Activity and Safety Tips For Stress-Free Gatherings
Whether you require corporate housing or not, this blog will help you make the most of your holidays. With the season fast approaching, the Stress Free Corporate Housing team felt what better time for safety and activity planning tips.
Brief Introduction
People utilize corporate housing for several reasons. Business travel continues, and International students need temporary housing near campus. During a crisis, when medical workers are called in to care for patients, they need apartments. The patients’ families also look for furnished accommodations offering a comfortable home-like environment. Rest assured, Stress Free Corporate Housing has availability anywhere in the U.S. to meet individual requirements. We will find you a front door that leads to a home you’ll look forward to sharing with your loved ones.
Home Away From Home
You do not have to forgo the Holiday Season due to the COVID19 pandemic; just be sure to take precautions to help protect your family and friends. This blog will provide comprehensive information, spiced up with a dash of festive flavor to inspire your creativity, and hopefully help you share the love without the germs.
Autumn Skies and Pumpkin Pies!
Can you recall the wonderful aroma from the pumpkin pie in the oven-making the house smell delicious? Is there a fond memory you have from your childhood of a special Thanksgiving? We’re here to help you make new memories for those you love.
After months of physical distancing, most of us are more than ready to celebrate the upcoming holidays. This blog should help you do just that in a caring, smart way, which you can customize to create a holiday season that will best suit your family, friends, and budget.
This “new normal” continues to force lifestyle demands on us all to slow the spread of COVID19 and keep people safe. The pandemic brought consequences that have impacted peoples’ livelihoods, health, and happiness. So how do we make the best of it, and what are our options to celebrate as safely as possible? If helping those you love to have a happy holiday season is your goal, there are ways to accomplish it with safety in mind. The good news is that we can still experience joy, gratitude, and connection as we have shared in previous holidays, but achieve these emotions by different or adjusted methods adapted to help keep friends and loved ones as safe as possible.
Coping with separation from extended family, friends and numerous other adjustments to our daily routines have caused disruption and worse. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), your safest option is to celebrate with your household alone. However, if it is important to you to share your Thanksgiving meal and holidays with extended family and friends, you may be concerned about how to accomplish this. The CDC released a set of recommendations to keep seasonal gatherings safe. Below are tips and a link from the CDC offering relevant information. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html
The CDC recommends the following lower risk activities.
- Having a small dinner with only people who live in your household
- Preparing traditional family recipes for family and neighbors, especially those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and delivering them in a way that doesn’t involve contact with others
- Having a virtual dinner celebration and sharing recipes with friends and family.
- Shopping online rather than in person on the day after Thanksgiving or the next Monday
- Watching sports events, parades, and movies from home
Consider the Location of the Gathering.
Indoor gatherings generally pose more risk than outdoor gatherings. Indoor gatherings with poor ventilation pose more risk than those with adequate ventilation, such as open windows or doors.
Moderate Risk Activities
- Having a small outdoor dinner with family and friends who live in your community
- Lower your risk by following CDC’s recommendations on hosting gatherings or cook-outs.
- Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking apples, wearing masks is encouraged or enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing.
- Attending small outdoor sports events with safety precautions in place
Higher Risk Activities
The CDC states the following are Higher risk activities and recommends that we avoid these activities to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19:
- Going shopping in crowded stores just before, on, or after Thanksgiving.
- Participating or being a spectator at a crowded race
- Attending crowded parades
- Attending large indoor gatherings with people from outside of your household
Tip to Reduce Stress
Upon researching to write this blog, I was pleased to learn that gratitude can be a valid coping response. Research shows that people who nurture daily celebratory and gratitude habits have more energy, less anxiety, and better physical health. Many acknowledge gratitude around the Thanksgiving table, as each person shares a few blessings, they are most grateful to have. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/pdfs/GratitudePDFs/6Emmons-BlessingsBurdens.pdf
Reflect on your present blessings, on which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. —Charles Dickens (M. Dickens, 1897, p. 45) Sage advice never goes out of date.
The American Red Cross put together a useful list covering cooking to safety tips. It gets right to the point and it’s easy to print and use. https://www.redcross.org/local/california/los-angeles/about-us/news-and-events/press-releases/20-tips-to-help-have-a-safe-thanksgiving.html
Many families and close friends develop unique Thanksgiving traditions. One activity I have heard of is a way of expressing gratitude to those you hold dear. Here is how it works. After the meal, the hostess provides cards and stamped envelopes so everyone can write a card of thanks telling a family member how they have made a difference in their life. They write the person’s name on the envelope, and the hostess can complete the address. The following day the cards are mailed. It is a heartwarming wonderful surprise and keepsake for the recipient.
Many organizations advise forgetting the buffet this year. If guests are in attendance, opt for one person serving food with a mask on versus a buffet-style service or having everyone pass casseroles and side dishes around the table.
Do you miss that special feeling that generally arrives with the Holidays? Are you wondering if there is a way to feel that inspiration in your heart this year with everything we have all gone through?
If the budget is a conservative one this year, crafting with the kiddos is a holiday activity they will remember through the years. Just today, one of my friends in her fifties was reminiscing on Facebook about how special her mother always made Halloween. Her memories included making caramel apples and baking cookies together. The interaction shared can become a treasured memory and perhaps an activity passed down to children and grandchildren.
A Great Grownup Activity for November or December!
