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How We Are Planning to Safely Spend Thanksgiving During COVID-19

The holidays this year are going to look a bit different. Of course we all hope we will come out of this sooner rather than later, but COVID-19 has definitely affected every aspect of our lives. And a big part of that has to do with how we celebrate. Usually we celebrate the holidays in a larger group since we have a pretty big family. But since we are all still supposed to be socially distancing, that isn’t going to happen this year. So here is how we are planning to safely spend Thanksgiving with our family during COVID-19.

safely spend Thanksgiving

Some of our immediate family is within the same city and have been socially distancing. So, we are considering getting together with that part of the family for Thanksgiving. However, if we do, then we will still be changing up our configuration a bit in the name of safety.

Just because we aren’t supposed to be gathering in large groups in indoor, confined spaces doesn’t mean we can’t get together. It just means that we have to make our group smaller and get together in outdoor spaces instead. This actually works great for us because we have a large two story deck and one of my siblings has a deck and a screened in porch. So we have two options where we can seat family members and serve food safely.

Thanksgiving Food Stations

One of the ways we are planning to optimize either option is by setting up different food stations. This way we can control the flow of traffic into different areas to keep with social distancing practices.

One of the possible layouts for our different stations include:

  • Beverages section
  • Bread/rolls section
  • Cranberry/fruit section
  • Dessert section
  • Meat station (turkey and ham)
  • Potato station
  • Vegetable station

With this many different sections we are helping our family to safely spend Thanksgiving together. But, if we want to go one step further, we could also release one table at a time to get their food and drinks. This is how it is typically done in the catering world. And since I worked in that world for many years, I am very familiar with the tactics and smooth implementation.

Plus, if we all bring a few different dishes, that can help make Thanksgiving more budget friendly for all of us. We we could all definitely use!

Virtual Thanksgiving

Since not all of our family will be able to join in the celebration this year, we have to get creative. And since all of our birthday parties this year have been virtual already, we are getting pretty good at this. The important part is that we have still been able to see each other and celebrate, and it looks like Thanksgiving will be no different.

For the family members that aren’t going to be able to join us in person, we are considering having a joint Thanksgiving. Meaning that we plan to talk with them ahead of time about a menu. The goal is to try and have all of the same foods that we normally would so that we can experience them together still. But what that means is that we will have to learn how to make some recipes that may be a little out of our wheelhouse. Which sounds like a really fun idea to me!.

And on top of that, we are thinking about trying to decorate each table similarly. The hope is that this will make us all feel like we are in the same place celebrating.

Safely Spend Thanksgiving Together Summary

No matter what, this Thanksgiving will be different. But, this gives us a chance to think outside the box and come up with some new creative ways to be together. We will still get to enjoy the food, family and laughter just like every other year. But, we may not all be together in the exact same spot doing it. And that is okay. As long as we are able to find ways to safely spend Thanksgiving together, I am still excited by the holiday. And the joy it brings to all of us, especially in this very trying year.

How have you and your family decided to safely spend Thanksgiving together during COVID-19?