The best way to prevent the spread of coronavirus is, unfortunately, to stay home and celebrate the holidays only with the people who live in your house, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But just because you’re not traveling and you have to miss out on your large, extended family’s traditional meal or celebration doesn’t mean you have to spend the holidays grumbling, “Bah, humbug,” to yourself as you mope around the house — far from it.
You can still make the holidays merry and bright at home this year — here are a few ideas for inspiration.
1. Make a delicious meal and support local small businesses at the same time.
Boulder County Farmers Markets are offering online ordering and curbside pickup for all your holiday cooking ingredients, as well as DIY gift baskets and other staples.
You can peruse the offerings of various farmers and producers — who are selling everything from eggs to turnips — from the comfort of your own home, then simply drive to your pickup location to get your goodies.
If you’re still shopping for all the loved ones in your life, the farmers markets have cool, new DIY gift baskets this year. They provide the basket with a gift tag, tie and plastic wrap, then let you choose what you want to add to it — hot sauce, honey, pickles, cookie dough, pretzels, popcorn, specialty meat cuts, just to name a few. The options are limitless.
2. Relax and order holiday takeout.
Everything else about the holidays is non-traditional this year, so why not let someone else do the cooking for you, too? There are several Boulder County restaurants offering to-go dinners for Christmas Eve and Christmas, including:
- Boulder Cork, which is offering both Christmas Eve and Christmas takeout menus featuring dishes like lobster mac and cheese and braised short ribs.
- The Kitchen, which is offering several Christmas dinner packages with dishes like house-smoked ham, root vegetable risotto and maple cinnamon coffee cake.
- The Greenbriar Inn, which has main courses ranging from whole roasted duck to roasted prime rib on its holiday menu.
- OAK at Fourteenth is doing a holiday bake sale on Dec. 20, as well as offering a Christmas Eve to-go menu featuring truffled mac ‘n cheese, white bean and Italian meatball soup, king crab legs, lamb shank and more.
- Hotel Boulerado is offering Christmas dinner on the patio or to-go, featuring dishes like pepper-crusted prime rib and grill salmon.
- Flagstaff House is doing a three-course dinner for two.
3. Get creative.
Instead of wandering aimlessly around the house missing your extended family, give yourself something fun and creative to do. Crackpots in Longmont is offering fun at-home pottery painting kits that include everything you need to create a masterpiece — six paint colors, your pottery or choice and instructions. When you’re done, simply drop off your pottery and they’ll glaze and fire it for you.
4. Drive around and look at holiday lights.
Already, Boulder County neighborhoods are ablaze with festive holiday lights. make some hot cocoa, pile into the car (with members of your own household only!) and drive around to find the best light displays. While you’re at it, be sure to look for the Flagstaff Star and drive over to the Boulder Civic Area to see the new “Snow Much Fun” light displays.
5. Embrace winter.
Colorado Chautauqua’s WinterFest is the perfect way to embrace winter in all its glory. The “festival” includes an art exhibit with 15 bear cubs and their mama, a cyber scavenger hunt, the new general store and a virtual visit to the restored Mary H. Galey Cottage. There are even holiday recipe ideas on the Colorado Chautauqua website.
How do you plan to spend the holidays this year? We’d love to hear from you!
