How Our Editors Are Navigating the Holidays

It's not too late to change your holiday plans.

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By Paola de Varona, Associate News Editor In less than a month, Omicron went from being a fringe variant to dominating COVID cases in the United States. The holidays are officially in jeopardy. The Radio City Rockettes canceled its remaining "Christmas Spectacular" shows. The NHL is pausing its season to deal with outbreaks. Even some restaurants are temporarily closing down again.   Should you be rethinking your holiday plans? Today's Top Story How the Verywell Team Is Navigating the Holidays Omicron is definitely making me reevaluate my holiday celebrations. This past weekend, I flew back to my hometown: Miami, Florida. The warm weather is making it easier for us to adjust our plans. A few of my extended family members are stopping by on Christmas (all vaccinated) and we'll now be hosting dinner outside. When we're indoors, everyone will be masking up.   As for my yearly holiday party with friends, we've sized down to five people and plan on taking at-home rapid COVID tests the day of our get-together. I also won't be visiting my favorite restaurants and local haunts like I wanted to. Bottom line: if it's not outdoors and masked, I probably won't be going.   The rest of our editorial team is also rethinking what their holidays will look like this year. Sara Michael, Group General Manager and Senior Vice President My family has decided against any major travel again this year. We may still visit family in upstate New York, but are first confirming that everyone has been vaccinated and boosted. We might still host a Christmas Eve dinner but will ask all guests to do a rapid test the morning of. We'll likely spend most of the evening gathered outside around the fire pit, too. Natale Maneval, Senior Editor This is the first holiday with my young baby, so we aren't attending any large gatherings or going shopping in stores. It's sad that we can't expand our celebrations more, but it's for the best. There will always be more celebrations in the future. Instead, we'll be spending the holidays with our inner circle who are all fully vaccinated. This way, I won't need to deal with the added stress of potentially exposing my child to COVID. But, of course, we'll still wear our matching PJs! Nicole Kwan, Editorial Director I had a close contact scare last Monday. It was stressful having to wait in the suddenly long lines in NYC, plus an additional 72 hours for my PCR results. I'm visiting family in North Carolina and rebooked my flight so I didn't leave until after I had negative results. Now that I'm in NC, I'll be spending the holiday with my small nuclear family (we're all vaccinated and boosted). Weather permitting, we'll do walks in our neighborhood with neighbors, but won't do any indoor gatherings or go to restaurants because the state hasn't instituted vaccine requirements. Daphne Lee, News Editor I'm not as worried about my holiday plans because I only have two very small gatherings in New York and Connecticut. Cheers to having small families. Ahead of the holiday, I got my booster and tried to limit my social interactions. For my one holiday dinner with my girlfriends, we opted for an outdoor reservation. I'm also refraining from planning any big trips until we know more about Omicron. Anisa Arsenault, Associate Editorial Director So far, I haven't changed my holiday plans because of COVID surges—Omicron or otherwise. But my circle will be quite small. I'll be taking an Amtrak train from New York City to Providence, Rhode Island, and spending a week with my (boosted) immediate family. I know that my grandmother, who is 95, will not be spending Christmas Eve with us this year in order to err on the side of caution, and that decision was very difficult for my mom and aunt to make. Regina Windsor, Editor While all the adults in my family are fully vaccinated and boosted, we have a four-and-a-half-year-old son who is not eligible for vaccination so we are still being extremely careful. For example, we canceled going to an indoor children's musical this past weekend. We will be staying in town and likely only meeting friends and family on our outdoor porch trying to stay warm huddled around a fireplace, with masks. We're keeping it low-key, focusing on being together as a family and spending loads of time in nature here in Colorado Remember This As you make difficult decisions these next coming days keep a few things in mind:   • Opt for N95 masks when you can, or double mask with surgical masks. Cloth masks are the inferior option.     • Try to gather outdoors as much as possible. The virus is airborne, so proper ventilation is key.     • PCR tests are the gold standard. But rapid tests taken right before a gathering can be a useful tool.   • It's OK to cancel plans entirely, change them, or ask family to mask up. More From Verywell Is Omicron Driving a Winter Surge? READ MORE Is It Winter Allergies or COVID-19? READ MORE Do At-Home COVID Tests Expire? READ MORE   How'd we do? If you have any feedback, send us a note at   feedback@verywell.com.       You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Verywell Health newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here.   A DOTDASH BRAND 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10005   © 2021 verywellhealth.com - All rights reserved. Privacy Policy