CDC holiday guidelines are now available, here’s how to best handle Christmas gatherings.
With the holidays either already here or coming up very soon, depending on what you celebrate, the CDC has released their recommendations for what we all should do to celebrate safely. While a vaccine might be out, it won’t be available to most of us until next year so we still need to do everything we can to keep ourselves and each other healthy.
The guidelines are similar to what you might have seen around Thanksgiving, but they are a good refresher about what to do this holiday season. The main suggestion is that people gathering should belong to the same household. This means families that live together or roommates.
Even if you’re a college student coming home from school, you’d be considered a different household. Does it suck? Yes, but that’s what they recommend.
CDC recommends outdoor and virtual gatherings this holiday season
They also recommend that if you are traveling, to avoid traveling to high-risk areas. If you end up getting the coronavirus and bringing it back to where you live, that obviously would be a big problem. You could also spread it on public transportation which would further exacerbate the problem.
If you’re going to gather with people outside your household, they recommend doing it outside, if possible. I live in Michigan…unless everyone is wearing winter coats and you have outside heaters, that’s not really possible. But if you are able to gather outside, they still recommend you stay six feet apart and wear masks when you’re not eating.
There also shouldn’t be any direct contact with other guests. No hugging, kissing, or handshaking. For the introverts and people who’d rather not be touched, this is a godsend. No more forced hugs!
The CDC also has recommendations for food preparation and serving. They advise people to use single-use plates and silverware and that you should pick one person to serve everything.
You should also limit the number of people around the food. So if you’re doing cookies, give people a designated plate to eat from instead of one big cookie platter. Or buy storebought that come in individual bags.
They also recommend that if you are gathering, to make it for as short a time as possible. Usually hang out at your parent’s house all day? Maybe have dinner and open presents and then head home this year.
You also want to make sure everyone is following the basic CDC guidelines of mask-wearing, social-distancing, and handwashing the weeks before your gathering. If Uncle Bill doesn’t “believe” in wearing a mask, it’s probably best to not invite him this year.
If you don’t feel comfortable gathering at all, there is also Zoom and Skype. You can open presents and eat with your relatives from thousands of miles away virtually.
If you’re looking for more specific suggestions and guidelines, you can check out all the CDC recommendations here.
How will you be spending your holidays this year? Let us know in the comments below!