With Covid on the back burner, we’re all thinking the same thing: How do we host a party post-Covid? With restrictions lifting and things returning to a level of normality, the key question is, what level is that? Are we completely back to before or does it make sense to still be cautious. Well, don’t fret if you still feel more comfortable wearing a mask or maintaining your distance around others. You aren’t alone. And because of that, we curated a list of ways to have a party that makes all partygoers feel safe and included.
1. Separate Food
Unlike traditional parties where the food congregates, like the people, all in one space, consider spreading out your offerings. Instead of placing all your potato chips loose in a bowl, put out separate individual small bags. Sure, maybe this isn’t as environmentally friendly, but is this not a year of exceptions? In addition to the chip strategy, think about getting rid of buffet style all together. Instead, say if you’re cooking burgers and hotdogs, place each one on a separate plate in the bun ready to go. Serving food on skewers or toothpicks is another way to mitigate contamination. Condiments can be served in individual packets. If you decide it necessary to have the food served buffet style in big containers, think about having one dedicated server behind the table who is wearing a mask. Lastly, use disposable plates and utensils and have hand sanitizer readily available around the serving area. I mean hey, who really wants to wash all those dishes anyways.
2. Separate People
No, this doesn’t mean you can’t talk to your adorable grandkids or nieces and nephews, but it may mean you have to play musical chairs to do so. *Nudge nudge, maybe not spending so much time with that one in their terrible twos doesn’t sound so bad anyways. But actually, consider spreading out your tables and having 4-5 people per table. If you want to move around to other tables feel free, but spacing out the tables helps to ease the minds of the worrisome types. As for pre and post-food games, think about activities like wiffleball, kickball, cornhole and ladderball, where people are spaced out. These are pretty much the classic lawn games anyways, so those suggestions should be easy to follow. Any other games and I would be worried about the integrity of your party.
3. Know Who’s There
We’ve all been to parties where the invites spill out and before you know it, your friend’s third cousin twice removed and his college acapella group are singing ballads in the living room. And let’s be honest, there are reasons other than Covid why no one wants that. Consider keeping a strict list of invitees and ensuring that anyone coming from outside the direct invitation list are accounted for and Covid-back-checked. Remember, vaccines still aren’t 100% effective in stopping infection and with word of variants going around, it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you aren’t fully vaccinated yet and are anxious about catching Covid after attending a party, go get a test and stay out of contact from others. If the test is negative and you haven’t developed symptoms in 7 days, you are most likely fine. If you are vaccinated, unless you develop Covid symptoms there is no need to worry.
4. Have Fun
Have fun! With Covid in the rearview, there is all the more reason to enjoy parties. Be happy you can finally celebrate with friends and family in person with little to no virus worries. It’s been an incredibly tough stretch, but the light is getting brighter and brighter each day. Be thankful we are at the point we are, and bask in the feeling of being able to celebrate again with your loved ones.
