Celebrate Easter, Passover and other Spring holidays VIRTUALLY!
It's a beautiful time of the year, with leaves and flowers beginning to emerge and signs of Spring everywhere. It's challenging to consider staying indoors and away from friends and family during this time when we instinctively want reach out and re-connect. We hear those birds chirping, too! But as tempting as it is to gather with loved ones to celebrate Easter, Passover and other Spring events, all evidence points to the need to stay socially distant so that we can continue to see declines in the numbers of COVID19 cases and hospitalizations.
Luckily, we've discovered some ways for you to celebrate and stay healthy and safe, and all you need is a little ingenuity and a dose of modern technology.
1. Have a virtual feast. Share you favorite recipes and tips in advance so that your friends can have plenty of time to make the weekly trip to the grocery store (if you're over 60, please have someone shop for you or use a grocery delivery service). Make yourself available for emergency calls with tips and tricks for those new to life in the kitchen. Then set a time to share a ZOOM (How Do I Host A Video Meeting?) or facetime (Ready to Video Chat? How to Group FaceTime) call so that you can be together virtually. It's helpful to have some conversation starters handy in case your group is new to this type of celebration. For instance, have everyone share one "Silver Lining" from the past few weeks, go around the group listing something new each person has learned to do while at home, or - our latest favorite - have each person list one thing they did nice for someone and one thing someone else did nice for them. It's a beautiful way to stay positive under these unusual circumstances. Make sure to mute your microphone while you're eating that delicious food!
2. Encourage your neighbors to place hand-colored Easter Egg pictures in their windows for kids to do an Egg Hunt. Click here for a library of coloring pages. We've seen local Bear Hunts, where teddy bears are place in windows for school kids to search for - why not an Egg Hunt? According to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, it's a great way to keep young children entertained and safe at the same time. Go all out with your pastel colors and you'll smile as you see happy faces passing by your window.
3. Plant a garden. There's nothing like the joy of watching seeds sprout during the Spring season. Depending on your living situation, you can do something as simple as seeds in a paper cup - check out our tomato seedlings above - which then get planted in a pot, or as complex as garden beds with drip irrigation. Seeds can be ordered online, or you can usually pick them up at grocery stores or hardware stores that are remaining open these days. The vegetables you grow will taste better than anything you'll find in the store and you'll have a new hobby right in your own home.
Continue washing your hands with good technique, practicing social distancing and keep your face covered when you venture outdoors. We can help you with this last item with our A'nue Miami face coverings. We're wishing you good health and simple joys during this time of renewal.