Turkey Day is around the corner! Families are hard at work to prepare for what is going to be a smaller, more precautious Thanksgiving holiday this year. With COVID-19 cases spiking across the United States, the CDC and states’ leaders everywhere are reiterating the message of scaling back on large gatherings, especially with those outside of your household. That doesn’t mean this holiday can’t still be special for you and your loved ones. 

If you’re going to have people over, prepare by deep cleaning your space with an ozone generator and keep an air purifier running the whole day to filter out the air. (Learn more on how to disinfect your space.) 

A dinner for one

If you live at home alone and are choosing not to gather with family this holiday for safety, here’s a few tips so you can have the best day off.

• Find volunteering or donation opportunities in your community that you can help out with safely. That can include dropping off food to peoples’ homes, taking clothes to drop-off sites, cleaning up your neighborhood, and other ways to help.
• If you’re not cooking...
• Order takeout from your favorite local restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yes, treat yourself to a 16 course meal!
• Take the extra time to nap, read, do yoga and anything else that falls under the category of “Self-Care.”
• If you’re planning to cook...
• Forget the turkey and get something small and manageable but with plenty of leftover potential like a Cornish hen or rotisserie chicken.
• Make it easy on yourself by making your sides early in the morning or the night before so you can focus on the meat all day.
• Do a virtual dinner with your family and friends, there’s no limits to how many people you can have over when it’s online!

Just you and a roommate or spouse

An intimate Thanksgiving for two sounds like fun to us! Plus, it’s so much safer that way.

• Turn Turkey Day dinner into date night for two.
• Get candles, fancy tablecloths, a cute outfit and lower the lights to set a more intimate, affectionate dinner for you and your partner or spouse. 
• Before or after dinner (depending on when you typically like to eat), take a romantic stroll around your neighborhood or local pumpkin patch with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa. Hand-holding and face masks, required!
• Have a blast on your day off with your buddy. 
• Turn this holiday meant for large gatherings into a two-person Olympics with special drinks and prizes of your choice! Set up Thanksgiving-themed games around your place for you two to compete in, like pong and cornhole. We highly recommend apple cider and mulled wine!

For a small family

If your household is only about 3-5 people, you’ve got an easier road ahead of you, with just enough people to help without worrying about too many people to feed. In fact, this season might be easier for you since you don’t have to move from home to home, making sure you see every family member and eat their food. Do this instead:

• Drive-by Thanksgiving dinner exchange, each household cooks their dishes as normal and then everyone socially distantly exchanges at a designated drop-off point at home. That way everyone gets to stuff themselves just the same as they do every year. Bonus points if you gather on a virtual call to review each other’s food.
• Take it outside! If you’re still experiencing decent weather around this time, have dinner outside, so you can have a couple more families around if you feel safe enough to. Gathering outdoors at a safe distance is more secure than bringing different people together indoors.

For a large family

For big families, this holiday was always going to be utter chaos. If you’re from a large household, you know this to be true. We’re telling you to simply embrace the chaos, be thankful your loved ones are alive and healthy and lean into the nontraditional vibe of the holiday this year.

• If you plan to cook, make the entire meal prep and cooking part a sport for the kids and adults alike. If you make it a competition, things will get done faster and you’ll hear a lot of laughter, a key ingredient to a perfect family gathering. 
• If you have no desire to cook this year, take the family out and do some community service, like park clean-ups, litter disposal, donating meals to those in need, helping people who are homeless keep warm and more. This is a great opportunity to show the younger generation that the holidays can be more than just about eating turkey and watching football.

A thank you note…

We wanted to end this with a thank you note from our Airthereal family to yours. This year has been a particularly tough one for everyone. Since our humble beginnings, our goal has always been to keep your family healthy and happy. All of our products are carefully crafted based on your needs because, without you, we wouldn’t have accomplished nearly as much this year as we have. Your feedback, your reviews and your comments are all valid and important to us.

This year has proved, more than ever, that clean air is a right and everyone should have access to it. Because of the pandemic and the increase in wildfires along the West Coast, our team has been pushed to innovate at a faster pace than ever before. We do it because we care and we will continue to do so in the future. Thank you for your continued support. We hope you have a risk-free and wonderful holiday season. Be safe.

Sincerely, 

Airthereal Team