Showing Thanks for Your Eyesight This Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to reflect on the things we're thankful for, including your eye health. Whether we're celebrating family, friends, a new job, or something else, it's nice to get together and show one another how much we value the people in our lives. With the COVID-19 pandemic changing things up a bit this year, Thanksgiving may look and feel a little different. However, there are still ways to celebrate while staying safe!

• A look at Thanksgiving during COVID-19
• Showing our love from a distance
• Thanksgiving foods for your eye health
• Ensuring eye health during video calls
• Fall fashion in eye care

Thanksgiving During COVID-19

There's no doubt that this year has challenged many of us beyond what we were prepared for. Thanksgiving is a time to focus on our families, friends, and communities. During normal years, Thanksgiving means joining with those who are important to you to take in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, watch football, and enjoy your favorite holiday treats. However, during COVID, gatherings with family members are being paused to ensure safety and keep everyone healthy.

The one thing that the coronavirus pandemic has not taken away is people's ability to remain thankful for the ways that COVID has brought us together.

Although we're apart, there are still ways to feel an emotional connection without being in the same room. Technology has given us the power to spend time with the people we love from a distance. Thanks to resources such as FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, and Amazon's Alexa, families and friends can stay connected in a way that feels as close to in-person as you're going to safely get during the pandemic.

How to Celebrate Thanksgiving From a Distance

You may feel like Thanksgiving can only be celebrated while we're together. However, there are tons of ways to stay thankful while we're apart. Here are a few of our favorite ways to stay connected with the special people in your life from a distance:

• Set-up a video date while you make your favorite food. Whether you're making dessert, your favorite side dish, or the main course, going through the motions during a video date can help you feel connected to one another and create some memories during the process. Virtual cooking dates are an excellent way for grandparents and their grandchildren to spend time together during the holidays, especially if they cannot be together in person.
• Make your favorite dish and then swap with your friends or neighbors. Although we can't share meals right now, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the perks that come with a potluck style Thanksgiving dinner. If you create a batch of your favorite cookies for dessert and your neighbor trades you for a bowl of the spinach and artichoke dip you love of theirs, it allows us to feel like the other is there with us in spirit. Just remember to stay socially distant when exchanging dishes. We love porch drop-offs for this suggestion!
• Watch a movie or television show together. Platforms such as Netflix and Zoom are stepping up their games when it comes to feeling as though you're together when you're apart. Netflix features a Chrome extension called Netflix Party that allows users to pair their playback on multiple devices to watch their favorite movie or television show together. On Zoom, viewers can share their screen and cast anything they choose with other users. For watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Zoom may be the better choice because it allows users to select whichever streaming platform they choose and share the screen.

Best Thanksgiving Foods for Your Eye Health

Thanksgiving can be about more than just celebrating time with friends and family. Several of the foods traditionally found on dining room tables during the holiday offer various eye health benefits as well as tasty flavors. Although maintaining proper eye care practices throughout the year is essential, eating a diet containing nutrients that promote healthy eyes and overall eye health is a fantastic start. Here are some of our favorite Thanksgiving foods that help promote overall eye health:

• Carrots, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes: These orange foods are not only a fantastic choice for fall but are also full of an essential nutrient that supports our eye care goals. Beta carotene is a carotenoid that promotes overall good eyesight and the health of your retina. This delicious pigment is also known to help reduce the need for cataract surgeries in people who consume it frequently.
• Spinach, green beans, brussel sprouts, and asparagus: You'll also find carotenoids in these green veggies, specifically zeaxanthin and lutein. These nutrients help guard against age-induced macular degeneration as well as cataracts. Keeping up with your eye care is just another reason to feel good about going for a second helping of green bean casserole!
• Cranberries are available in a can, or you can make a relish from scratch. Regardless of how you choose to enjoy them, cranberries are full of bioflavonoids that work like lutein and zeaxanthin to promote overall eye care and prevention against age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.

Eye Health During Video Calls

As our reliance on technology increases, it's crucial to keep our eye health at the forefront of our minds. Blue light blocking glasses are a fantastic eye care choice for anyone working remotely on a laptop for long hours or spending more time video chatting with family and friends.

Although we're in uncharted territory nowadays, it's still crucial to remember to keep your scheduled eye care appointments and make new appointments if you notice changes in your vision. Squinting at a screen can cause headaches, especially if you don't have the right glasses or contact lenses. In addition to blue light glasses, WebEyeCare carries a vast selection of contact lenses that ship directly from the manufacturer at the lowest prices you'll find anywhere.

Fall Fashion in Eye Care

Staying in for a small Thanksgiving celebration doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy selecting your fashion choices for the day. Eyeglasses are a fantastic way to put the finishing touch on your outfit while also staying focused on your eyesight and overall eye care. Eyeglasses can protect against blue light from high amounts of screen use, shade your eyes and surrounding skin from harmful UV rays, and allow you to see things around you crisply and clearly.

WebEyeCare offers hundreds of colors, styles, and designs that will compliment any outfit you can think of this Thanksgiving. Whether you're looking for sunglasses, reading glasses, or a pair of non-prescription blue light blockers, WebEyeCare has you covered for all of your eye health needs.