With Christmastime comes the familiar sense of joy, giving, and togetherness. But yearly traditions such as seeing Christmas shows, traveling, throwing parties, or even just seeing family are not possible this year. The United States’ constant surge in Covid-19 cases has left many people scrambling to find new ways to be together safely. 

Many people are still planning on seeing family in person this Christmas. Diana Kenes, a senior, is planning on not seeing family and just keeping her Christmas within her household unit. 

“It’s probably going to be just my immediate family and my grandparents, but we never do a huge party so it won’t feel too different than previous years!” said Kenes. “We probably won’t see most other members of our family, at least not in the traditional sense.”

While seeing any people outside of your household this can be especially hazardous, Kenes thinks that “it’s okay that everyone does their own thing as long as you and everyone you’re with feels safe and is responsible.”

However, some people are still holding on to a sense of normalcy and are planning on celebrating with family in person. Senior Meghan Freeze is having her family over for Christmas in person. 

“We are having my cousins and grandma over,” said Freeze. “We usually have a large crowd of family and friends coming over at Christmas, but this year we definitely reduced the group.”

Freeze and her family are planning on taking many precautions to ensure that they can have a happy and healthy Christmas. 

“We are all wearing masks. Afterwards, we are gonna quarantine for two weeks and get tested,” said Freeze. “With our country’s cases and hospitalizations going up, I would definitely recommend being more cautious. You don’t want to put your family in any danger.” 

Like Freeze, many people this year are still planning on seeing people in person. In a recent survey of the student body, about 45 percent of the participants stated that they still celebrating with their families. However, about 38 percent of the participants are not planning on seeing family outside of their household. Others, 5.8 percent of participants, are planning to combine the two ideas and limit their celebrations to select family members. 

Another popular option this year is spending time with family virtually. Abby Freebery, another senior, is spending the holidays a bit differently this year than previous ones. 

“My family and I decided that doing something virtually this year is probably the safest option,” said Freebery. “My family is pretty spread out throughout the county and though we normally meet for the holidays… we don’t want to risk it this year.”

Freebery believes that going virtual this year is the safest and easiest way to connect with family and friends. She explained that after the massive spikes in American Covid cases, she thinks it’s important to remind people that “the threat of the pandemic is still out there.”

 “I ask people to please be safe and not spread the virus,” said Freebery. “Think about others and take proper precautions before doing anything risky.”