How to SAFELY Plan FUN Holiday Activities in 2020
Every year Brookhollow has a Christmas in July sale, which has us thinking, what are the holidays going to be like this year?
Holidays During COVID-19
Summer 2020 is being met with several road blocks due to COVID-19 ranging from travel bans, reduced capacity restaurants, store closures, and canceled activities like concerts, art museums, sporting events, and more. Even celebrations like the Fourth of July were put on hold or done in such a way as to make social distancing a top priority. Birthdays stopped being celebrated in the traditional sense; families and friends replaced house calls, birthday songs, and blowing out the candles on a birthday cake (pretty gross retrospectively) with vehicle parades, where you decorated your car, drove by the house of the birthday girl or birthday boy, and showed your birthday love from the street. Graduations and proms underwent serious changes too, but people got creative and celebrated stay at home events, remote events, and gave kudos from afar. Video calling became all the more popular for important events, special occasions, and even day-to-day hellos.
So what about upcoming holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve? While many have made exceptions to see close family and friends in person during the pandemic, especially those nearby, there are millions of people who are separated from loved ones by distances too large to travel safely. For many people, planes are still very much out of the question, and if you were to fly, it could result in two weeks of quarantine or worse.
Fun Halloween Activities
Will trick-or-treating be an option on October 31st – who’s to say? If cancelation of All Hallows’ Eve isn’t mandated, it will be up to the discretion of parents and individual households what’s appropriate. Leaving wrapped treats out for children as opposed to answering the door may be a good option, but even then, parents will have to be mindful of the numerous surfaces touched by people around the block and have the hand sanitizer ready. You can also incorporate face masks into your Halloween costume for the year. Perhaps the safest option this year will be to treat Halloween like our other candy-infused holiday, Easter, and purchase treats for your household only.
You can:
- Plan a fun Halloween party for your family/household.
- Carve a jack-o’-lantern.
- Hide Halloween candy around the house.
- Tell scary stories.
- Watch a scary movie.
- Play spooky party games
- Make ghoulish food.
- Put up Halloween decorations.
- Play creepy music.
- Create your own haunted house.
Fun Thanksgiving Activities
Thanksgiving is a biggie, and the question of what to do or what not to do will be plaguing us (no pun intended) come November if there is not a novel Coronavirus vaccine. Large family gatherings and friendly get-togethers will likely be reduced to immediate family or the closest of friends, and even then, it’s still a risk.
- For those of us fortunate to live in more temperate climates, perhaps a Thanksgiving cookout in a wide-open space will allow for better social distancing.
- Whether you decided to host indoors or outdoors, make things like hand sanitizer, hand soap, face masks, and Lysol wipes readily available – disinfect everything! I have a friend who keeps new masks and hand sanitizer at the front door so guests can use them as soon as they enter.
- Instead of hand towels in your bathrooms, offer disposable napkins or paper towels and provide a touchless trash can with either a foot pedal or a motion sensor.
- Offer several areas to sit and eat with chairs spaced at least six feet apart.
- Part up partitions if you can.
- While it may not be the same, you can have use video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams or Zoom to have a remote Thanksgiving too.
- Take turns saying what you are most thankful for.
Fun Hanukkah Activities and Christmas Activities
Other celebrations like Hanukkah and Christmas can be handled in much the same way, but there is a religious aspect to these holidays that can sometimes call for visits to your chosen house of worship. Many sermons are now offered in digital formats and can be attended online in real-time for a safer option. When it comes to buying gifts, many malls are still open. Still, it would be nice to support small businesses during our current world crisis, as it is also a great financial crisis affecting many people, so check out your local shops! If you want to stay safe and stay home, there is always Amazon or other online shopping platforms, and most businesses now offer an ecommerce option.
For safe and fun activities during the holidays this year, try:
- Driving through local neighborhoods and looking at others’ holiday decorations including Christmas lights, Hanukkah lights, animatronic figures like Santa Clause, wreaths, Christmas trees, oversized dreidels, and more. Some neighborhoods are so beautiful this time of year that they actually have formal tours.
- You can also explore a winter wonderland by walking. Get outside in the brisk fresh air and see what you can find around your town.
- Find a remote area and go sledding.
- Cut down your own Christmas tree and decorate it.
- Watch holiday movies.
- Listen to Christmas songs and/or Hanukkah songs.
- Play old board games.
- Make homemade eggnog and other delicious holiday recipes.
- Put up decorations.
- Write letters to Santa.
- Donate to a charity.
- Go caroling.
- Cozy up and enjoy some family time.
Fun New Year’s Eve Activities
When New Year’s Eve comes,
- Buy a bottle of champagne or sparkling grape juice and toast to a crazy year. The world will be celebrating with you.
- Watch the ball drop around the globe.
- Remember to FaceTime your loved ones and teach mom and dad how to use that new Amazon Echo Show you just bought them…or Google Nest Hub…or Facebook Portal, whatever your preference.
- You can plan a digital game night, and since no one is driving, feel free to turn it into a drinking game, but remember to drink responsibly. Adult party games like Cards Against Humanity can now be played online. Jackbox TV is another great option, and while the party games offered are rated T for teen, you can select the family-friendly option in the settings menu so the whole family can enjoy.
- Purchase noisemakers, party hats, and decorations.
- Light sparklers.
- Make sure your house looks nice, light some candles, and then cook a fancy meal.
- Don’t be afraid to get dressed up; it’s good to ring in the New Year in a brand new outfit.
Fun Holiday Cards
For all your upcoming holidays, remember that greeting cards are still a wonderful way to reach out and stay connected. Keep this timeless tradition going with brookhollow®.
Order personalized:
Opt for our ‘Mail for Me’ service to send beautiful paper greeting cards straight from your computer and without leaving your house.
Stay safe, stay healthy, and have a happy holiday season.
