THANKSGIVING- 6 TIPS FOR HAVING A SAFE THANKSGIVING DURING A PANDEMIC

The year 2020 has been “different”. I personally believe life happens differently for everyone with common experiences for some people and most times no similar experiences at all; but in 2020, the entire world has shared experiences such as nations locking down and many other life-changing events. Every day has been a tough experience…

The COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted the life we previously knew as “normal” and we have all been forced to adjust to living mostly virtually, masked up for safety, and in some cases away from loved ones, “the new normal”.

Amongst the many things disrupted by the ongoing pandemic is Thanksgiving!!!!! Now I’ll be really honest, I like the holiday and getting together with family; my lovely nephews and nieces, my cousins, aunties, uncles, their friends but I would really not mind a small-scale thanksgiving. I think one of the good things (for me) that came up as a result of this pandemic is Thoughtfulness. Thoughtfulness about everything, this year has had me questioning my reasons for doing a lot of things and are they necessary???

Now in the case of thanksgiving this year; is it worth putting the lives of people I love in danger?

I have thought of possible ways to share the love during thanksgiving with my family and friends since it is unsafe to celebrate with them in person. 6 Tips to stay safe and make the most out of our current situation during this year’s Thanksgiving celebration include;

1. VIRTUAL DINNER WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS

You can share recipes for dishes and prepare dinner with family and friends on online platforms such as zoom, skype, WhatsApp, etc. Catch up on life and the events of the year while staying safe in your individual homes. Take virtual family photos.

2. CONSIDER OUTDOOR OPTIONS/ENTERTAINMENT

I do know there are people out there who haven’t had the chance to be with family all year and have looked forward to thanksgiving for that. If you must celebrate thanksgiving in person with family and friends this year, you need to ensure you do so in the safest way possible. All safety guidelines such as sanitizing, social distancing which we have practiced for months should still apply. Outdoor settings practicing social distancing would be a much safer option than indoor dining.  This is dependent on the weather condition wherever you will be celebrating thanksgiving.

3. SINGLE PACKAGED SERVINGS OVER BUFFET

The one thing I love about Thanksgiving is the abundance of food! My aunt’s mac and cheese always hit right, I’ll definitely miss it this year. For the sake of the safety of you, your family members, and friends, I would recommend neatly packaging single servings of food for each individual instead of the usual buffet. This will help reduce the risk of possible infection from different people touching the serving utensils.

4. USE DISPOSABLES!

This year is a good time to let your fine china wears that come out only on holidays to have an extended rest. Disposable plates, cups, cutlery are definitely safer options especially when it’s hard to ensure people sanitize well. Also, in your guest bathrooms, I will recommend using paper towels instead of cloth towels to avoid cross-contamination of any kind.

5. VIRTUAL VOLUNTEERING

For those of you who love to go out during thanksgiving to share food with the homeless on Thanksgiving Day, that may not be the safest thing to do during a pandemic. There are food banks supplying food to the homeless, children, and one of the amazing ways to still do charity work on thanksgiving is to donate to these food banks. Donate here to the CCBC student pantry.

6. SHARE A THANKSGIVING PLAYLIST

I don’t know about you but sharing music is a love language for me. You can share a thanksgiving playlist with your loved ones, celebrate life and love through your music. “Music is the great uniter. An incredible force. Something that people who differ on everything and anything else can have in common” – Sarah Dessen

This year I’m thankful for a lot of things; family, answered prayers, loses, wins, strength and I’m so thankful for you…

What are your plans for thanksgiving? Did you find these tips helpful? Let me know in the comment section.

Happy Thanksgiving and keep glowing,

Renita.