Friends—

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. It’s the hardest thing not to be together with those you love on the holidays, but this year we all owe it to each other to celebrate differently. If we do the right thing in the weeks ahead, then we may be able to go back to normal life sooner, and fewer people will get sick or even die.

I’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving at home in Sacramento this year with my wife, Julie. Like so many of you, we’ll be having a virtual Zoom gathering with our kids, our parents and our siblings.

We’ve had countless Zoom meetings in the Mayor’s Office since the pandemic started, and members of my staff have learned a lot about what to do and not to do to have a successful experience. In that vein, we’ve had them put together this tip sheet to help you stage the perfect “ThanksZoom Dinner.”

Be well and stay safe.

—Darrell

Zooming through dinner…

Regardless of whether you’re using Skype, Zoom, Webex or any of the many different web and video conferencing platforms there are some best practices that you can use to improve your set up for ThanksZoom dinner and maybe even carry over into your professional life if you work from home.

What exactly am I looking at? Camera position is an important factor. Think about what parts of your dining area and your self you want to be visible. If you’re not using a camera built into the computer, having a small portable tri-pod can help you get the perfect camera position. A cardboard box or milkcrate is a perfect support for a laptop with a built in webcam if you want to elevate your camera position.

Let there be light! Lighting is equally if not more important than camera position. If all of the lighting in your dining area is behind you then your face will show up as a dark shadow. Move around your room and see where the light catches you. Maybe take the lampshade off a lamp near by or move a reading light a little closer. The idea is for the light to shine ON your face from in front, not at the back of your head.

I hear an echo… A couple tips to keep that awful feedback echo from invading your dinner conversation. Try using ear buds if you have them. Using headphones cuts down on ambient audio noise and feedback and eating with a headset with a microphone is cumbersome at best. Keep yourself on mute if you’re not speaking. Since you may not be sitting directly in front of your computer like you would for a regular web meeting, you’ll want to balance the volume of your speakers and how loud you’ll have to talk if you’re not using earbuds with a dedicated microphone.

Grandma, you’re on mute! Have a tech savvy friend of family member be the host with some of the more advanced web meeting tools at their finger tips.

On to the food!

So now that you have the technical part figured out, it’s time to think creatively about making this dinner special.

No more secret recipes. Have everyone share a recipe that they love ahead of time, and then you can all try to make the same recipe for one or more dishes so that you can share it even if you’re not together. Secret ingredients will have to be shared but just think of the joy of someone saying to you, “Now I know how you got that to taste so good!”

Portion Control, this is my belt, we have a problem… Walking away from a Thanksgiving dinner stuffed to the gills is a tradition, but since you’re cooking for just your household, you’ll want to remember to reduce the ingredients called for and ensure you’re making how much you want to make for any dish. You also have the added benefit of not having to argue about leftovers. They are all yours!

Ugh, cooking, I just can’t. If you’re not into cooking there are options for you too! Instead of sharing recipes and cooking together as a live stream or simply sharing the meal together at the end, try all ordering take out from the same place. You can find a list of restaurants offering takeout Thanksgiving in Sacramento here.

There are probably a ton more creative ideas and tips and tricks out there. Leave an idea in the comments for everyone!