Outdoor gathering with elderly grandparents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. The tricky thing is my 4 yo wants to do a Christmas show for them. He’s been practicing singing Christmas carols and a dance for weeks and wants to sing for, and with them. So I can require him to wear a mask but then my grandparents won’t be able to hear him. They are both hard of hearing and when we wear masks they really can’t understand anything. I know singing is considered high risk, but I was thinking we’d space out 12+ feet apart. We also have ceiling fans throughout and I was thinking to blast them the whole time.

Just do the show outside.

Op here. The entire visit will take place outside, including any bathroom needs (pool bathroom). And like a PP said, we won’t even bring them in the house-they’ll come through the side gate to our outdoor living area.

I would not be concerned if I were OP and everyone stayed outside and in their "section". Make sure your parents wear their masks the whole time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would think outdoor, distant and mostly masked is fine. But... do your grandparents still drive? If so, no big deal, but if someone else needs to drive them windows down is a MUST and that's what might make me hesitate.

And yes, can kids respect distance too.

Op here. Yes they still drive. They only live 5 minutes away. My 4 yo understands distance but my 2 yo does not. I couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t go up to them.

The food issue isn't about sharing objects. It's about being mask-less.

The guidance on masks has not changed. Wear them. This is why you avoid food at gatherings.

[Anonymous]

OP, have you seen them other times during this pandemic? Have they felt comfortable?

I think with a 2 and 4 year old, you need to be really on top of the kids. A mask-less 2 year old sneezing onto one of them is the EXACT scenario you want to avoid.

It does sound like you have the perfect set up to keep them safe. But to be honest, if I had a family member tell me they didn't think I should do it I would not.

Your grandparents are merely weeks away from being able to be vaccinated. Accidentally giving them Covid now would be completely devastating as we are SO close to getting out of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. The tricky thing is my 4 yo wants to do a Christmas show for them. He’s been practicing singing Christmas carols and a dance for weeks and wants to sing for, and with them. So I can require him to wear a mask but then my grandparents won’t be able to hear him. They are both hard of hearing and when we wear masks they really can’t understand anything. I know singing is considered high risk, but I was thinking we’d space out 12+ feet apart. We also have ceiling fans throughout and I was thinking to blast them the whole time.

Just do the show outside.

Op here. The entire visit will take place outside, including any bathroom needs (pool bathroom). And like a PP said, we won’t even bring them in the house-they’ll come through the side gate to our outdoor living area.

I don't have an issue with people outside DC posting on this DC-based forum, but this question seems so location-specific that you'd be better off asking more locally. Covid rates and restrictions vary by locality. Also, most people here in the DC area don't have outdoor living areas with ceiling fans, pool bathrooms, and 12-foot dining tables, not to mention the weather to make such an outdoor visit possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. The tricky thing is my 4 yo wants to do a Christmas show for them. He’s been practicing singing Christmas carols and a dance for weeks and wants to sing for, and with them. So I can require him to wear a mask but then my grandparents won’t be able to hear him. They are both hard of hearing and when we wear masks they really can’t understand anything. I know singing is considered high risk, but I was thinking we’d space out 12+ feet apart. We also have ceiling fans throughout and I was thinking to blast them the whole time.

Zoom his performance.

[Anonymous]

It doesn’t sound like much of a celebration. You should also respect your uncle’s wishes. The vaccine is right around the corner. Have your gathering then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, have you seen them other times during this pandemic? Have they felt comfortable?

I think with a 2 and 4 year old, you need to be really on top of the kids. A mask-less 2 year old sneezing onto one of them is the EXACT scenario you want to avoid.

It does sound like you have the perfect set up to keep them safe. But to be honest, if I had a family member tell me they didn't think I should do it I would not.

Your grandparents are merely weeks away from being able to be vaccinated. Accidentally giving them Covid now would be completely devastating as we are SO close to getting out of this.

Op here. Is the vaccine really that close?? They aren’t in a nursing home, I figured we were still months away from them being vaccinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. The tricky thing is my 4 yo wants to do a Christmas show for them. He’s been practicing singing Christmas carols and a dance for weeks and wants to sing for, and with them. So I can require him to wear a mask but then my grandparents won’t be able to hear him. They are both hard of hearing and when we wear masks they really can’t understand anything. I know singing is considered high risk, but I was thinking we’d space out 12+ feet apart. We also have ceiling fans throughout and I was thinking to blast them the whole time.

