Healthy Living

Thanksgiving, Repackaged for the COVID Era

Thanksgiving is a holiday of tradition. Most iconic images of this fall favorite involve family sitting around a dining table, surrounding a turkey-centric feast. Above nearly all others, Thanksgiving is a holiday defined by togetherness. What happens to Thanksgiving during a year that’s defined by separation?

To borrow a term from another Thanksgiving tradition, we punt. Consider these approaches to make Thanksgiving 2020 meaningful in a new way this year.

Virtually the same holiday

If nothing else, we’ve all gotten comfortable with remote events. Remote work, remote learning, how about remote holidays? Whether on Zoom, FaceTime or Google Hangout, why not fill your screen with faces you really want to see this time of year? You can even think big by skipping the laptop and setting up your virtual Zoom holiday on your smart TV.

Change things up completely

Ditch food-focused holiday thinking in favor of doing something completely new. Participate in a local Turkey Trot 5K (socially distanced of course). Or make it a day to dive into a fun new project or hobby by picking out some online classes and acquiring the necessary supplies in advance.

Try CreativeBug for crafty ideas for all talent levels, or Lynda.com to build your skills in areas ranging from 3D animation or photo retouching to mobile app development. Best of all, access to many popular instructional sites is available free with a library card, so check with your local branch before paying for an online course.

Lean into genealogy

Thanksgiving is a holiday many use to acknowledge and honor family. Why not take the time to explore your family history? If you use a DNA testing kit sites, you could have results back in about two months. If you’ve already done a test, maybe do a little more digging and see who else is on your family tree.

It’s also never too early to start your own history of your family. Begin a journal of who you are and where you came from, or add to one that you have. Record family members’ stories and recollections via audio or video for a wonderful archive for future generations.

Go thematic and cinematic

Queue up some movie favorites and plan a fun menu around them. For example, serve popcorn, toast, pretzels and jelly beans appetizers as a nod to A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, or Italian food and a Louis Prima soundtrack accompanied by a lineup of Big Night, The Godfather and Moonstruck.

Other screen-related ideas can include picking a favorite actor, character or director and stream several of their best works — think Jimmy Stewart, James Bond or the Coen brothers. Or get a jump on the next big holiday with a Christmas or New Year-themed movie binge.

Choose self-care over stress

Holidays bring inherent stress. That’s why it’s smart to take steps to ensure that you’ve removed extra stress in your life where you can — especially when it comes to finances in retirement.

For homeowners age 62 and older, that means making sure you have ready access to funds, whether to cover emergency expenses, make necessary modifications to your home, or plan a fun family vacation when circumstances permit. A reverse mortgage might be worth learning more about, as it allows you to leverage the equity in your home and put it to good use.

Reach out to Reverse Mortgage Funding at 888-277-1567 to see if a reverse mortgage loan fits your needs. We’ll connect you with a local, experienced loan specialist who’ll talk with you one-on-one to review the reverse mortgage loan process and answer your questions.

This content is sponsored by RMF, one of the nation’s leading reverse mortgage lenders. We are dedicated to helping older Americans retire more freely, in the comfort of their own homes. As a result of our commitment to providing an extraordinary and positive customer experience, we have earned a 98% customer satisfaction rating; a 4.7-star / Excellent score on Trustpilot; 4.8 out of 5 stars on LendingTree; and an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Call 888-277-1567 to speak with a licensed reverse mortgage specialist to learn about our retirement financing products and solutions.

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