Any families here seriously eliminating or paring down Thanksgiving? (Florida: house, live in)

[bostonguy1960]

(long read)

We've all heard, about a week ago, how it's recommended that most or even all Americans plan a smaller Thanksgiving, with much fewer guests.

I guess the type and number of guests would differ on whether you've seen these people regularly since this mess and trust their habits. Do we know if they're good social distancers, wear masks when necessary and routinely wash hands with (warm or hot, or is cold water okay?) soap and water and use sanitizer and/or wipes when away from a sink?

Perhaps it's better to congregate at a favorite restaurant, but of course there won't be any Thanksgiving buffets offered (for those who even like buffets). Plus it's expensive. But at least one doesn't endure the worry of all types of friends and relatives bringing the virus into the house -- plus the worry of doing a deep cleaning of the house once the guests leave.

I saw my brother for a birthday in the Seaport this week, but hadn't been to his house since Christmas. The restaurant was rather crowded on a Friday night, and with tables spread out and staff wearing masks. I don't know if I'd have felt comfortable bringing myself to his residence at this point. And I simply don't know if I feel comfortable enough bringing myself and any possible virus to his house for Thanksgiving, if they're planning any invite at all.

Will some here taper their normal Thanksgiving and eliminate all or most guests -- or maybe just eat out if with a large gathering?

I realize different parts of the country will react differently.

Can you all even believe we're talking about this, as perhaps many here and everywhere thought back at the beginning that we'd be back to normal by now?

[BostonMike7]

If it was up to me, I’d just skip Thanksgiving completely and just celebrate with my immediate household. My wife’s family, and my family are huge, so celebrating a “scaled down” dinner is asking for drama. I’d rather just avoid that more than the virus!

[P Larsen]

No in-person Thanksgiving except immediate household or people who visit nearly daily as a regular matter.

No restaurants. Reduce load on markets so they aren't a crap-show in advance of the holidays.

Give the money saved to a food bank.

Need to severely dial back social mixing by then and strongly discourage travel.

And for the December holidays too.

[dysgenic]

I live in NH but we are planning on celebrating as usual. It doesn't make sense to follow arbitrary rules for a mild flu.

[bostonguy1960]

My relatives are supposed to celebrate their Canadian Thanksgiving next Monday, but I'veI read that they're encouraged to take it easy this year.

In fact, Ontario and Quebec are now having issues and have seen a spike, so even parts of Canada are having concerns about a relatively alarming increase in infections (and, of course, they've banned us from entering in recent months!).

[Charlie&Rose]

Holiday`s are out of control. Most folks dread them.

[MMS02760]

I am thinking of opting out these upcoming holidays. I expect the virus epidemic to get worse in the coming months with the weather turning cold and people inside more. I don't think we will see significant improvement until the spring when a vaccine is hopefully widely distributed and the weather again gets better.

I have a large family which typically has about 15-20 persons (just siblings/their children/+signif others) at events. There are several in their twenties in the family that are still going out and risking exposure. I have a niece that has not been in the office since March and has been told she won't be back until sometime in 2021. That however has not stopped her from going on multiple overnight vacations to Delaware, Maine, Cape Cod, NH, and Florida in just the past four months. Some people in my family are being far less cautious than I. That is their choice but that doesn't mean I have to become part of it. I actually skipped a family barbecue at the end of August due to my concerns. I have not been in a group setting with more than five people for an extended period of time since early March. If cases continue to rise, I may stay home on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[charolastra00]

I normally go to my brother's where there's anywhere from 10-30 people depending on the year. I'm the only one from my side of the family and the rest are the inlaws/ They're planning on doing it again this year, but haven't been distancing (even had a birthday party with no masks for my nephew) and many in the family aren't taking in seriously.


So I won't be there. It's a bummer because I mostly live alone and my boyfriend does holidays with his family and due to some out of control circumstances, it's not really possible for me to be there.



I've already done Purim, Passover, Yom Kippur, and most of Sukkot alone. At this point, I'm not even sure that it will be possible to have an in-person seder next Passover.

[Cantabridgienne]

My partner typically works on Thanksgiving but is not this year. So far the plan is a very small outdoor get together, with heat lamps, weather permitting. We will not be doing our usual large meal with friends and I won’t be traveling to NYC to be with my mom and her (high risk) husband.

[id77]

I'll likely go to my in-laws, have dinner with half a dozen other people, then go home.

I haven't had a Thanksgiving dinner with my family in at least a decade, so the pandemic changed nothing.