This year, with over 216,000 people dead in the U.S. and over 7 million COVID-19 cases, there’s no doubt that Thanksgiving will look different this year. Gathering with your older or immunocompromised family members for a day to be thankful is more risky than ever before. Watching football in the living room with all of the cousins and grandparents this year could lead to a dangerous risk of contracting COVID-19. Traveling through the airports to see your great aunt and uncle will surely increase your risk of catching the virus. However, just because we are in a pandemic doesn’t mean you can’t still make Thanksgiving fun.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends enjoying a small Thanksgiving dinner with only the members you have already been quarantined with and opting to video-call everyone you would usually see but can’t at the moment because of the pandemic risks. Another way to celebrate Thanksgiving with more family and friends than those in your quarantine squad is to cook a meal for them and leave it on their front doorstep. This is a great contactless way to still enjoy a potluck-style meal together.
The next best in celebrating Thanksgiving is taking everything outdoors, a moderate level of risk according to the CDC. In Florida, we can enjoy the outdoors a lot more in the winter than a lot of northern states, so take your Thanksgiving dinner outdoors in a socially distant manner and enjoy it together outside. Increase space between different families/households by having tables spread about six feet in order for each household to sit apart from others.
If you are having the in-person dinner party, have guests bring their own food; that way, you reduce contact with other people’s food, which can increase the risk of contracting COVID-19, according to the CDC. Clean and disinfect all of the commonly-touched surfaces and consider investing in touchless appliances. Touchless garbage cans or soap dispensers are perfect ways to reduce contact with people outside of your quarantine family.
For the infamous Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping, it is safest to do it all online. Online shopping allows you and your family to stay in and not come in contact with large crowds at malls or stores. In recent years, Black Friday shopping online has increased tremendously, and many retailers are taking it a step further for a pandemic Thanksgiving. Walmart announced that they will include deals on toys and electronics earlier than in previous years as well continuing their curbside service.
When you aren’t seated at the dinner table and eating, wear your mask and have other guests do the same. Have plenty of hand sanitizer and make the sinks more readily available to encourage everyone to wash their hands. Don’t hug or hold hands with those outside of your quarantine squad and try to make the best of seeing your close family and friends differently this Thanksgiving.
