Four Pandemic-Friendly Ways to Celebrate the Holidays
This year, the holidays have been, and will be, about as strange as any in recent memory. Last month we took a look at some ideas to safely celebrate Thanksgiving so this month we’re looking at four ideas to make the December holidays fun while staying safe.
Gingerbread House Challenge
My aunt loves to make gingerbread houses, and since we couldn’t make them in person this year, she mailed members of our family everything we needed to make our own at home. Once all the houses are finished, we’ll submit pictures of them and vote on the best (surely based on the most arbitrary criteria imaginable). Everyone could design something using the same theme, or you can just let your creative juices flow.
A Zoom Cookie Exchange
One of our newest employees brought this idea to a virtual company get together that we were having. She said that her and her family were going to all get on a video call and bake cookies together like they normally would, only virtually. Once all the cookies are finished, everyone participating will send out their cookies to the rest of the group giving everyone a variety of their family’s favorite homemade baked goods.
Caroling
This one is a bit hit or miss at it requires you to be in a similar geography to the rest of your family. If people were able to stand at the end of driveways to receive candy on Halloween from makeshift chutes or catapults, getting within shouting distance of grandparents or other relatives around the holidays seems like something we can pull off safely. You could always sing holiday classics, but if you want to mix things up a bit, maybe try the safe for family John’s Hopkins remix of Cardi B’s ‘WAP,’ ‘WamP,’ or ‘Wear a mask please.’
Make a Donation With Your Friends or Family
Charitable donations are always needed at this time of year, and given the devastating impact the pandemic has had on millions of Americans’ personal finances, they’re needed more than ever now. No matter the amount you can donate, it’s a meaningful exercise to talk about how and why you donate. This year in my immediate family, each person will recommend a charity and we’ll have a discussion of why each one is important, then we’ll make a donation to one or all of them confident in how we’re helping our local and global communities.
Use a site like charitynavigator.org to help you learn more about the organizations you’re supporting and how to make the biggest impact.
With a vaccine waiting in the wings, we encourage you to remain vigilant about stemming the spread of the virus. We here at Extract wish you all a wonderful holiday season and look forward to an exciting new year with you all soon.
