How to Make Your Socially Distanced Holidays Rock

Let’s get real, it’s 2020. Not even our most cherished traditions will be left unscathed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still make our holidays festive. Whether it’s gathering people outdoors or hosting a virtual feast, we’ve got a few ideas to help you make the most out of this holiday season. 

The Great Outdoors-

If you’re fortunate enough to live in a climate that allows for this, here are some creative ways to get festive with friends and family in a way that’s safer than the traditional indoor gathering space.

Make it a Picnic: Put together (or a buy) a few pre-packaged meals and take them to your backyard or your local park, gather around a portable (or pre-built) fire pit and voila! Dinner with a view. Wrap up in a super soft faux-fur blanket and stay for cocktails after. 

Make a Wreath: Layer up and head into to the woods to collect branches and fresh evergreen sprigs to build your very own wreath. When building the wreaths you can do so outside or you can take them home and build them over a video call 

Movie Night: If you’ve ever thought of buying a movie projector, now is the time. Set up the projector to play on a wall of your house or throw up a sheet and play it on that. Get together all the blankets and sleeping bags you can find, slip on some sweats, make some hot chocolate, pick out your favorite holiday themed movies, and invite everyone over. (pro-tip: try making your very own unbelievably cozy outdoor beds by using mattress toppers. Be sure to get one with a washable cover!)

The Great Indoors-

Now for those of us where outdoor activities are simply not an option- here’s some ideas to have a better virtual party than you ever thought possible. First and foremost, let’s start with which video call platform bet suits your needs- there are two contenders that we suggest as the top two: Zoom and Google Hangouts. The free version of zoom allows up to 100 participants but has a 40 minute time limit. Google hangouts doesn’t have time limits but only allows up to 25 callers to participate at once. 

Contactless Potluck: Have everyone in your group prepare a dish, divvy it up, and leave it on everyone’s doorstep. Then everyone will have the traditional excessive feast and they’ll only have to prepare one meal. Then during your virtual party, everyone can share their favorite dishes. Kick this continuity up a notch by all deciding on the same wines to drink or even creating batched cocktails for the whole gang. Try this mulled wine recipe!

Cook Together: Send out the same recipes to everyone, join in on the video call, and get ready to create your very own holiday cooking show. Sip a few cocktails while you chat and cook then compare your dishes once they’re done. 

Play a game: While board games around the fireplace might be out, there’s plenty of other games that translate perfectly to doing them virtually. We suggest charades, bingo (just print sheets off from the internet), most likely to (a game where an activity is selected and you vote on who in that group is the most likely to do that activity- the person with the most votes drinks or wins a prize), heads up (a free phone app), or even cards against humanity (there is a free digital version called remote insensitivity. 

We know that navigating the holidays during these unprecedented times can be difficult, but we believe that this season will bring lasting memories and maybe even a few new cherished family traditions. Stay safe and happy holidays!