Plan a Safe Thanksgiving Day Amidst the Pandemic!

According to the guidelines for Thanksgiving 2020 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), small family gatherings pose a lower-risk than large indoor gatherings. They have even recommended scaling down Thanksgiving activities this year by calling for intimate family gatherings and virtual get-togethers.

Digitalization has helped us to celebrate festivals over Zoom calls or other video conferencing apps. The mere thought of a virtual Thanksgiving dinner with friends and employees can be dreadful, but it doesn’t have to be awkward.

You can still have a great Thanksgiving Day Zoom call to catch up with your far relatives and cheer your remote employees. The best choice is to reimagine your routine Thanksgiving celebration into virtual dinner gatherings for the safety of your friends and families both near and far.

All your far-away employees and families may not be able to make it to the physical table, but we bring you a few creative ideas to get the same in-person feel on a virtual platform. Stay with us as we help you celebrate the festivities with your loved ones and employees differently.

1. Musical Thanksgiving Celebration

Nothing can match the feeling of closeness than a perfectly synced playlist. It’s the best alternative to be on the same page musically and help everyone feel connected.

Spotify offers the Group Session Feature that allows the creator to access other people and add desired songs to the playlists. A fine-tuned playlist will create a musical harmony and suit your guests’ mood.

It’s always better to keep your tempos balanced and refrain from adding slow songs in a row to drag down your mood. Create a perfect mix of slow and high energy songs to accentuate your guests’ mood.

We hope you have a musical thanksgiving this year!

2. Host a Cocktail Making Virtual Session

Make your Thanksgiving Day more special by crafting your own cocktail virtual event to get into the festive mood. You have sufficient time to plan one and ensure it runs seamlessly.

Start by hosting a cocktail theme and share your ingredients and how you’ll prepare yours in advance.

Don’t choose overly complicated cocktail recipes and plan on making something using easy-to-find ingredients so that you and your guests enjoy the process.

3. Plan an On-screen Cooking Virtual Session

How about cooking and eating a meal together?

Thanksgiving gatherings revolve around just one thing: A family meal. Turn your meal prep as the main event and cook as you share traditional recipes and create memories.

When you cook together as a family (virtually), you dedicate time to share, bond, and cherish moments together. Food brings people together, and a cook-along event will make you feel less alone and more connected.

Share a detailed list of necessary ingredients, cooking procedures, pre-heated temperatures, etc.  Time-consuming dishes should be put off the menu, like cooking turkey should be cooked alone.

4. Sync your Home Decor

Coordinating your dining table decor will add a sense of togetherness and remind you of being at home. People staying far from your homes can relate to the dining table where they’ve had several meals together.

Set the mood with vintage home decor options to make you feel super cozy. Add in some creativity and pre-planning to make the virtual event work well. Decide over other details like color schemes and sync well with your candles, tablecloths, napkins, and vases.

5. Add a Touch of Spirituality

Don’t compromise on your traditional dining table rituals (or dining table manners) from pre-dinner blessing to showing gratitude by keeping a moment of silence. It’s the simplest way to add a warm touch to your usual in-person family gathering.

It’s like a reflective component to give hope and comfort to you and your family members. It’s like going down memory lane and cherishing all those childhood moments where you had a thanksgiving prayer before dinner till the day you moved out.

It’s a neutral activity that keeps us connected spiritually and includes a brief medication or a small prayer together.

To spread this same merriment with your supportive colleagues who have worked hard to help you grow throughout the pandemic. We introduce some funky thanksgiving tips to host a virtual office Thanksgiving gathering.

1. Say your ‘Thank you’ First

All of us need a little bit of positivity and motivation in 2020. Throw a Thanksgiving ‘virtual’ party for your colleagues and send out some gifts for each one of them, thanking them for being outstanding and exceptional employees.

To boost their spirits, you can also speak about every team and employees who have been standout players during disconnected times. Payback by appreciating their efforts and making them feel precious.

2. Send Videos and Photos of the Workplace

All your remote employees might have a hard time and maybe missing their desk or working in the office for so many months now.

Share video tours and photos of your office decorations or post pictures on social media platforms to make them feel connected. You can even host a live video showing BTS of your office decoration or some funny reels to give them office feels.

3. Share Virtual-friendly Competitions or Games

Several businesses have managed to adjust to the new normal and continued hosting fun Fridays and birthday bash to stay connected with their employees.

The festive season is another reason to get everyone in the spirit by hosting virtual-friendly Thanksgiving parties and conducting challenging competitions and games. Divide them into groups and throw team-building challenges to add fun to your celebration.

Nothing is better than indulging them for a round of office bingo, charades, Pictionary, housie, and likewise. A dinnertime campfire party will be an awesome thanksgiving event too.

4. Remembering Old Days and Creating New Ones

You can even give out end-of-the awards recognizing achievements and special accomplishments of employees who have had an outstanding performance this year, including the new employees.

You can even make your event creative and fun by giving away photoshopped images, humorous GIFs, and other playful versions of every employee. Festival is the best time to reminisce about the good old times and create new ones as you all sit together and enjoy your Thanksgiving 2020 meal virtually.

Anyway, your employees would be busy on Thanksgiving Day, but you can send a meal credit to everyone and ask them to pre-order dinner and eat simultaneously.

5. Give Away Virtual Gifts

Before the big day, surprise your remote employees with gift cards, vouchers, travel packages, and charitable donations via email. It’s been a roller coaster ride for them; allow your employees to relax with their friends and families.

Before all this, make sure you adhere to CDC guidelines and make your thanksgiving safer. #Safetycomesfirst!!!

Happy Turkey Day greetings to you from Atlanta’s best event planners.

Regarded as one of the top Southeast Asian event producers, Nirjary Desai is the Chief Experience Officer and Founder of KIS (cubed) Events. She offers one-of-a-kind event experiences with serious wow factors for top brands, celebrities, and personalities across the US and globally. We believe each one of us has the power to influence the world around us by creating our version of change. Are you ready to experience something new? Reach out to us!