Thanksgiving Gatherings

Nov 24

"Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast" - William Shakespeare

Holiday gatherings with friends and family may look pretty different this year due to everything happening in the world. With the ongoing pandemic and the need to socially distance, it may not be easy to gather together in your normal holiday festivities. For myself, coming together with family and friends will be different this Thanksgiving and Christmas with a high-risk mother, and other family members who are still working. Making sure everyone is tested and safe is absolutely tough to coordinate, so we're all just doing what we can given the situation at hand.

Despite these crazy times, the holidays are still my FAVORITE time of the year, so a pandemic surely will not be stopping me from spreading cheer. Here are some tips and suggestions for creating a festive holiday celebration with friends and family in a socially distant way.

Make it A Virtual Event

Technology is amazing and has provided us all with ways to keep in touch no matter what the circumstances may be. Though you may not be able to celebrate in person, a virtual gathering can be just as fun and interesting.

Send all attending a prepared meal kit that is either home made and packaged, or purchased from a local small business that can surely use your support. If driving may not be your thing you can also consider using a delivery or task rabbit type of service, or even Uber and Lyft.

Want to be more hands on? Why not make the event more interactive by sending a list of ingredients and recipes to each person to purchase ahead of time, and have a virtual cooking party with everyone as you all prepare your meal. If you want to take it one step further, consider hiring a chef to virtually teach the class. I personally have used AirBnb experiences to hire a chef from Spain to teach paella, and I think it’s such a unique and fun experience.

If you want to make it super simple, have everyone provide their own meal but create games you can all play together to keep everyone involved. I’ve played games that include everyone such DIY Jeopardy and Family Feud, which you can find templates online to fill in and use. My favorite will be to send each person BINGO card along with some treats to enjoy during the gathering.

Make it an In-Person Socially Distant Gathering

Gathering outdoors is the safest way to make sure any germs that may be airborne are freely roaming in an open space, so if you do meet in person, do it outdoors in a backyard, front yard, or even park. With everyone staying at home it will be nice to spend time outdoors, even if it's a little chilly.

We try our best to purchase pre-packaged meals per person to avoid cross contamination. We love our family style meals, but that is something we will save for when it is safe again. Have everyone bring their own beverage and cups of choice to sip, mingle, and celebrate!

Recently we celebrated a birthday party with a backyard movie night, individual charcuterie boards, and lots of cozy blankets, wine, and did all this in our pajamas.

The possibilities are endless. Keep up the holiday spirit and celebrations by getting creative in a socially distant way. I cannot wait to see how you celebrate this year's holidays with your loved one. Stay safe and healthy, everyone!