Tips to Maximize Your Virtual Thanksgiving Experience

With COVID-19 a looming threat this year, many people are choosing not to travel for Thanksgiving, instead choosing to stay home for the holiday. However, choosing to stay home doesn’t mean choosing not to celebrate. There are many ways you can celebrate Virtual Thanksgiving with friends and family even if you’re not with them physically. Here are some tips to utilize if you’re considering the concept of avirtual Thanksgiving experience this year.

1. Organize the Conversations Beforehand

Calling friends and family can be a great way to feel like you’re with family even if you’re not together physically. When you call your friends and family that you would typically spend time with on Thanksgiving, you’re giving them at least a few minutes of your time.

However, it’s a good idea to make sure those friends and family will be available for your calls when you’re able to call them. Consider texting, messaging, or emailing your friends and family members in the weeks leading up to Virtual Thanksgiving experience and setting up a time when it will be good for you to call them.

2. Choose Smartly Between Video and Phone Calls

Typically, you’ll want to choose between either video calls or phone calls for your Thanksgiving calls. Many people will choose video calls because the video typically makes it feel like you’re really with your family members. Plus, most phones can make video calls, making it a simple way to connect.

However, it’s also important to make sure you’re adapting to whatever the other person needs as well. If you’re going to call elderly individuals or individuals with little to no technological prowess, consider sticking to an old-fashioned phone call instead of trying to do a video call.

3. Bond With Other Thanksgiving Experiences, Like Black Friday and Cooking

There are plenty of other Virtual Thanksgiving experience that you might want to experience with your friends and family. You might consider traveling just to have those experiences with them. However, there’s no reason that you have to give up on those experiences.

For example, if you like cooking with your family, you might set up video calls that allow you to talk with and see your family members while you both cook your individual Thanksgiving meals. If you love Black Friday shopping, you might get together and talk about your Black Friday shopping while you browse shopping sites.

4. Understand Why Some Things May Have Worked and Some Didn’t

Last, but certainly not least, reflect on what worked and what didn’t during your Thanksgiving changes. You shouldn’t expect that everything will go completely smoothly; after all, this is probably your first virtual Thanksgiving, so it’s normal for things to be a little uncertain.

In the future, you might want to do Thanksgiving virtually for all sorts of reasons. Maybe you just don’t want to spend the money and time to visit family for Thanksgiving, and you’d rather just do it virtually. Reflecting on this experience can help you do it more effectively.

Conclusion

A virtual Thanksgiving experience is certain to be much safer than an in-person experience, which is why many people are choosing to do it this year. It could also be much easier, which may lead you to do it more in the future. No matter what, it’s always important to make sure that you’re considering all elements of your Thanksgiving experience to make it better for everyone involved.