Zoom his performance.

Op here. Believe me, we’ve tried!! They are very low tech and get overwhelmed with technology.

These are my 80 something grandparents, not my boomer parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. The tricky thing is my 4 yo wants to do a Christmas show for them. He’s been practicing singing Christmas carols and a dance for weeks and wants to sing for, and with them. So I can require him to wear a mask but then my grandparents won’t be able to hear him. They are both hard of hearing and when we wear masks they really can’t understand anything. I know singing is considered high risk, but I was thinking we’d space out 12+ feet apart. We also have ceiling fans throughout and I was thinking to blast them the whole time.

Just do the show outside.

Op here. The entire visit will take place outside, including any bathroom needs (pool bathroom). And like a PP said, we won’t even bring them in the house-they’ll come through the side gate to our outdoor living area.

I don't have an issue with people outside DC posting on this DC-based forum, but this question seems so location-specific that you'd be better off asking more locally. Covid rates and restrictions vary by locality. Also, most people here in the DC area don't have outdoor living areas with ceiling fans, pool bathrooms, and 12-foot dining tables, not to mention the weather to make such an outdoor visit possible.

Op here. So true, but unfortunately there’s nothing like dcurbanmom for Arizona!! If there were, I’d be posting there.

Even my most cautious friends are doing gatherings like this. What gives me pause is how bad the numbers have gotten and also my uncle having such strong feelings about the whole thing.

[Anonymous]

This sounds like a very nice idea to me. They will be outdoors the whole time, all adults wearing masks, and that is great.

Setup some chairs for the grandparents and let them watch the kids open their gifts (bet they are bringing some) from 6ft away, and let 4yo do the show (from 6ft away).

It wouldn’t hurt to have some new play items (bubbles, new sidewalk chalk or hula hoop or something) to encourage the kids to play a distance away from the grandparents while they look on. Something fun that the grandparents will enjoy watching for a bit. Serve coffee or lemonade etc (I wouldn’t do food)

Wouldn’t hurt to chat with the kids ahead of time about expectations.

Anything is going to be a risk but this is really so minimal. I imagine it will be the highlight of your inlaws’ holiday.

Reasonable people can disagree (there are no right answers) but I would be fine with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t sound like much of a celebration. You should also respect your uncle’s wishes. The vaccine is right around the corner. Have your gathering then.

Op here. I think we could make it nice. They’d love to hear my son sing for them and see our tree and decorations. They didn’t do anything at all for thanksgiving and don’t even have a tree up for Christmas this year. It’s so freaking sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, have you seen them other times during this pandemic? Have they felt comfortable?

I think with a 2 and 4 year old, you need to be really on top of the kids. A mask-less 2 year old sneezing onto one of them is the EXACT scenario you want to avoid.

It does sound like you have the perfect set up to keep them safe. But to be honest, if I had a family member tell me they didn't think I should do it I would not.

Your grandparents are merely weeks away from being able to be vaccinated. Accidentally giving them Covid now would be completely devastating as we are SO close to getting out of this.

Op here. We were seeing them every few weeks throughout the pandemic to go swimming and have pizza parties. Always outside. Usually unmasked though. Everyone seemed ok with it.

We have not seen them since October though when the numbers started getting really bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t sound like much of a celebration. You should also respect your uncle’s wishes. The vaccine is right around the corner. Have your gathering then.

Op here. I think we could make it nice. They’d love to hear my son sing for them and see our tree and decorations. They didn’t do anything at all for thanksgiving and don’t even have a tree up for Christmas this year. It’s so freaking sad.

If your unmasked 2yo gives them Covid, that would be so freaking sad, too.

[Anonymous]

It feels like you're putting your grandparents in a tough spot choosing between the wishes of you and their great-grandchildren for a get-together and the wishes of their son, who lives with them, to avoid gatherings.

[Anonymous]

PP again. Where are your boomer parents in all of this? What do they think?