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Dine Outside for Thanksgiving

Guide for Dining Outside for Thanksgiving

Throughout this stressful year, one thing has still remained true throughout: we all have something to be thankful for. Whether it may be our family, our health, our pets - anything that gives you a reason to smile deserves to be celebrated! While 2020 delivers a holiday season unlike any other, read below on how to celebrate Thanksgiving socially distanced and safe outside in the backyard.

From dining under your DIY pergola build or prettying up the family patio and deck to host a safely-spaced dinner, read through these helpful tips and pointers on how to dine outside this Thanksgiving safely.

7 Tips to Dining Outside for Thanksgiving

While we recommend staying within your households and quarantine groups to celebrate Thanksgiving, you can still enjoy the beauty of the season by dining out in the backyard together!

Read through the DecksDirect Guide for an Outdoor Thanksgiving dinner below

1. Only invite as many as your outdoor space allows.

The more guests, even family members, you invite over the more risk you bring to the party. When putting together a guest list, sketch out the size of your yard to ensure that there is enough spacing between households.

All household groups should be at least 6 feet apart from each other, so setting up separate tables for everyone is a great start. Don't have that many movable tables? Ask guests to bring one of their own!

2. Ask about dietary restrictions in advance.

With so many diets, food preferences, and food allergies; it's best to inquire about your guests' meal guidelines early on. This will allow you to prepare enough vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free options so that everyone can enjoy their meal!

3. Cook a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal.

It can be a lovely, nostalgic feeling to cook, prepare, and serve the full Thanksgiving meal or turkey and all the fixings inside your family's dining room. But with the meal moved outside, perhaps it's a good time to switch up the menu or cuisine!

Aside from saving you the hassle of having to carry heavy, precarious dishes outside, changing up the menu also provides the opportunity to cook the meal outside as well! From grilling vegetables and appetizers to roasting smores over a campfire as part of dessert; this new Thanksgiving celebration could prove more fun than the original!

4. Serve hot beverages.

A hot drink can help all of your guests stay warm in these crisper, chillier months. Prepare hot cocoa, warm tea, and mulled cider in crockpots, thermoses, and even over a small campfire to help guests of all ages stay nice and toasty!

For the adults, consider also setting out some rum or whiskey so guests can craft their own hot cocktails, and extra add-ins like cinnamon sticks, marshmallows, and whipped cream to let guests get creative.)

5. Provide outdoor entertainment for guests of all ages

Set up some popular lawn games like croquet, cornhole, and badminton that can be played while safely social distancing. To help everyone feel more involved, go ahead and plan out a family/household tournament!

Other fun ideas include a neighborhood nature walk or outdoor scavenger hunt to help shake off the post-meal food coma. Or set up a projector outside so you can all comfortably enjoy the afternoon football game, Thanksgiving day parade, and more.

6. Plan to keep guests warm and cozy.

Many Americans are able to comfortably enjoy their outdoor living spaces any day of the year, some of us (especially us here in Minnesota) do need to plan ahead to ensure our guests are comfortable.

You can accomplish this while outdoor entertaining by including movable patio heaters, fire pits, an outdoor fireplace, or chimeneas in your outdoor living space set-up.

You could also provide guests a gift basket with a throw blanket, mittens, or warm indoor/outdoor slippers.

7. Assign each household its own set of utensils and condiments.

As each family or household grouping should be sat together at their own individual tables, proiding specific serving utensils and condiments for each party will prevent cross-contamination. Plan on purchasing extra salt and pepper shakers, ladles, serving spoons, etc. so that nothing is being passed around from hands to hands.

This doesn't mean, however, that these utensils should be disposable! Prevent unnecessary waste and harm to the planet, by simply planning out in advance with spare pieces, or asking guests to bring them from home!

Serving Thanksgiving dinner outside and keeping safe will be no problem at all with help from DecksDirect


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