Students adapt Thanksgiving plans to meet COVID safety guidelines

A lot of plans have had to be changed during COVID, a lot of events have had to be missed and a lot of vacations have had to be missed. The holiday season coming up is no exception, and COVID will drastically change people’s plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas that they normally do each year. 

“I know for a fact these traditions will change this year,” senior Annie Brown said. “Obviously, we probably won’t see my grandparents or have my aunt and cousins come down like we normally do. I don’t know for sure what our plans are this year. It’s still up in the air and not for sure. This year is the year of go with the flow. I don’t know what will happen, who I will see, won’t see, but either way my family and I will still celebrate and bring joy to this unnerving time.”

Traditions with family, extended family and friends may be put to a stop this year. People aren’t able to see family and loved ones they would normally be able to see on a regular year. 

“All my extended family lives out of state,” junior Megan Chagdes said, “so we usually celebrate with just our small family here. We like to travel for Thanksgiving, but not to visit anyone. We definitely won’t travel anywhere unnecessarily. We had planned to go see lights in Chicago for Christmas, but we can’t do that due to the lockdown. We actually plan to do the opposite of what’s expected, and we’re planning to go to my grandma’s house. We usually don’t visit our extended family, but my grandpa passed away this summer and she shouldn’t have to spend Thanksgiving alone. We’re going to be the only family to actually spend Thanksgiving with my grandma. I’m pretty sure other members may go and see her on other days, but they’re being left out of the main dinner so that we don’t spread the virus.”

There are still a lot of good ways to celebrate with your family right in your house and even involve your extended family digitally. You can Facetime, call, do the same activities at different homes and send pictures. It’s definitely not the most ideal situation, but there are still many ways to make it fun and enjoy the holiday spirit.