As we know Thanksgiving this year is different, and most families are all about staying distant while being social. If you’re having extended family and friends over, you may want to take your Thanksgiving outside, making sure all of your guests are comfortable attending Thanksgiving. You can set up zones for attendees who want to stick to their bubbles. Number one thing to focus on is accommodating your friends and family’s bubbles, keeping everyone distanced without taking away any of the fun.

Hostess Tip #1: Provide a COVID care kit to for each guest

You can create a cute place setting that is relevant to our unusual year with a little bundle of sanitizer, a face mask, and sanitizing wipes. Does this say Thanksgiving 2020 or what? This way everyone can carry their hand sanitizers and wipes—staying aware without any inconveniences.

Hostess Tip #2: Create a warm and inviting area for lounging

As the night wears on you’re going to want to make sure everyone is warm, so they can linger well into the night. You can created a little warming area, like a big fire bowl, which you can get from Home Depot. Get a big size, so you can all keep some room between each other as you all gather around the fire.

Hostess Tip #3: Make keeping track of drink glasses easy 

Wine glasses can have individual names —so we’re never mixing glasses. Customize the chalk tags for each guest, and you can wipe away and reuse them!

Hostess Tip #4: Seating that adds whimsy to the décor yet practical

To create extra seating that is spaced out without buying or renting chairs you can drop by a local farm and create extra seating with straw bales and a reclaimed plank of wood. Zero waste, and perfect for a little Halloween porch.

Hostess Tip #5: Dress it up or dress it down, just have fun with your place settings

Serving soup this Thanksgiving? Leave the bowls in the cabinet and use mugs instead. This year with it being outside, it’ll be perfect.

Hostess Tip #6: Make a gift out of your décor is a nice touch and helps with the cleanup

Create a centerpiece that has zero waste. You can decorated with succulents, and pumpkins, and when your guests leave they take these with them. Halloween is just around the corner. Succulents are very easy to take care of, and if you have left over you can pull them out for a Christmas table. The pumpkins and produce are all in season vegetables from local farmers markets.

Hostess Tip #7: Heated blankets and throws are a cozy way to add comfort

The last thing you want to make sure is everyone is feeling totally natural about being outside, so you need to buy into the concept. We’re outside, so let’s really lean into it and create an entire outdoor dinner vibe. We may be outside because we have to be, but again let’s just lean into it. Blankets and s’mores after dinner, you can make these individual s’mores kits… this may not be the year for pumpkin pie with everyone’s forks in it, and you can use lighting to set the mood as the sun sets. We want to create a very comfortable vibe.