Host a small outdoor wine tasting. Place chairs six feet apart in a circle. Invite six to eight people to your holiday gathering. You can supply the wine or ask each couple or individual to bring a Varietal, a Merlot, Chardonnay, or a Cabernet Sauvignon of their choice with information about their selection to share with the other guests. Ask your guests to prepare a presentation offering interesting facts. Serve a cheese selection, crackers, hor’s d ‘oeuvres, served in small individual dishes. Wipe the bottles down, and have one person pouring and passing hor’s d ‘oeuvres wearing a mask and gloves they put on just before the foodservice. Remember it is a tasting, so keep the pours small. Mail and or email invitations with a rain date.
Varietal – Wikipedia, A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Merlot.
Even with the pandemic, you can still decorate your home with Autumn accessories, make your grandmother’s traditional Thanksgiving casserole and share fun activities with the children, such as building gingerbread houses.
Baking is a timeless example of how we can spend quality time together. Make sure to allow the children to help prepare your home for family and your guest’s arrival. Put them in charge of holiday decorations; craft a cornucopia together. Baking goodies, gathering pinecones, folding napkins, and other age-appropriate activities help children feel like they have contributed. You can also allow the kids to serve the Thanksgiving dessert.
If you are short on a full set of dishes to serve everyone a meal and dessert, no worries, many hosts mix and match plates in varying sizes. It is considered Cest’ Chic.
When I was a child, and Grandma would visit from the city, I took it upon myself to make construction paper signs displaying our photos together to welcome her. Your kids can cut portions of old cards to embellish the “welcome, and we love you signs,” adding a bit of tape on the back of the family photos to secure them to their sign, without damage. Give them safety scissors, some Elmer’s glue, and small silk flowers from the dollar store. A tiny peppermint candy in a wrapper and a ribbon can adorn their sign. There are no rules establishing what can be used as decoration. Let the children’s creativity flourish, and you will be amazed by the outcome.
Small Updates that Make Big Impact
From tablescapes to festive bowls and vases filled with gleaming goodies, trinkets, and potpourri. Opt to go rustic, or get your shine on!
Thanksgiving tablescapes exude both charm and the comfort of home. They also let your guests know an extra special meal is ahead. Gather pine cones for a pretty basket or your table. Add a touch of gold, silver, or white paint to the cone tips to achieve a dash of natural elegance to a rustic look. Mix in a few candles and candlesticks along with some holiday greens placing everything on the table runner for Thanksgiving dinner. If you live in an area where pine cones are not available outdoors, they are readily available in craft stores and online.
Fill your crystal bowls and vases with potpourri and gold beads, silk flowers, or leaves, artificial glittering fruits, or any pretty items, to add that extra bit of “holiday magic” to the celebration.
Better Homes and Gardens recommends you “cover your Thanksgiving bird in bacon and relax.” The flavorful bacon will baste the meat and crisp the outside to succulent perfection. This easy twist on your Holiday main course will delight guests and may even become the newest tradition for your family feast.” https://www.bhg.com/party/thanksgiving-hosting-hacks/
With Christmas soon to follow…
It is your time to shine your special light. Dust the menorah, or unpack your cherished Christmas ornaments. Create fun for all by sharing activities with loved ones. Make decorating the Christmas tree into a family party. Consider baking and crafting, as handmade ornaments make cherished gifts. Video your family singing together to share online. If you like being outdoors, enjoy time spent gardening. Set some time aside for holiday decorating with the kiddos. Grab some markers and art supplies so the kids can make holiday cards. Paint a canvas, then take a photo to create a custom coffee mug, tee-shirt, or mouse pad to be given as holiday gifts.
Remember, there are drive-through events in most cities-beautiful light displays many set to music. Be sure to check and see what your city has planned. Keep a positive outlook, find safe activities you can participate in, and make plans to enjoy them!
Activities that are safe include…
Fantastic light displays to thrill children and adults, sure to get the entire family in the Holiday Spirit!
- Drive around town and look at everyone else’s holiday decorations. Take a family vote for the first place winner of the best holiday display.
- Seek daily moments that bring a smile and make one into a cause for celebration, bring the kids into the planning. Allow them to contribute to the family celebration.
It is wonderful that we have the technology to keep connected to loved ones that live a distance away keeping us in touch during what can become lonely times if little effort is made to connect those we care about. A virtual party can be organized. During the holidays, you can use Zoom to host a Christmas caroling group and invite viewers.
To foster holiday cheer, keep in touch with friends and distant family members on social sites. Hold an ugly Christmas sweater competition; an event sure to be just as funny virtually. Have participants post photos and give a prize (gift card) for the winner that has the most votes.
For those with children who will miss getting to see Santa, check out JingleRing, which allows you to schedule a live or prerecorded virtual call with Ol’ St. Nick.
- Plan to reduce indoor shopping trips to reduce health risks. Unfortunately, not everyone in the store sticks to the 6 feet away rule. Retail stores are racing to adapt to online service, as are food stores, so you are likely to find everything you need online.
- No matter what your plans are-start early, a time crunch and heavy workload to accomplish your holiday to-do list can add to the stress.
The Stress Free Corporate Housing team wishes you and your loved ones a bountiful and blessed season. We hope we have provided resources along with activity options to help you and your family enjoy safe and happy holidays.
Recent Comments