At last, 2020 has come to an end. The presidential transition has begun. It has been a difficult year that none of us could have predicted at this time last year. As one colleague said so eloquently, “we are all in the same boat, but everyone has a different storm.” We are continuing to deal with Covid and just concluded a stressful presidential election.
I won’t bore you with the same old guidelines about washing your hands and wearing a face mask (although those things are important!), but how about some fun ideas for the holiday season?
Years ago, a close friend’s mother was so nervous about meeting her oldest daughter’s boyfriend, that she put the turkey in the oven, forgot to turn on the stove and didn’t realize it until a few hours later. The family joked about it for years after and called it “The Longest Thanksgiving in Family History.” The daughter’s boyfriend became a son-in-law and he refers to it as “the most stressful way to meet your future in-laws.”
You can also ask your friends or family what would make the holiday special, safe and financially doable for them. Some people are struggling and have lost income due to COVID and you don’t want them to feel left out, if your holiday plan is out of their price range.
Have a wonderful time planning your unique holiday and remember, you will be able to reminisce and laugh about it for years to come.
Happy Holidays and the best in 2021.
Kay Gimmestad, LCSW-C is a business coach and clinician in New York City with 20 years of experience working in the profit and not for profit sectors of Human Resources, Health and Human Services. She has built a reputation for being highly skilled in facilitating behavior change while working with employees, both individually and in groups, on matters relating to performance management, substance abuse, crisis intervention, and stress/wellness.
I won’t bore you with the same old guidelines about washing your hands and wearing a face mask (although those things are important!), but how about some fun ideas for the holiday season?
- Invite an elderly person or a friend to your home and then zoom with a larger group of people.
- Designate one or two people as the “food committee” and select a menu for the group so that everyone can share the same meal.
- If your group wants to mix things up, have a pot-luck style meal via zoom. Then, everyone can sign up to bring a couple of different dishes to be viewed online. You can share special ingredients that you used or why the dish is special to you. Swap recipes.
- Discuss your favorite holidays from childhood or periods of your life when holidays were special or meaningful.
- Have a game night or watch a movie together and discuss afterwards.
- Share any special or funny stories from your holiday archives.
- If you’re looking for apps that can help you to spice up your next online gathering, you might want to check out House Party, Marco Polo, or Rave.
Years ago, a close friend’s mother was so nervous about meeting her oldest daughter’s boyfriend, that she put the turkey in the oven, forgot to turn on the stove and didn’t realize it until a few hours later. The family joked about it for years after and called it “The Longest Thanksgiving in Family History.” The daughter’s boyfriend became a son-in-law and he refers to it as “the most stressful way to meet your future in-laws.”
You can also ask your friends or family what would make the holiday special, safe and financially doable for them. Some people are struggling and have lost income due to COVID and you don’t want them to feel left out, if your holiday plan is out of their price range.
Have a wonderful time planning your unique holiday and remember, you will be able to reminisce and laugh about it for years to come.
Happy Holidays and the best in 2021.
Kay Gimmestad, LCSW-C is a business coach and clinician in New York City with 20 years of experience working in the profit and not for profit sectors of Human Resources, Health and Human Services. She has built a reputation for being highly skilled in facilitating behavior change while working with employees, both individually and in groups, on matters relating to performance management, substance abuse, crisis intervention, and stress/wellness.
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