The coronavirus pandemic has canceled many things. But don’t give it the power to cancel the holidays. Here are some safe ways to celebrate the season with your family in 2020.
1. Talk honestly about your usual holiday traditions. Try to replicate the ones you can, allow everyone to mourn the ones you’ll have to let go this year, and then commiserate about a few you’re maybe not so sad to say goodbye to. You may even want to continue the trimmed-down traditions in future years.
2. Make sure family members and friends who live alone aren’t forgotten. Do something more than just sending the usual holiday card. Maybe a gift, a longer letter or an invitation to video chat.
3. Enjoying holiday lights lends itself perfectly to social distancing. Head out with your family to see the downtown holiday lights. Or Candy Cane Lane. Or Winter Wonders at the Boerner Botanical Gardens. Or your own neighborhood.
4. Every year, Cathedral Square Park is filled with Christmas trees decorated by Milwaukee schools and youth groups. The trees are coming back this year.
5. If a trip downtown to see “A Christmas Carol” or “The Nutcracker” has been part of your holiday traditions, plan to watch the online performances in December from the comfort of your own home.
6. This is the season of giving. Traditional fundraising events are different (or non-existent) this year, but there are still ways to give. The Hunger Task Force Food for Families fundraiser is virtual. So is United Way’s…
