Category Archives: Christmas

Sleigh at Home Order

Don’t let the lack of snow or an actual sleigh, hamper your child’s fun this winter. With our help you’re about to create an incredible memory for your whole family by taking your child on a virtual sleigh ride. How elaborate you want to make the experience is entirely up to you but here are some of our suggestions.

Create a Virtual Sleigh Ride

Place a hamper close to a big screen TV (as close to eye level as possible.) Place a fan next to the TV pointed at the hamper. Using your TV go to the following link on YouTube, pause it and click the full screen button.

https://youtu.be/6ltnd7XPjnc

Turn off all the lights in the room and guide your child in with their eyes closed.

Place them in the hamper, start the video and the fan and tell them to open their eyes.

As the virtual sleigh ride begins start to move and shake the hamper to match the movements of the sleigh on the video.

If you want to add some extra enhancement to magic you can put a scarf on your child give them some ski goggles and even spray a little bit of water or sprinkle confetti in the path of the fan.

Whatever you do make sure that someone videotapes the whole thing. It is sure to become a priceless memory and maybe even a family tradition.

Post of Christmas Past

We are officially starting a new holiday tradition! If you have family members spread out across the state, the country or even the world you may not all be able to get together for the holidays.

Sharing a holiday Zoom call seems like an obvious choice but we’re about to give it a supercharge.

With a little pre-planning, a dash of creativity and a some joyful effort you can edit videos and photos of all of your previous family holidays.

With the use of screen sharing the whole family can watch the heartwarming video together from wherever they are in the world.

Add in some eggnog, hot cocoa, spiced cider and some ugly Christmas sweaters and you have a family tradition for the ages.

Ideas for a Zoom christmas

Shocking Stuffer

Clearly the idea behind this Christmas post is a couples only and private holiday ideas for just the two of you to celebrate. Our website is family friendly so we try not to be salacious in any way however we will hint at a few ideas about the kind of Christmas gifts that the two of you can only give each other.

Intimate apparel is no longer only delegated to the females of our species. Costumes, undergarments and lingerie can be purchased individually or in sets designed for couples. You and your holiday partner can enjoy the unwrapping of each other’s gifts when you first get them and each time you wear them.

For extra fun you can hide holiday gifts in the outfits to be discovered while unwrapping. Hidden Christmas gifts can come in the form of jewelry, secret messages and gift cards. For practical purposes and safety, avoid hiding toaster ovens or large screen TVs no matter how successful a Cyber Monday you had.

Staying Elfy

Here are some tips and guidelines on how to help keep your holiday home Virus free. Remember that health is the best gift you can give yourself and your family at Christmas and all year long. Even if you do decide to invite friends over don’t forget to practice Social Christmasing.

Shop:

CDC Disinfectant Use

Home risk reduction strategies when no one is ill include:

  • Increase ventilation of fresh air into the home to dilute airborne germs and pollutants.
  • Upgrade to a MERV 13-rated air filter in the heating/cooling system. That efficiency level can capture virus-carrying sneeze droplets. Higher ratings are more efficient but may overly restrict the air flow and cause problems, so consult an HVAC professional if you want to upgrade further.
  • Prevent very low relative humidity below 30 percent, which can make people more susceptible to respiratory infection. This is rarely an issue in warm, humid Louisiana climate, but it can happen during cold winter weather when the heating system is running.
  • As an added precaution, close the toilet lid before flushing to reduce exposure to any germs released into the air by the turbulence, and run the bathroom exhaust fan during and for a few minutes after flushing.

When someone in the household is sick or quarantined:

  • Isolate the affected person in one room.
  • Exhaust air from that room to the outdoors to keep the isolation room’s air from circulating to other parts of the house. This can be done with a small window fan on low speed blowing to the outside.
  • Avoid sharing a bathroom. If that’s not possible, run an exhaust fan continuously. 
  • Close off or cover the central air vents in the isolation room if there is another way to control temperature. Provide a window air conditioner or a room space heater for that room as needed for comfort. In mild weather, open windows.
  • Use a room air cleaner in the isolation room. 
  • Continue the strategies for when no one is sick in the rest of the house occupied by healthy household members.

When no one is ill but the household includes a person at high risk:

  • Isolate the high-risk person in a separate room and bathroom if possible. Keep the door closed. This is to protect the at-risk person in case another household member has the virus without symptoms.
  • Use a window fan to ventilate the room with outdoor air blowing from outside to inside.
  • Close or cover the central air vents into the room and provide a room air conditioner or space heater as needed.
  • Use a room air cleaner in the isolation room.
  • Healthy indoor air quality tips for all homes:
  • Pollutant source control is top of the list. Never allow smoking indoors, don’t burn candles and always use the range hood when cooking. Buy and use only low VOC cleaners and household products (read labels). Avoid overuse of disinfectants, such as bleach, which produce unhealthy fumes. Do not rely on air filters or air cleaners as a substitute for pollutant source control.
  • Try to maintain 40-60 percent indoor relative humidity for optimal health and comfort.
  • Make sure all drain traps have water in them to prevent sewer gas in the home.
  • Clean and capture dust with a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner or damp-wipe methods.
  • Clean high-touch surfaces often, especially door handles, light switches and countertops.
  • If the home was built before 1978, assume it could have lead-based paint and asbestos-containing materials. Home repair and renovation projects that disturb paint or asbestos materials can create a serious hazard. Hire only EPA Lead-safe Renovators to do work on the home.
  • When choosing new door, cabinet and faucet handles, consider brass. Uncoated copper and its alloys, as well as silver, can have anti-microbial effects. Although more research is needed, a recent study by the National Institutes of Health and CDC reported that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, remained viable for up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel surfaces versus up to four hours on copper.

References:

  • magnoliareporter.com/living_and_learning/education/article_78b1ccf8-8fbc-11ea-a2d1-3be98c36dbe0.html
  • cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cleaning-disinfection.html

S’mores Than a Feeling

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Marshmallows with your cherished photos printed on them. Need we say more? Probably not but we will! This is a fun treat to send to any and all of your friends and family as a surprise Christmas gift not to mention what a an awesome and memorable treat it would make for your nieces, nephews or grandchildren. Your photos are uploaded and then printed on custom marshmallows. They make a delicious snack and are the perfect shape and size to be included in holiday s’mores or on the top of an extremely customized Christmas Eve hot cocoa as loved ones gather around the tree this year. Family members will think of you fondly as they gaze upon the pictures and then slowly nibble off the heads of their loved ones.

Reindeer Games

Set the standard for a Virtual Christmas Party with a Virtual Game Night!

Strike up a little competition, get all the generations involved and LET THE HOLIDAY GAMES BEGIN! 

PICK YOUR CHRISTMAS GAME NIGHT NOW!

At OVH, a holiday game night is serious business and we’re always looking for something fresh and new. Let’s Roam Virtual Game Night is where it’s at! Give yourself and your family the gift of laughter this holiday season.

Not only can you set it up to play with family members in your home, you can also invite family members and friends who live far away to play from a distance so just because some of your loved ones can’t make it home for Christmas doesn’t mean they can’t still feel connected when holidays arrive.

The path your games take is up to you…Virtual Game Nights include five rounds of fun online games and you get to choose what categories you play each round. Pick different categories every time you play to make each game night totally unique. 
 
  • Trivia (choose from SO many fun categories!)
  • Impersonations
  • Sing-a-long
  • Virtual Charades
  • Or create a custom night!
  • You can schedule the festivities to take place Christmas Eve, Christmas morning, Christmas Day or anytime all your invited gamers are available.
     
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