Risk and Reward: How to Protect Yourself at a Holiday Party

‘Tis the season of the holiday party. Will you be attending or hosting a holiday party this year? If so, here is a summary of the CDC recommendations, along with fun tips to implement them. You can utilize these if you are hosting, and if you are a guest, use them to assess whether the host has implemented sufficient safety measures, when deciding whether to attend. 

• Small gatherings. While the CDC does not have a recommended number of attendees in terms of deeming a gathering safe, there should be sufficient space for each household in attendance to maintain social distance from other households in attendance. 
• Outdoors may be best. Outdoor gatherings may be the best option. If you live in an area where weather does not permit this, try utilizing outdoor tents with heaters, where you can leave at least one side of the tent open. If the party must be indoors, make sure there is adequate space and ventilation. 
• Provide the right equipment. Rather than relying on guests to bring their own, have plenty of masks and individual sanitizers ready to hand out to the guests. As singing is considered high-risk, consider a fun sign that says something like: “For everyone’s safety, please no singing. We look forward to hearing your beautiful voices next year.” 
• This may not be the year for buffet style. Buffet style food service, where there are shared serving utensils and/or condiment bottles, increases the risk of transmission. It will also likely be difficult to maintain social distance at a buffet table. If you are hosting, a good idea might be to order from a restaurant that can package individual servings in disposable containers with disposable utensils. No touch garbage cans may be the best option for removing trash. A single masked person can distribute all of the food. To make it less sterile, consider festive containers and have the person handing out the food wear a fun holiday mask and/or sweater. 
• Zoom party. Understanding some in-person parties may need to be cancelled and relegated to Zoom, consider ways to make your virtual gathering unique. You can mail favor bags ahead of time to the guests with festive accessories or drinkware. Depending on the number of people, it may be possible to have the same restaurant food delivered to guests. And be sure to sing your heart out, because that is allowed on Zoom! 

No matter how you celebrate, happy holidays and please stay safe. We are your local, experienced, law firm! Do not hesitate to call, chat or click here to contact us today!