We’re heading back into winter lockdown. It’s a depressing thought, as it also means being apart from friends and family over the holidays. But hold on, we may not be able to get together for a holiday feast, but that doesn’t mean we can’t connect over food.
Technology like zoom and other video messaging apps means that you can keep your loved ones safe and stay connected and have fun. Here are some ideas for sharing food and joy virtually this holiday season.
Share Family Recipes
A great way to connect with relatives is through passing on treasured family recipes and sharing food. Often, you can’t find these family favorites anywhere in a professional cookbook. They are handwritten, scrawled in grandma’s writing on a stained recipe card, or kept as a closely guarded secret.
Why not create your own recipe book to collect and share all these family favorites? You can also add stories and pictures to personalize each recipe. This kind of cookbook not only passes down generational knowledge, but also becomes a treasured heirloom for future generations.
Even better, make a date to cook together with your family over zoom. Gather the ingredients you’ll need ahead of time and cook the meal together while everyone is safe in their own homes. You’ll get to see your loved ones, eat some delicious food, and you’ll still have a chance to ask your grandma about her secret ingredient in her famous chicken soup.
Share Cultural Connections
Greenest City – a community organization in Toronto, offers a free online community program called Soup and Stories. Participants can pick up a free order of soup prepared by an expert community chef and then tune in via zoom later that evening for a story about the dish. It is a great way to try something new and learn more about the food’s cultural connections from the chef who made it.
You could do your own version of this event by organizing a cooking party with your best friends. Create a recipe book together that includes favorite recipes from your group of friends. You can even include recipes that remind you of memories you share, such as that epic BBQ at the beach or your trip to Thailand.
Ask everyone to submit a few recipes and stories online. Once it is all together, ask everyone to pick a dish from the cookbook to try out at home. Then meet on zoom to eat the meal together online. You can talk about the dish you prepared or talk about the recipe you contributed and the history behind it.
Have Fun
If hanging out playing games is more your thing, why not make a date to cook your favorite food and then meet by Zoom to play some online games with your friends and family? Bring out your favorite board game – one person may have to be the game master or get everyone to join in online through an online drawing and guessing game.
Many free versions of the games let you connect and play with friends online. Jackbox games offer many group games to choose from, like Drawful or Quiplash, or there are online trivia games that are sure to make for an epic night.
These online dinner parties may not be the same as hosting a private party for 10 in person, but at least online, you’ll get a good meal, connect with friends, stay safe, and have way fewer dishes to clean.
For help creating your own recipe book, take a look at our FAQs. We’ve got easy to follow, step by step online instructions to help you create a virtual cookbook to help connect your family and friends this holiday season.