Holidays and traditions are intertwined.

No matter what or how you celebrate, chances are you have some traditions that you try to maintain year to year—and perhaps even since childhood! Whether it’s baking Christmas cookies, giving gifts each night of Hanukkah, lighting Kwanzaa candles, decorating your work station or another holiday tradition that belongs just to your loved ones, performing these rituals each holiday is a great way to stay connected to the meaning of the season.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has made keeping up with holiday traditions a little challenging. While the pandemic sidelined many holiday activities last year, thankfully, the situation is slightly improved for this coming holiday season. However, the pandemic certainly isn’t in the rearview mirror so many folks will want to continue to be careful—especially as more workplaces ramp up operations around the holiday and increasingly welcome employees back to on-site work, it’s important to prioritize safety, even when you’re having holiday fun.

So, how do you keep up with your holiday traditions safely? Just think about a few modifications! Here are a few options:

Parties:

Everybody loves a good holiday party! From work gatherings to meet-ups with family and friends, the holidays provide countless opportunities to connect with loved ones. But, doing so safely is essential. Consider smaller invite lists, outdoor gatherings and asking guests to wear masks.

Go Virtual:

If you’d prefer to keep it super safe and avoid in-person fun, you can still have a great time getting together for holiday traditions online. Everyone has gotten used to virtual meetups over the last year-and-a-half, so why not continue the fun through the holidays? If you usually get together with family or friends to bake holiday cookies, have a cookie bakeoff, where all guests mail one another their creations and share them in a virtual setting to pick the winner. Or if you’re missing out on your favorite ugly sweater party this year, why not don your pick and get together virtually with your favorite friends or co-workers for some festival holiday fun?

Take It Outdoors:

One of the easiest ways to keep up your holiday traditions but decrease your risk is to get festive outside. There are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the season in the open air: cutting down your own Christmas tree, going on a wagon ride through light displays, holiday caroling and much more.

Get charitable:

Perhaps one of the most fitting opportunities to celebrate is by giving back to others. If you normally do some charitable work around the holidays, don’t let that tradition fall by the wayside. Set up a donation drive at work or with loved ones or launch an online fundraiser for a worthy cause to mark the meaning of the season, all while staying safe.

Holidays during a pandemic can be hard, but maintaining your favorite traditions can keep the spirit of the season alive. Grab that ugly sweater, break out the decorations, turn on the holiday tunes at work and get ready to make memories this year!