Yahoo News: Coronavirus: Cancelled Christmas parties ‘to save UK workers £4bn’. “UK workers may save about £4.3bn ($5.8bn) following the cancellation of Christmas festivities, according to a study. Two in five Christmas parties plan to move online his year, resulting in savings of about £139 each for those who no longer have to attend an office ‘do’, according to a survey of 1,000 by Instantprint.”
KMBC: In Santa’s mailbag, a peek into children’s pandemic worries. “Jim, from Taiwan, slipped a face mask inside the greeting card he sent to Santa and marked “I (heart) u.” Alina, 5, asked in her Santa letter written with an adult’s help that he please use the front door when he drops in, because the back door is reserved for Grandma and Grandpa to minimize their risk of contamination. And spilling out her heavy little heart to ‘Dear Father Christmas,’ 10-year-old Lola wrote that she is wishing ‘that my aunt never has cancer again and that this virus no longer exists.’”
Mashable: 11 ways to virtually visit Santa this holiday season. “While your kids aren’t able to sit on Santa’s lap in 2020, they can still interact with him through a screen. A bunch of helpful online services are offering virtual Santa visits in the form of pre-recorded video messages or live video calls. They vary in price depending on type and duration of experience, date booked, and personalization, so we thought it would be helpful to round up a few of the best options for you to browse.”
TwinCities Pioneer Press: Holiday Arts Guide: From Blenders to Brickman, music traditions continue online. “Nearly all of this year’s holiday concerts are virtual, but many familiar faces both local (the Blenders, Lorie Line, the SPCO) and national (Jim Brickman, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) have planned online events to keep holiday traditions going during the pandemic. Here’s a look at what’s on tap.” These events are a mix of free and not-free.
Washington Post: A comfy chair, a locked door, an old record. Covid Thanksgiving inspires new reasons for gratitude.. “In any given year, Stephanie Coleman can recite reasons she is thankful on Thanksgiving, a list that includes her three children, her husband, friends, extended family and the six chickens in her backyard. This year? She is grateful for the lock on the door to her attic, where she flees to escape her family. She is grateful for the lock on her bathroom door, which prevents her kids from barging in at any moment to tattle on one another or whine for more screen time.”
AP: Empty seats, delivered feasts as virus changes Thanksgiving. “Turkey and pies will still come out of ovens, football will still be on TV, families will still give thanks and have lively conversations about politics. But this holiday has been utterly altered after months filled with sorrows and hardships: Many feasts are weighed down by the loss of loved ones; others have been canceled or scaled back with the virus surging.”
Washington Post: Workers call on Walmart, Amazon and other retailers to bring back hazard pay ahead of holiday rush. “Workers at Walmart, Amazon, Kroger and other major retailers are calling on their employers to reinstate hazard pay and strengthen safety protocols ahead of the busy holiday shopping season as coronavirus infection rates skyrocket.”
Insider: Divorce court is normally quiet during the holiday season, but this year it’s booming as the pandemic drives couples apart. “Divorce lawyers are gearing up for their busiest holiday season ever. From the Jewish New Year in September through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and up until the New Year, there’s typically a lull in court filings and hearings, they told Insider. But, they say, heightened stress, anxiety, and bitterness due to the coronavirus pandemic is giving them some work to do.”
New York Times: Coronavirus Upends Thanksgiving for Many, While Others Ignore Warnings. “Ginger Floerchinger-Franks typically invites 10 people to her home in Boise, Idaho, for Thanksgiving dinner and cooks the entire meal herself, including her specialty, pumpkin soup. But the pandemic has forced her to devise a new plan: a socially distant potluck. Three households will each prepare a dish, and Ms. Floerchinger-Franks will shuttle the platters between their homes. Then they will gather on Zoom to savor each other’s food.”
CNN: Surgeon General Adams: All Americans, even at the White House, should avoid large holiday gatherings. “US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams warned Monday that all Americans — even at the White House — should follow US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and avoid large gatherings during what he called a ‘dire point’ in the pandemic.”
WRAL: Some governors ignore CDC advice on Thanksgiving gatherings. “Coronavirus infections are ravaging South Dakota, where more than half of tests have come back positive for weeks. Yet Gov. Kristi Noem won’t require masks or take other measures to curb the spread, including urging families to limit Thanksgiving gatherings. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said he’ll attend a college football game over the weekend and spend the holiday with his parents, noting that, ‘Oklahomans should be with their loved ones over Thanksgiving.’”
San Francisco Chronicle: How to handle holiday stress during the pandemic. Bay Area experts have the answers. “The holidays can be a perilous time for our mental health even without a deadly pandemic. The weeks ahead are fraught with stress, including managing difficult family conversations, dealing with finances, and contemplating travel plans. But as coronavirus cases continue to spike at alarming rates around many parts of the country, and people are forced to reconsider long-standing traditions, depression and anxiety are also on the rise.”
BetaNews: More than 5,000 Black Friday-related scam sites registered in November. “While the holiday season is a peak time for retailers, it also represents an opportunity for cybercriminals. This is particularly true of 2020 when more people than ever are likely to be shopping online. Research from Comparitech analyzed around 30 million websites registered this month to identify efforts by cybercriminals to trick consumers looking for holiday shopping deals.”
New York Times: What 635 Epidemiologists Are Doing for Thanksgiving. “The family of one epidemiologist plans to celebrate Thanksgiving in a garage, with tables 10 feet apart and the doors rolled up. Another epidemiologist’s family is forgoing a traditional meal for an outdoor hot cider toast with neighbors. A third is dining in an outdoor tent, with a heater, humidifier and air purifier running. And, according to an informal survey of 635 epidemiologists by The New York Times, the large majority are not celebrating with people outside their household.”
CNET: Santa Claus wants to Zoom with you now that he has Wi-Fi at the North Pole. “A UK-based project called Santa at Home will connect children with Mr. Claus himself for Zoom sessions between now and Dec. 24. The calls will last up to 12 minutes and can accommodate six kids and an unlimited number of grown-ups joining from anywhere.”
