It’s not too late to rethink Thanksgiving
Support local, small businesses instead.
That old cliché “adding insult to injury” is on-point for what it’s been like to talk about Thanksgiving with family this year. The entire US is now a glowing red COVID-19 hotspot. This week, the CDC reported that North Dakota has the highest COVID-19 infection and death rate in the world. And the CDC along with local and state health officials are pleading with Americans to stay home on the busiest travel weekend of the year.
Not only do we really want to ignore reality, the politicization of COVID-19 is making it difficult for people to sort fact from fiction. Plus, we miss our families. This year has sucked.
We want to pretend that the pandemic doesn’t exist — just for a day or two. What’s the harm in that? No one knows when they’re going to die. It might be our last Thanksgiving — why not enjoy it? Why live in fear?
Alas, science ruins everything once again with rational, non-emotional numbers.
This map created by a team of researchers led out of the Georgia Institute of Technology, provides a real-time estimate of risk of in-person gatherings by county. For example, most of my immediate family lives in Chelan and Douglas counties in Washington State. This model predicts that if you attend an indoor gathering in one of these counties with just ten people, there is a 20% to 44% chance that someone at that gathering is positive for COVID-19. At a gathering of 15 people, there is up to a 55% chance that one of them is positive.
So, the reason why we can’t just take a risk is simple. The risk is too high. As I frequently tell my four-year-old, being a “grown up” isn’t always fun and we can’t always do what we want to do.
Instead of settling for a lame, cold, sad version of normal Thanksgiving, here’s a different idea that can still be true to the spirit of giving. It might just unite friends and family from across the political spectrum as it helps small businesses and promotes charitable giving.
Thus, I present to you … The Gobble Gobble Give Give (naming credit: my friend’s six-year-old daughter).
It’s a gift exchange supporting local, small businesses. We’re calling it the Give Give because we’re also donating to address hunger. According to Feed America, more than 54 million Americans could struggle to pay for food during the pandemic. That’s nearly one in six.
Here’s how it works:
1) Cancel your in-person Thanksgiving plans.
2) Create a gift exchange. Invite family and friends who you would have normally celebrated Thanksgiving with to participate. Either draw names “Secret Santa” style or invite an even number of participants and do an outdoor, socially-distant swap.
3) Set a price limit. For example, $100 to shop for a gift package of things you are thankful for this year.
4) Shop small and local. Anything from cocktail kits to neighborhood bookstores or bakeries… any local business you love that you want to share. Think of this way: instead of buying Thanksgiving supplies for the masses at Costco or Wal-Mart, spend that money at a local business.
5) Arrange for a delivery or swap on Thanksgiving weekend. If you are all across the country — get those packages in the mail early next week. If you live in the same town, find somewhere outdoors to socially distance and swap gift baskets while indulging in a seasonal beverage.
6) Select a local charity to support. Food banks and other organizations addressing hunger really value cash donations as the money allows them to purchase items that are in the most demand and make sure they can provide complete meals. They’re also in urgent need of volunteers.
7) Organize a virtual “Show & Tell.” Everyone gets a chance to show off their favorite Gobble Gobble Goodie and share what they are thankful for this year.
This is just one idea. I’ve heard others like virtual cooking “classes” with family and side-dish swaps. Thanksgiving 2020 is a chance to be creative and reimagine. And now, we have an entire year to plan for Thanksgiving 2021. It is going to be epic.
In the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy, and please stay home.
