Before the pandemic, friends and family enjoyed the holidays together with festivities, celebrations and traditions. This year, due to the COVID-19 vaccine, many families will be joyfully reunited.
It’s still wise to take precautions to keep illness at bay. And luckily, there are many ways to have a happy holiday with loved ones!
The following ideas are great ways to celebrate the holidays in a safe, meaningful way.
- Ask friends for their favorite holiday movie, and host mini movie nights with your loved ones. Don’t forget the popcorn and hot cocoa!
- Paint nativity story stones to tell the story of the stable birth. Each stone can be a different person or animal.
- Create a bingo card with ideas for celebrating the holiday. Share your card with friends and family. It could include things like bake cookies, write to Santa, watch a holiday movie, make paper snowflakes and build a snowman or gingerbread house. The first person to get a bingo wins a prize.
- Create a holiday playlist to share with each person’s favorite holiday song. Host a music celebration with mini performances from different groups of people. You could even turn this into a virtual karaoke party if people are unable to join in person.
- Host a New Year’s Eve party with family and friends. Provide enough party horns and noisemakers for each person, so it’s not necessary to share. For people not able to attend in person, have them sign onto a virtual party just before midnight to welcome 2021 with everyone.
Guests who are eligible to be fully vaccinated for both COVID-19 and the flu virus should do so before attending any in person holiday gatherings. Also, if you’re eligible for your COVID-19 booster shot, get that too. Remember, you are not fully protected until two weeks after either your single dose of Johnson & Johnson or second dose of Moderna or Pfizer.
If you do decide to host an in-person holiday gathering, take many safety precautions, including:
- Asking unvaccinated guests to wear a face mask when they aren’t actively eating or drinking.
- Having hand sanitizer or soap and water readily available and asking guests to wash their hands regularly.
- Making sure anyone attending isn’t feeling sick or has been in contact with someone who has symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19.
Stay updated on what Bon Secours is doing related to COVID-19.
