I’m writing this the week before Thanksgiving – holiday production scheduling always pushes up the deadline for the December issue of Prime – and it’s very hard to imagine what the 2020 holiday season may actually look like.
Will the continued rise in coronavirus cases result in more restrictions as we approach Hanukkah and Christmas and Kwanza this year? Will stores and indoor dining restaurants and events need to shut down, or alter their capacity and hours?
How creative will families need to become to keep everyone safe during what is usually a time of visiting and parties and gatherings?
Will it be a Zoom or Facetime or Livestream Christmas Eve? Will we all be opening our gifts around an outdoor Christmas tree?
Is it safe to go to a holiday religious service this year?
What do we all do on New Year’s Eve – you can’t kiss someone if you have to be masked and six feet apart.
To say 2020 has presented everyone with unusual challenges is an understatement.
One of those challenges for me as an editor has been to find a way to put some holiday spirit into this last issue of the year.
I thought it might be hard. Luckily, I’m not alone in my thinking.
From the Springfield Museum’s gingerbread house contest to Bright Nights to the Westfield on Weekends DecemberFest, so many of the events we look forward to annually at the holiday season have found ways to reinvent themselves and adapt to this unusual time.
It took time, phone calls and some internet and social media digging,
but in this month’s feature story – in addition to learning about the history of gingerbread houses – you’ll also find a curated listing of as many area holiday events as I could confirm by press time.
The holiday events list is something Prime hasn’t done in several years, but 2020 definitely seemed the year to ferret out as much holiday spirit and cheer as possible, and pass it along. I hope you get the chance to enjoy some of the things listed.
And, as we wrap the year’s last issue, I want to say a thank you to all of you who read Prime every month, and patronize our advertisers. All of us at Reminder Publishing truly appreciate your loyalty, especially in what has been a difficult year for all.
For those of our readers who may spend this holiday alone, we send a virtual hug. Please know that we think of you as we plan and put together each issue. Thank you for inviting us into your homes each month. I know it’s hard, but stay safe. Wishing all a brighter 2021.
Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.com
