2020 has been a trying year for most- as we enter the 8th month of the COVID-19 we have seen school closures, changing state mandates, and canceled events in effort to keep everyone safe and healthy.
Thanksgiving is on Thursday, and the United States currently has an average daily number of COVID cases is over 160,000, and there are more than 11.2 million total infections in the country, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Medicine.
As we enter into the holiday season, Thanksgiving isn’t canceled, but it will and needs to be different. The holidays are usually a time for family and friends to get together and celebrate with gifts, food, and games, but this year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has put out guidelines for the holidays during the ongoing pandemic. A few of the recommendations include avoiding any travel, large gatherings, and even drinking alcohol to avoid clouded judgement and risky behaviors.
If you are like me, you might be wondering how to celebrate this year. On my Mom’s side of the family, we all the cousins have November/December birthdays, so we go all out for thanksgiving with the traditional holiday food but then adding an ice cream cake and birthday presents, its a tradition i’ve had my entire life. However, this year that tradition is going to look VERY different, as i’m sure many of your own families traditions will be altered, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit at home and let the holiday come and go.
Use this year to think outside the box, it might be a new way to gather, a new menu, or even starting new traditions. Today I am rounding up just a few ways you can celebrate from a distance.
Dine Together, Virtually:
Skip the travel and plan a virtual Thanksgiving dinner with your family and friends! Zoom is lifting its 40-minute limit for all meetings globally from midnight ET on Nov. 26 through 6 a.m. ET on Nov. 27. so you and your family can enjoy each others virtual company for hours.
If your family lives local to you a fun idea could be to set up a recipe or meal exchange. Decide on a group menu and either share recipes or have a designated person make each dish and drop them off on everyones porch. Once all the dishes have been dropped off or made, jump on the video call and enjoy your thanksgiving meal ‘together’.
Our family is going to still exchange gifts, we are going to drop our gifts off on each others front porch on Thanksgiving morning, then enjoy Thanksgiving lunch, desert and gift opening all on Zoom/FaceTime.
Order In or Send Food To Loved Ones:
It’s been a hard year- cut yourself some slack and order take out from a local restaurant for your entire meal or just the puttzy sides and save yourself some time and stress.
It’s also the season of giving, so you might have someone in your life that would appreciate a gift basket or a home cooked meal delivered. You could send something you made yourself or something you ordered online or from a restaurant. It’s a simple way to show your family and friends you are thinking of them.
Scale Your Menu Back or Change It Up Entirely:
This year has been full of changes so maybe this year scale back your menu or maybe its time to break free from the traditional thanksgiving feast and opt for something nontraditional. It’s the perfect time to break out your cook books or make a recipe you’ve been wanting to try. And chances are you probably have a lot less people to cook for so its a great time to try out a new dish.
Switch Up or Start a New tradition:
If you live in a warmer climate, consider taking advantage of the nice weather, and eating lunch/dinner outside. If your family does after dinner chatting or plays games, find ones that you can play virtually- pictionary or charades would be a perfect fit.
Let’s end this year on a positive note, focus on more on what you can do vs what you cannot. No matter what scenario you decide is right for your family, always adhering to recommended safety guidelines for your area- like wearing a mask and social distancing with people from outside your household can help minimize risk. On the belief of myself and everyone at Extract we wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html
About the Author: Taylor Genter
Taylor is the Marketing Specialist at Extract with experience in data analytics, graphic design, and both digital and social media marketing. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. Taylor enjoys analyzing people’s behaviors and attitudes to find out what motivates them, and then curating better ways to communicate with them