Safely Celebrating Thanksgiving and More
My family is just like yours, we want to celebrate Thanksgiving and the rest of the upcoming winter holidays — safely. Today I will share with you the details behind our “Express Thanksgiving” and our initial thoughts on Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year celebrations. Please share your ideas or questions in the comments section.
Express Thanksgiving
About three weeks ago a subset of my family decided to have an “Express Thanksgiving” (inspired by this Modern Family episode), that meant we would watch the weather forecast, and we would collectively pick the best day to host a small scale outdoor Thanksgiving dinner. We agreed ahead of time to be ready at moment’s notice, to make it simple and to split up responsibilities — for example:
Mom would make 2 turkey breasts, a pie and a side
Sister-in-law would make a side and a pumpkin roll
Brother would bring drinks, plates and silverware
I would host and make a side, rolls and appetizers
This past Saturday was the day, it was 70 degrees in Cleveland, Oh which made it perfect for our new traditions of corn hole, a “turkey hunt” for my young nephew, a photo challenge, drawing on the tablecloth and eating Thanksgiving dinner outside.
Photos from express thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Photo Challenge PDF
On Thanksgiving Day it will most likely be 40 degrees and cloudy. We will celebrate as individual family units and hopefully connect with each other on a Zoom call at some point throughout the day. Despite the pandemic and all the challenges of 2020, we still have so much to be grateful for. I am thankful that everyone in my family is flexible and willing to try new things in order to acknowledge the holidays that are important to us.
Winter Holidays
We have not made any plans for Christmas and New Years yet, but we all agreed that the traditions of going to mass followed by a 40-person Christmas Eve party at my house will not be possible. So to kick-start our creative thinking I came up with 15 ideas to celebrate the holidays safely (see the PDF below).
Whatever you decide to do to celebrate with your loved ones, please be safe and give yourself time to grieve for the traditions that will not be possible this year. Have faith that in 2021 holiday and birthday celebrations will look more normal — or who knows maybe “Express Thanksgiving” is here to stay!
Safe Holiday Celebrations 2020 PDF