Since the pandemic has decided to stick around for the holidays, we need to adjust our schedule in different ways. Most of us kick the holiday season off with a meal with the family on Thanksgiving. That can still be the case, but your pandemic Thanksgiving may have to look a little different this year.
It has always been a tradition to get together with family and friends for a great meal on Thanksgiving. The advice this year is to go virtual rather than gathering a large group. Using Zoom or another software option is the way to go and if you do it right, it may just become a new holiday tradition.
Virtual Thanksgiving celebrations have a number of benefits, but perhaps the one that stands out more than any other is allowing people who were not able to make it in person to gather together. Perhaps it is a good friend who just can’t get away for a few days or someone who is feeling under the weather and may not be up to traveling. You can invite as many people as you want to tie in, and you don’t even have to cook for them all!
You also don’t have to worry about cleaning the house or making a meal that is 10 times larger than your standard meal. Just cook something for yourself, set up the computer, and get ready to enjoy the company.
You also benefit from a virtual Thanksgiving if you are the one that travels to a friend or family member’s home on Thanksgiving. You can travel virtually from your laptop. You might even consider hosting Thanksgiving this year, even if you have never done so before.
One of the most important things to consider is choosing the proper platform. Zoom is the most popular choice but Google Meet is another option to consider. At that point, it’s a matter of sending out virtual invitations that give a time and link. You might also want to set the rules for the gathering, such as dressing up as pilgrims.
Even though you will not be cooking for everyone, it’s a good idea to make sure that everybody has a delicious meal to enjoy. Perhaps you could have Thanksgiving dinner delivered to your guests, or if they live near you, you could deliver a meal to them personally.
Cooking together is another option to consider. Send out your favorite recipe to your guests and then make sure everybody has the ingredients to throw it together. Set up a time where you can get together on Zoom to start cooking and you can even share cooking tips while you are at it.
Make sure that everything is established in advance so that there are no questions. As an example, will they want to eat in front of the screen or should they simply prepare the meal and eat at home as a family group. Will everyone be on mute while they are eating or should they be staring at the screen the entire time? You should also set up some fun activities for after the meal, such as a virtual game or watching Netflix together. Maybe a trip to Amazon with your friends and family could also be something you do for Black Friday.
In other words, get creative, it could be the best Thanksgiving ever.