Saying that Thanksgiving 2020 will be different from any other year is an understatement for most, but there are still a few things you need to know that have very little to do with COVID or social distancing.
This article contains affiliate links.
Some Grocery Stores Have Turkey Insurance
With so many family celebrations canceled this season, there are some new cooks in the kitchen, attempting to cook a massive bird. Whole Foods teamed up with Progressive Insurance to offer Turkey Insurance when you buy a Whole Foods turkey between November 11, 2020 and November 22, 2020. If you’re going to mess that turkey up, do it good and do it quick because only 1000 claims will be eligible for the $35 Whole Foods gift card payout. You’ll need to visit the special website to submit your turkey cooking fail. You’ll need your Whole Foods Market receipt, a picture of your turkey fail and a brief explanation of what went wrong.
The Butterball Turkey Talk Line is a Real Thing
For more than 30 years, the professionally trained turkey experts that make up the Turkey Talk-Line have been answering turkey related questions. From November to December, 50+ experts answer more than 100,000 questions, for thousands of households around the United States and Canada. Call 1-800-BUTTERBALL (1-800-288-8372) or text 844-877-3456 or connect through your Amazon Alexa.
You Can Support a Local Restaurant
Don’t let the lack of a family-filled Thanksgiving get you down. Skip the cooking and grab a fully cooked meal from your favorite restaurant. By grabbing your Thanksgiving meal to go, you’ll be helping people keep their jobs and supporting an industry that’s struggling from the past year of COVID restrictions. Don’t worry, you can still make your favorite side to go along with it.
Zoom Removed the 40 Minute Time Limit
If you’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving virtually, Zoom has removed their 40 minute time limit for free accounts on Thanksgiving day. No only can you sit down and enjoy your meal with your loved ones “at the table,” you can move the party to the living room and play some fun games and activities together.
Meals on Wheels Needs Your Help
With more and more seniors homebound this year, it’s a great time to make yourself familiar with organizations like Meals on Wheels. You can join the Friendly Neighbor Call Team – to deliver some holiday joy to homebound seniors via a personal phone call on Thanksgiving morning. Each volunteer/family sign-up will be provided access to a list of approximately 10 seniors to call between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm noon on Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, November 26, 2020. These calls will be made via a Virtual Phone Bank, to which our volunteers will be granted access. No need to use your own phone number – You will be assigned a local area code and number and be good to go! Training will be provided as the event nears.
Families Are Creating At Home Escape Rooms
Since so many favorite events and attractions are closed due to COVID, people are getting creative. There are some fantastic and inexpensive DIY Escape Room kits available for sale. We’re trying out the Warewolf DIY Escape Room.
Board Games Are Making a Comeback
If it’s been a while since you sat down and played a board game with your family, you might be the last one to jump in. People are reconnecting with games from their own childhood as well as new games they can enjoy all together. Our family is LOVING Robot Face Race. It’s easy to learn and most ages can play.
Turkeys in Air Fryers, CrockPots and More
People are cooking up their turkeys and they’re using anything but the oven! You can cook a turkey or part of a turkey in an air fryer, an Instant Pot or even your Crock Pot. Some brave souls are smoking their turkeys and even deep frying them.
You Can Host a Thanksgiving Meal Swap
If you’re missing Great Aunt Martha’s secret mashed potato recipe or your dad’s turkey stuffing recipe, you can set up a family Thanksgiving meal exchange. It’s simple, everyone makes their trademark dish and everyone gets a packaged version to enjoy on Thanksgiving.
There’s a Whole Genre of Thanksgiving Day Movies
While a lot of popular movies have iconic Thanksgiving scenes in them, there are some that are perfect for keeping your eye on the season: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Turkey Hollow (Netflix), Free Birds (Amazon), Garfield’s Thanksgiving (Amazon) or you can always kick the holidays in to high gear by cracking open the Christmas movies.
