Coming up quick! The Holiday decor has hit the store aisles and there are some pretty great gift bargains to be had out there. So the question is, will you be mailing your gifts and sharing a meal virtually ? or will you invite the fam over for some egg nog? There are some tough choices to be made during a pandemic especially when the holidays are a time of love, joy, and gathering. So what will your "Covid era" holiday plans look like
So we have some great options for you to weigh in on.
The virtual Christmas/ Hanukah... in a box! So of course you could just tune in with each other while you cook your meal or eat it and open gifts that you sent to each other. But what is even more fun and taking the events business by storm is summits and conferences in a box. Where attendees get a box of the party brought to them just before the big event to make everyone feel inclusive and more together. A sort of "reach out and touch someone/ all the feels" type of thing.
For this we recommend getting
* large decorative boxes. Potentially fabric lined that your guests could reuse.
* decorative place card (s)
* A special place setting commemorating the event - with family name, year, or saying on it like "the one where we stayed home for Christmas, 2020"
*a candle scent of something that smells like cookies or sage ( food oriented so it smells like home cooking).
* If yours going big you could even all get the same take out delivered - or include gift cards to a restaurant you could all share the same meal from.
* napkins
*a wine, hot chocolate mug, or drink glass
* a dessert ( maybe even cookies from for Santa )
* a gift for the table - a small something for each person that is sentimental. that they open at dinner that's separate from their main gift(s).
*a cozy blanket to enjoy their holiday drink with
And then of course set up a time for all of the family to tune in together. Maybe even a special envelope ( perhaps in gold) that is an invite to attend the family virtual celebration.
Eating together virtually may not be that fun but you can get together before or after you eat and do a game and share your sentiments about the gifts and boxes.
Option 2) A Holiday Market
Plan a little holiday market in the outdoors to celebrate your family and the holiday season.
What you'll need:
*Set up tents and decorate them like little boutiques or invite local makers to do a small showcase depending on your family size and interests.
This could get really fun doing mens, women's teen, and kids tents. ( one idea to facilitate the gift buying is every part of teh family pitch in a $ amount. Designate people to do teh buying and everyone gets tickets or gets to pick out a certain amount of items evenly. Otherwise you could have everyone just come with wrapped gifts and have it be all luck of the draw but have all of the wrapped gifts displayed.
There are so many fun ways to approach this and have it be safe.
Holiday Market Food : you could have food truck come or have the even catered outside. Keep food simple. You could do traditional small plates or stick with traditional food truck offerings. Either way the holidays are about celebrating those you love and being with them.
Option 3: The Tradition, 6 feet apart / Socially distanced... as much as possible.
It's likely a lot of families will be itching to get together after nearly a year apart. If you are going to go for it and roll the dice, here are some tips:
*hand sanitizer everywhere. Also in rest rooms instead of one hand towel for guests to dry off hands opt for individual wash cloths in a basket and a separate basket to dispose of them when used.
* don't do a buffet unless you designate someone as a disher to dole out food and opt for pretty disposable plates instead of the regular china.
*pre pour drinks if possible.
* if doing any sort of gift type opening spread out in the room.
* If you have a fire put out side , light it up and encourage guests to have open mingle areas so that space is kept between people.
With these tips and ideas we hope your holiday season planning and events are especially beautiful and bright.
* This post was written by Award winning event designer and publisher of Adore Magazine , Kat Minks. For event inquiries more tips and ideas head to www.katminks.com
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