8 Ways to Keep the Holidays Special During COVID

To keep ourselves and our loved ones safe from COVID-19, many of us are staying home for the holidays this year. The CDC has put out guidelines for planning our winter holidays that typically involve large gatherings of family and friends, like Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year’s.

While this year will undoubtedly look different from years past, our holiday celebrations can still be meaningful and enjoyable. Here are 8 ideas to keep the holidays special during COVID.

Plan the picture-perfect family night in

Enjoy family movie night.

AT&T TV launched at a pretty perfect time. It equips families with the tools they need for a memorable movie night together. Binge-watch Disney classics old and new like The Lion King or Moana. For adventure seekers, watch Rise of the Guardians or Hey Arnold! The Movie— through your HBO Max subscription with AT&T TV (free for one year). 

Put together a puzzle.
The bigger, the better. Puzzles are a great way to bond as a family, increase memory retention and have a great time. It’s also super satisfying when they’re finally put together. 

Remember family game night?
Bring back the tradition of playing Monopoly, Uno or even learn how to play chess. Game night can be virtual too, bust out those PS4s, Xbox Ones and their controllers. Make it even more fun by inviting family and friends to join in virtually.

Cook the same meal over video chat.

Michael Dolan, an employee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, has been celebrating this way for years. “For Thanksgiving and Christmas, we setup a facetime call on a laptop connected to an external monitor sitting on the kitchen counter. A really LONG facetime call!” he said. “My daughter in NY cooks the exact same dish my wife is making in real time. We move the monitor to the end of the table when we sit down to eat, and it’s almost like she’s there with us. One tip that made the experience much better for us, was to connect a small external speaker to the laptop (both on our end and hers) and the conversations were much more natural sounding.”

Happy hours, get-togethers and parties virtualized  

Maybe you can’t go to brunch with the girls or host large dinner parties for your friends and friends. But you can still stay in touch, and there are plenty of things to do virtually to keep you close together. 

Start a virtual book club.

Reach for those extra long books you’ve been avoiding and read along with your friends. Use your book club to discuss what happened or your reactions to the text. Indulge your fantastical side with Lord of the Rings, or if you’re feeling a classic try War and Peace. Schedule a virtual reading of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve, complete with twinkle lights, cookies, and hot chocolate.

Attend a virtual happy hour or brewing party.
Connect with others who just want to let loose behind a screen. Pick out some fun activities and turn it into a drinking game night with the pals. 

Virtual karaoke.

Do we have to say anything else? The best part is each “singer” can use a different background to match the theme of their song. Thanks Zoom. 

Throw a Netflix Party!
This newly launched extension from Chrome allows you and your friends to watch the same show or movie using the same link. So if one person pauses, it pauses for everyone else too. Use the chat room to share your reactions live. It’s movie night with your pals corona-style. 

If you are staying home this year, remember to take good care of your mental health. Thank you for doing your part to slow the spread and keep your loved ones healthy and safe.

Courtesy of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and AT&T