Do food comas typically last 48 hours? If you’ve ever spent a holiday at my mom’s house with my family- you’ll see that they most certainly can and often do.
After last year’s Easter dinner- a beloved tradition for my brothers and I for as long as I can remember- was canceled due to the pandemic, my mother insisted we make this year’s socially distanced gathering even bigger and better- with double the food and triple the desserts- presumably to make up for the disappointment in 2020.
My immediate family (my mom, my brothers, my sister-in-law and my niece) have somewhat perfected our limited pandemic gatherings. We had successfully pulled off a trial run of an outdoor cookout near the end of last Summer- which was the first time we’d all been together in months- and then used our method to have small celebrations on Thanksgiving and again on Christmas Eve.
No one has gotten sick, and it’s kept us all a little more sane, I think- since these get-togethers give us something to look forward to again.
There’s a few key elements to making it work- for anyone who may be interested in incorporating our method into their own small gatherings (I can’t stress the small part enough- our system probably wouldn’t work all that well if you’re planning on throwing a keg party or something.)
First, we all quarantine before our get-together. All of us. While the recommended isolation period was previously two weeks/14 days- it’s been reduced somewhat to ten days. That gives everyone enough time to make sure they’re feeling good and aren’t turning up to dinner with any symptoms, however mild they may seem.
Secondly, masks are required at all times unless you’re eating/drinking- and when you are- you’re seated far enough away from everyone where you can still talk to and hear one another- but are actively and safely socially distancing.
And finally, pre-pandemic we’d all get up to get our plates of food at the same time- but in the time of COVID- we get up one by one, with the next person only standing up and heading to the table to put food on their plate after the previous person has already sat down.
Of course- we’re always washing and sanitizing our hands, too.
It’s a time-consuming and sometimes annoying process, sure- but it’s similar to the indoor/outdoor dining rules and regulations many restaurants are following and if it’s what I have to do in order to see my mom and my siblings- I’ll happily comply.
This past Easter, like our previous dinners- was a lot of fun and I’m going to have to put in some extra workout time for the remainder of this week to burn off all the food and candy I ate. There was SO much food and it was all delicious.
I think our next attempt at dinner is going to be on or around Memorial Day- but hopefully we’ll all be fully vaccinated by then!
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 