Tips for Maintaining a Safe Zone During the Holidays at Home

Even though it might not be recommended to gather with friends and family at home this year for the holidays, some inevitably will — albeit they will ideally do it within a safe zone. Whether it’s just close family and friends that will attend, we offer these safety tips to help promote a healthy space to ensure that only joy, hope and good times are shared during the occasion.

Before the Celebration Event

Gather up supplies recommended by the CDC that can help prevent the spread of germs and viruses such as hand sanitizer, tissues, bleach wipes and disinfectant sprays. Extra masks can be helpful in addition to some six-foot distance markers to guide guests with social distancing encouragement and protocol standards.

Be sure to do an extra good cleaning and disinfecting of the home paying special attention to high-touch zones like doorknobs, faucets, and bathroom areas. If more than just family is coming, ask guests to social distance 14 days before the event if they aren’t already doing so.

Safety During the Gathering

Many measures should be taken during the party in addition to properly distanced tables, masks and marked zones. Here are some key tips.

• Maintain social distancing, especially around food serving zones and eating spaces. Consider assigning seating and spacing out serving times.
• Avoid hugging and touching as much as possible, and plan any activities around those that don’t require close contact.
• Encourage guests to frequently wash hands and use sanitizer routinely.
• Wear your mask and remind others to do so as well when not eating or drinking.
• Set up self-serve stations, requiring those serving themselves to wear gloves.
• Use disposable plate ware, cups, utensils and consider getting single-use condiments to prevent cross-contamination of larger containers.

After the Party Is Over

Be sure the household is fully cleansed and disinfected post-party. This can be a challenging chore, so consider reaching out to a luxury Manhattan cleaning services like Keep It Up to handle the tough work for you.