Here’s an idea for celebrating Christmas in a way you may never have done before. It may be useful for an individual family unit, celebrating by themselves, that has been cooped up in the house together a lot during the pandemic. It may also be useful as a safer option for a gathering including guests outside the individual family, if restrictions and your good judgment permit it in your area. I will give suggestions for how to make it more safe. You could even have a contest for the best Christmas-themed face mask for Covid-19 protection. Guests could wear their face masks except when eating, and they could use social distancing. Perhaps elderly guests who are at high risk or physically fragile could enjoy the celebration from a picture window.

If entertaining guests outside your indivi​dual family unit, during eating time guests could be seated with the “bubble” of people with whom they routinely have close physical contact. Guests could be asked to wear masks when they enter the house to use the bathroom. Remove the hand towels and provide paper towels or disposable hand towels, and make sure there is plenty of hand soap available.

One main consideration for planning would be WEATHER. If rain or snow is expected or possible, maybe you or some of the other guests have camping canopies. You may want to have one canopy to spread out any gifts being exchanged, and maybe a tree with inexpensive decorations, to put near the gifts. The food and drink table could be placed under another canopy or on a covered deck or patio. For pandemic considerations, you could have a canopy for each “bubble” of people. If the groups are very small, you may be able to social distance two “bubbles” at the opposite sides of a canopy. If you live in an area that usually has three feet of snow in the winter, this might not be a viable option for you, unless you have a snow plow. If an unexpected “blizzard” should suddenly be predicted, you may have to reschedule for a “Christmas in Summer” celebration. In years with normal circumstances, you could simply plan to meet indoors instead, if you have the room.

Another main consideration for planning an outdoor gathering such as this is TIME OF DAY. If the weather may be chilly, you may opt for the warmest part of the day. However, if you have guests with young children who take afternoon naps, you may choose late afternoon/ early evening. If you’re going to be celebrating after the sun sets, you need to make sure you have adequate lighting.

WHAT FOODS COULD YOU SERVE?

Foods that don’t need to be cut are best for eating on paper plates with no table or tray. You could serve TOASTY HOT SANDWICHES MADE WITH ROLLS, wrapped in foil, and heated in the oven. One option would be the recipe for “Hot Surprise Rolls” that I posted on the Tips Page in December of 2016, in an article entitled “Hot Snack for Winter Gathering.” Or you could make heated roll sandwiches with ham and cheese, pulled pork, or some other concoction. (The ones left over can be frozen and used later unwrapped and put in the microwave as handy individual snacks.) Individual zip-lock snack bags could be filled with filled with VEGGIES and other bags with CHIPS OR SNACK MIXES and spread across the table. Plates of CHRISTMAS COOKIES, with cookies spread out to pick up easily without touching others, could be placed on the table (out of the reach of little ones).

HOT DRINKS, such as wassail, hot eggnog, or hot cocoa would be welcome on a chilly day. If there is no place to plug in crock pots, a large towel doubled up and wrapped around a kettle would help keep the hot drink insulated. It might be well to keep a pitcher of TEPID WATER for children to drink or to cool their drinks. Have one person with gloves ladle the drinks and pour the water. Someone else should take turns, to allow the other person to eat and enjoy conversation.

You could use DISPOSABLE PLATES stacked with a napkin between each plate (unfolded, if necessary, to make them large enough to separate the plates). That would make it easy to grab a plate and the napkin under it without touching the other plate. You need large, sturdy plates big enough and strong enough for a drink cup, since guests will be eating without the support of a table. You could place DISPOSABLE CUPS spaced out on the table, with a set of DISPOSABLE SILVERWARE (IF NEEDED) in each one (if the silverware isn’t heavier than the cups so as to tip them over). Be sure to place some HAND SANITIZER with a pump on the table. Don’t forget to have a large container available for TRASH.

WHAT ACTIVITIES COULD YOU DO?

MUSIC always adds atmosphere to a gathering. Maybe you could arrange to have Christmas music playing. Instrumental music seems to go best with conversation . If someone in the group is gifted at playing the guitar or even the violin, maybe they could play a few Christmas songs for you. (It’s believed that wind instruments may help to spread the virus, as singing is believed to do.)

There are several games posted on this website, under “Christmas Crafts and Gathering Ideas,” that might be useful. They are the “SHOVELING SNOW” GAME, the “FILL IN THE LYRICS” GAME, and the “LIP SYNC CONTEST.” (For the “Shoveling Snow” Game, have the contestants wear disposable gloves and have enough blindfolds for each contestant to use a separate one. You will need some table space to play the game. The “Lip Sync Contest” contestants will, of course, have to remove their masks. Have them stand at least about six feet from the audience.)

As the last event, you could read the account of the angels announcing the news of Jesus’ birth found in LUKE 2:8-20. You could invite your guests to imagine they are out on a hillside watching their sheep at night. This will be easier to imagine if your event goes past sunset.

If you have a fire pit, it would be a nice way to add warmth. You could place some plates placed at a safe social distancing locations around the fire, with little notes reminding the guests to use them as guides for social distancing. If it’s just an individual family unit celebrating, roasting marshmallows might be fun. ​

WHAT SHOULD GUESTS BRING?

Camping Canopies, if needed
Lawn chairs, if you don’t have enough
Blankets and warm gloves, if the weather is chilly
Wear boots, if there might be some snow on the ground
High Chairs and sippy cups for babies or toddlers, to allow parents to relax while eating.