As the holidays draw closer and COVID-19 cases begin to rise again here in the United States, it’s important that we all do our part to plan a safe gathering this year for Thanksgiving. Aside from abiding by local, state, and federal regulations, safe social distancing, and following recommendations on cleanliness, we’re sharing a few tips to keep you and your family safe this holiday.
1.Limit the Guest List
When planning your Thanksgiving Day feast this year, a great way to protect your loved ones is to limit your guest list. If you consider the fact that each individual in your family has a distinct circle of people who they’ve been exposed to, the possibility of one of your guests spreading COVID-19 rises with each person you add into the mix. Try keeping your guest list as small as possible. While we all want every member of our family at the dinner table this year, the truth of the matter is that the fewer people you have the less likely your family is to be exposed. This especially applies to individuals who fall into a high-risk category.
2.Properly Quarantine
To ensure you and your family are safe, encourage all of your guests to quarantine for 2 weeks in advance of Thanksgiving Day. Because of the way COVID-19 incubates, those who have contracted COVID-19 could be contagious from 24 to 48 hours prior to showing any symptoms, if they show any at all. This 2-week quarantine period isolates each family member for the entirety of the time in which they could be a health threat to others. These 2 weeks include when the individual has contracted COVID-19, through the incubation period, and the time afterward when the individual is contagious.
Please keep in mind that as we learn more about COVID-19 we are discovering that some individuals DO NOT present symptoms but could still be contagious. This means that while you may not feel sick, you could be spreading COVID-19 to your loved ones without knowing it. That is why this 2 week period is so important. If all of your guests quarantine properly you can rest assured that if they had contracted COVID-19 that they are no longer contagious and no longer a risk.
3.Prepare an Outdoor Feast
If you do decide to meet with family and friends this year for Thanksgiving, consider planning your gathering to be held outside. While it doesn’t seem as romantic as your typical meal around the table, having your Thanksgiving dinner outside or in a very large space will allow for each individual to enjoy each other’s company at a safe social distance. In fact, the CDC states that “Indoor spaces with less ventilation where it might be harder to keep people apart are more risky.”
4. Go Virtual
The best possible way to ensure you and your family members are safe this holiday season is to gather at a distance. After a tough year, it’s hard to give up time with our family, but at the end of the day, it’s better to give up a joining for a holiday or two to ensure the safety and health of your family members. While staying at home during the holidays seems lonely, it’s still very possible to enjoy a nice Thanksgiving dinner with your family at a distance.
Try ordering out and staying in. Enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner on a video call with your family by ordering from a local restaurant, Hello Fresh, or a Boston Market and hopping on a Facetime or Zoom call. This takes the pressure off cooking so that you can sit down and enjoy the most important part of the holiday season, time with your family.
While 2020 has been tough for most of us and all we want is to have those joyous moments with the family, the best way to ensure we can all spend time together again in the future is to stay as safe as possible. If we all work together and make the right choices for our community as a whole, we can look forward to a safer holiday season next year. We hope you and your family stay safe and have a happy, healthy Thanksgiving.
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