At first
glance, the timing of Thanksgiving 2020 is not great. In fact, if you’re thinking
about all the usual traditions, it’s pretty bad. Because, as we all know, the
most common Thanksgiving activity is get-togethers with family and friends,
which are now too risky. But leave it GoodHousekeeping and Café Mom to show
us how we can possibly turn this new wave of lockdowns into fun opportunities for
broadening our palette of possibility.
On a
personal note, I can say that a couple households I know are actually looking forward to a more intimate
turkey day, relieved to have a break from labor-intensive prep and cleanup, and
a reprieve from a household full of people who may not necessarily get along.
These households plan to relish quality time with kids, more time in nature
rather than the mall, and enriching bonds with closest family or their pod.
READ MORE: Thanksgiving in a pandemic
They may
be on to something. In the same way that Zoom is here to stay, there’s every
reason to believe families may be re-thinking Thanksgiving post-Covid.
Great
time to change the menu
In Café
Mom’s suggestions for making quarantine fun, a mom admits: “So, I don’t
actually like Thanksgiving food. Can we talk about the fact that turkey is
actually terrible? The only thing I like is pie, so we are doing only pie for
our meal! I’m making a chicken potpie as the main and then everyone in the
family gets to pick a dessert pie, so we’ll have six sweet pie options. I’m
excited!”
Volunteer
to help others
Another
will be using her freed-up bandwidth to give back to LGBT youth: “I’m
volunteering to package bags for an LGBT youth center this Thanksgiving,
instead of spending the day with my Trump supporting in-laws.”
4
creative ideas from Café Mom
- New
helpers: Getting kids involved in cooking.
- Hot dogs
for Thanksgiving: going camping.
- Honoring
the roots: planting native grasses in honor of indigenous people.
- Movie
marathon: All the Harry Potter
movies. All the Star Wars movies.
- Letters of
gratitude: Write down what and/or who you are thankful for.
Good
Housekeeping’s 5 suggestions
- A family
walk or bike ride.
- Host a
virtual party.
- Go on a
scavenger hunt.
- Make a
Thanksgiving cocktail.
- Watch the
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. (Yes, it’s on.)
However
you choose to celebrate, all of us here at Hudson
Valley Parent hope you have a safe, fun, and fulfilling holiday. It may
even be one of the best ones yet.
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