friends. "Since I probably won't be able to go see my family, me and my two best girlfriends have made the promise that we want to be together," she explains. "Obviously, it's not easy being separated, especially not for this long."

With that in mind, Agdal says she has a special wish for this Christmas: to be able to go home in the new year.

"But also right now, just focusing on the closest people in my life and really enjoying the time with them that I have," she noted.

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Madison McGaw

Agdal hosted her first-ever Friendsgiving with the support of Belvedere, who she said played an integral part in pulling off the elaborate event. Together they created a festive cocktail with the vodka brand's line of Organic Infusions, fresh lemon juice, ginger beer and more. (Get the full recipe on her Instagram.)

"I've never hosted a Friendsgiving before, so that was really fun. I definitely couldn't have done it their team though," she tells PEOPLE. "I don't know how I can top that ever, to be honest."

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Holidays at home were much more lowkey, however. "I grew up playing tons of games. Like, we wouldn't watch TV, or back then we didn't have an iPhone. So it was all about playing games. I grew up playing cards and Rummikub."

Agdal still enjoys playing games at holiday gatherings, albeit different kinds.

"Now for a party, I love any sort of game that's interactive where you can get to like know someone or ask those questions to like really hear someone's story. So like, Cards Against Humanity is fun towards the end of the dinner."

Madison McGaw

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As for her favorite holiday foods, Agdal tells PEOPLE that sweet potato dishes and gravy top the list. Gravy has a particularly special place in her heart, so she is "excited" about the upcoming holiday meals.

"I love gravy," she confessed, "Like I grew up in Denmark where sauce was a part of every meal. No matter what, there was always some sort of gravy. So I mean I'll literally just build a tower of all the vegetables and then drench it and gravy."

"That's kind of like my favorite thing to do like a mashed potato — volcano with the gravy inside of it," she added. "That's the signature."