As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the CDC is advising people to spend Thanksgiving at home with those they live with and not to travel. For most, the advisory could make for a very small Thanksgiving feast, maybe even preparing dinner for one if you're single and living by yourself. It also could mean, just as you had to do with work, co-parenting, or dating, you have to re-envision how you celebrate the holiday this year.
For months now, I've been helping singles pivot their way through the COVID crisis. I've continually come up with creative solutions to keep single men and women social and open to meeting new people, even if it meant communicating over Zoom or while they're wearing a mask and standing six feet apart. Sure, it may have felt weird at first, and probably still does. But I've seen my clients rise to the occasion, thinking through more carefully what they want out of a potential relationship and make meaningful connections as a result.
Thanksgiving 2020 should be no different than any other new experience you've had to field this year. Just because you're socially distancing this holiday doesn't mean you can't still be social. Here are a few ideas.
Invite a guest or guests for a Zoom Thanksgiving.
Whether you're spending Thanksgiving by yourself or with a small group of family members or friends, consider virtually inviting a new romantic interest into your home for a Zoom dinner, dessert, or an after-dinner drink or coffee. How much interaction you allow your virtual guest to have with your in-person dinner mates, if you have any, will be entirely up to you.
Suppose you've been talking or going on socially distant dates for a little while. In that case, you may be more comfortable with this idea than if you recently met, which would probably make an after Thanksgiving drink or coffee the preferable option. The goal is to think outside the box. That means adjusting what you would've done in the past to this now unusual and unprecedented, typically social, holiday.
Remember, there are no mistakes, only experiments that may not work. But you won't know unless you try.
Cook together.
If you're not comfortable extending a virtual invitation for dinner, what about the hours leading up to the meal? Cooking Thanksgiving dinner takes a lot of prep time in the kitchen. What about setting up your computer or smartphone on the kitchen counter while you dice the carrots, celery, and onions for the stuffing? Or as you baste the turkey?
A cooking date is a fun way to interact with someone you've been dating in a non-public setting. By cooking together virtually, you can take advantage of this more intimate "get to know you" time in the comfort of each other's homes without any of the "pressures" that can accompany such a date in real life, and which you might not be ready for just yet.
Slowing down the dating process can be beneficial. It can allow you to get to know the person you're dating more thoroughly and without the expectation that you will automatically take your relationship to the next level because you're in one of your homes.
Order Thanksgiving to go.
So you're not skilled in the kitchen. And cooking isn't your thing. The good news is lots of restaurants, including some in your area, I'm confident, will be offering prepared menus specifically for Thanksgiving. It's been a rough year, and if your idea of a happy Thanksgiving means relaxing, then give yourself a break and have someone else prepare the meal for you. Doing so will also provide you with even more of an opportunity to share your time with someone you've just met or have begun speaking to recently.
Compare your favorite local haunts, where you like to go out with your friends or on dates, and give a nod toward the hopefully not so distant future when you can visit these places with them. The idea is to create an image of what dating you could be like while building rapport together.
Play an online game.
One of the benefits of Zoom, FaceTime, or Google Meet technology is how easy it is to bring multiple people into the same room for a trivia game or game of your choosing. Whether you're playing with numerous people or one-on-one, a game is an effective way to get to know each other in a relaxing setting.
I know people who host regularly occurring game nights with family members and friends who live all around the country. From trivia to Bingo to Scrabble, you can learn a lot about someone's personality from how they play a game. Are they intense? Competitive? Fun-loving? Funny? You may like what you see. Or you can save yourself from wasting more time going for the best of three.
Host a watch party.
Some streaming services like Netflix allow you to arrange watch parties, during which you can unmute yourself and "whisper" comments in each other's ear, almost like you would in a movie theater.
Similar to games, taste in movies can tell you a lot about a person while also giving you more to talk about with each other once the credits roll. Often, discussions about films can lead to exchanging stories about real life. Not to mention, if you both like watching movies as a pastime, it might become an activity you enjoy together in person — when the credits roll on 2020.