My adult child and her cousins want to know how Covid-19 will affect this beloved family holiday. The simple answer is yes, we will celebrate Thanksgiving, but it may look a little different this year!
We are lucky that most of our extended family still live within 20 miles of each other. This means no need for high-risk air flights or long road trips for us to get together.
The Passing of Thanksgiving Foods
There will not be the traditional passing of foods around long set of adjoining tables that trail out of the dining room and into the hallway this year. Depending on the weather, it might be five separate family tables, two on the deck and three in lawn, one table for each family/quarantine group. Each food item will be proportionately divided into five serving dishes one of each, per table. We did something similar this spring for a high school graduation party for family. We served foods in take-a-way containers so all families needed to do was serve their table. At the end of the meal, they put the lid on their container and put it in the decorated bag we provided for leftovers. If guests entered the house to use the restroom, they applied hand sanitizer and put on a face mask before they entered.
Back-up Plans
If it is cold, snowy or windy on Thanksgiving, I will need to rethink my plans. Maybe, we can prepare a few signature foods and deliver them to family member’s front porches. Alternatively, we can do as we did for Saint Patrick’s Day (a big deal in our house) and visit (masked of course) with one family at a time on the front 
porch. Following the visit we gave each family food to enjoy at their home. Another alternative, with less work for me, is to exchange recipes of family favorite foods (tofu pumpkin pie). Then we can call or Zoom during the mealtime to visit and showoff how our dishes turned out.
Centers for Disease Control Thanksgiving Guidelines
We plan to follow CDC guidelines and avoid large crowds by watching parades, sporting events on TV and shopping online.
Giving Thanks
One thing is for sure, our family has had a lot of time this year to reflect on what is truly important. So when we go around the virtual table, expressing something we are grateful for this year, the answers will be rich with meaning and experience.
In the comments section, please share with readers your Covid-19 Holiday plans for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanza, or Hanukah, etc. I hope we can all learn from and support each other.
Great points Mary! Get the kids involved in planning. People respond more positively when they have some control and are part of the solution.
Great ideas! I know in my family, who are spread all across the US – we did a video chat this spring for high school graduation celebrations. I was really impressed with some young family members who were attending – they said they didn’t want to make grandma sick – excellent point from young people. I’ve heard many parents talk about how their kids are missing out on so much with no celebrations, and its true, but if you talk to the young people – they get it. They understand the risks to sick or elderly family members. They don’t want the guilt of having passed this virus to anyone. Think outside the box and include those tweens, teens and young adults in the conversations and planning. They can come up with some really unique ideas for planning an alternative get together.