By Chris Chmura, American Red Cross volunteer

November 18, 2020- So are you planning to celebrate your Thanksgiving holiday this year over a Zoom meeting?

It sounds like a crazy idea, but that is one of the low risk suggestions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

We all must make the personal decision to cancel our in-person gatherings, greatly reduce the size of our events, and/or get creative to move forward with plans. Our Northern Ohio weather can be unpredictable to move our Thanksgiving outdoors, but it can be done.

Millions of people may still celebrate their Thanksgiving by cooking a special meal. The American Red Cross would like to offer some suggestions:

1. Place hand sanitizer, a basket of disposable masks and disinfectant wipes by the entry door and in bathrooms for your visitors to use during your celebration.
2. Try to limit or even avoid close personal contact like handshakes and hugs.
3. Suggest that everyone RSVP with any food allergies, special dietary needs or cultural/lifestyle requests. 
4. Ask your visitors to wash their hands consistently, respect each other with the recommended six-foot spacing and promote use of masks. You could lead by example to help motivate your group.
5. Limit the amount of people in the cooking area to reduce the chance of individuals from being burned with hot appliances, reduce injury around cutting stations and help reduce the stress levels of the people preparing food. 
6. Leverage oven mitts and items designed to carry hot plates/serving bowls vs. using dish towels, which can result in bad burns.
7. Use prepackaged snacks, sealed drinks and individually prepare meals to avoid buffet style food serving.
8. When using a turkey fryer, do not use frozen turkeys, which could cause hot oil to spill onto heating sources resulting in a fire. Select a safe space for your turkey fryer to control access from attendees, avoid outdoor decks that can catch fire and never cook indoors with a propane fryer. A very limited type of electric fryer can be used indoors, so you would need to consult the manufacturer’s instructions.   
9. Limit and control alcohol consumption to safe levels. You could offer to drive your guests home, call a taxi or order an Uber when sending your invitations.
10. Download Red Cross Apps to access useful information on first aid for people and pets to weather emergencies.
11. Review your first aid kit, make sure your medicine is up to date, consider purchasing an Automated External Defibrillators (AED) for your home and place your supplies in a common area to be prepared. The Red Cross offers first aid kits for purchase or can help you create your own.
12. Sharpen your CPR skills and learn more about first aid skills by taking Red Cross training.
13.  Inform your host if you are not feeling well after attending the Thanksgiving party to keep other guests informed. 

Some families may choose to cancel their plans this year to stay safe. Donating to the Red Cross is a wonderful way to take a negative and turn it into a positive.   

Stay up to date on Red Cross disaster alerts, preparedness tips and ways to get involved. Simply provide your email address to start receiving updates. Sign up at https://www.redcross.org/subscribe.html.

Be safe, healthy and have an enjoyable holiday season.

Edited by Glenda Bogar, American Red Cross volunteer