With our nation currently going through a pandemic and the holiday season approaching fast, many Americans have the question on their mind of how to safely celebrate. Some are ignoring all precautions and having the holidays as usual and others are completely cancelling all festivities all together. We’re here to give you a healthy in between to still celebrate the holidays but do it safely. 

Thanksgiving is known for watching football, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and eating copious amounts of food until you go into a “food coma.” While not all of these are happening this year, there are still plenty of ways to enjoy the holiday. 

The CDC recommends quarantining 14 days prior to having any guests over, and if any of you know, Governor DeWine reminded us that gatherings should still consist of no more than ten people. Realistically, few people are going to follow that so wearing masks and socially distancing is the next best thing. Except when eating dinner, masks should be worn if you are seeing relatives you do not typically see, especially those relatives over 65. 

So you may be wondering what options you have to enjoy a semi-normal holiday. You can definitely still enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, and if you’re having less people over, you get to enjoy more leftovers. You can also watch football and have a Zoom/Facetime meeting with family that lives far away and did not come in this year, and text everyone you know why you are personally thankful for them.

Obviously, this does not fully substitute for a regular Thanksgiving, but we all need to remember that we are in a pandemic, and that in order to save people’s lives, we may have to forego some of our regular holiday traditions this year, so that we can celebrate with all of our loved ones next year.