Close to home for the holidays

Staying close to home for the holidays

By Elizabeth Morse Read

“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”

Bing Crosby’s wartime holiday hit has new meaning in a time of social distancing and stay-at-home safety measures. Many family traditions and large get-togethers just won’t be possible this year, but we can still make the holiday season memorable and meaningful by adapting to and taking advantage of the necessary changes in our daily lives.

But there will still be wonderful holiday activities and places to see this month – both new and old – especially on Small Business Saturday, November 28. Meanwhile, don’t forget to turn your clocks back on November 1, to vote on November 3, and to honor our veterans on November 11!

Last glimmer of Halloween

You get one more chance to reserve your drive-by slot to see the Jack-OLantern Spectacular at the Rogers Williams Park Zoo in Providence (rwpzoo.com), then take the kids to Phantoms and Fire at Coggeshall Farm Museum in Bristol on November 1 (coggeshallfarm.org).

You’ll be able to wander through the 8-acre corn maze at Escobar Farm in Portsmouth through November 8 (escobarfarm.com) – you can also cut down your own Christmas tree there, too. Or go on lantern-led haunted history tours of Newport on Saturdays with “Ghosts of Newport” (ghostsofnewport. com) or on selected evenings in Plymouth with “Plymouth Ghost Tours” (plymouthghosttours.com), all this month.

Celebrate the bounty

What better way to create your Thanksgiving dinner than to buy fresh local produce, pies, wines, cranberry relish, and turkeys at your nearest farm, vineyard, or indoor winter markets (semaponline.org, localharvest.org). Check out the year-round farmers market at Stony Creek Farm in Swansea, the new Farm Fresh RI Winter Market in Providence (farmfreshri.org), or the New Bedford Indoor Farmers Market at the First Unitarian Church (coastalfoodshed. org).

And check out your local vineyards for your holiday libations! Newport Vineyards in Middletown offers curbside pickup or free home delivery on cases of wines (newportvineyards.com), as well as fine dining and gift cards.

And if you don’t want to do your own cooking, why not head over to Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth this month, where Thanksgiving began! Make a reservation to enjoy a “New England Harvest Feast” or a “Thanksgiving Homestyle Dinner” on selected dates (plimoth.org).

Support local restaurants!

Restaurants large and small throughout the South Coast have struggled to stay afloat this year, so show your support by ordering take-out, delivery, or enjoying indoor or outdoor dining! And if you can’t get the family together for a big Thanksgiving dinner, think about ordering a soup-to-nuts dinner from your favorite restaurant, either for you to pick up or for delivery to others.

Outdoor dining will still be available in many locations, thanks to state grants allowing many restaurants to purchase outdoor patio heaters, a staple of European sidewalk cafes. Check out the restaurants along Atwells Avenue in Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood, and the “dining parklets” along New Bedford’s Acushnet Avenue in the north end, Purchase Street downtown, and others in the historic/seaport district. You can also savor the flavors of restaurants in Newport and Bristol Counties during Newport Restaurant Week November 6-15 (discovernewport.org/ newport-restaurant-week)!

Get out of the house

The weather may be getting colder, but that’s no excuse for sitting in the house! Get outside and enjoy the incredibly beautiful parks, beaches, natural reserves, and bird sanctuaries scattered throughout the South Coast. Southcoast Health and the Buzzards Bay Coalition created “Discover Buzzards Bay,” an online portal with information about more than 100 public places to walk, birdwatch, kayak/canoe, fish, snowshoe or cross-country ski (savebuzzardsbay. org/discover) – and visit thetrustees.org,

Take a scenic drive along the South Coast’s Farm Coast (facebook. com/farmcoast-new-england) or along the region’s Coastal Wine Trail (coastalwinetrail.com). Go on a guided Seal Watch boat tour or a Seal Watch/ Rose Island tour with Save the Bay, departing from Bowen’s Ferry Landing in Newport (savebay.org/seals).

Bundle up and brave the outdoors ice skating (and bumper cars!) at The Providence Rink at the Bank Newport City Center – twice the size of the Rockefeller Center rink in New York (theprovidencerink.com). Or check out the schedule for indoor skating at Fall River’s Driscoll Arena, New Bedford’s Hetland Arena, Taunton’s Aleixo Arena or Plymouth’s Armstrong Arena (fmcicesports.com).

How about running in a virtual race? Register for the three Virtual Trail Races sponsored by the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust November 1-30, or for the Post-Thanksgiving Walk November 29 (dnrt.org). And if you’re in the Wareham area, you can stay fit with Yoga with Laura at Shell Point Beach in Onset (onsetbay.org) or play some mini-golf at Kool Kone (koolkone.com).

Listen to live and virtual concerts

Most theatres, clubs, and concert halls are either closed temporarily or allowing only limited seating, but the shows still go on! Find out who’s on the virtual or in-person stages at the Spire Center for the Performing Arts of Greater Plymouth (spirecenter.org), Common Fence Music in Warren (commonfencemusic.com), the Zeiterion in New Bedford (zeiterion. org), The Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River (narrowscenter.com), or the District Center for the Arts in Taunton (thedistrictcenterforarts.com). You can also livestream the concerts, classes, and special events sponsored by First-Works in Providence (first-works.org).

For classical music lovers, go to StreamRIPhil.org for livestreamed performances of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra (riphil.org) – limited indoor seating is available. The New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and Chamber will also be presenting virtual performances (nbsymphony.org).

Virtual and IRL (in real life) experiences

Enjoy a live virtual lecture with awardwinning photographer Peter Pereira “New Bedford through Photojournalism” on November 12 at the Rotch-JonesDuff House in New Bedford (rjdmuseum. org). The Whaling Museum, also in New Bedford, will sponsor Virtual NB Science Café Lectures, which were previously hosted at the Greasy Luck Brew Pub, as well as in-person or “Museum from Home” tours (whalingmuseum.org).

And if you really want to get everyone out of the house, purchase your tickets online to visit the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford (bpzoo.org) or the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence (rwpzoo. org). Or bundle up and enjoy free family fun and entertainment on November 12 on AHA! Night in downtown New Bedford, or else connect from your couch with virtual VAHA! (ahanewbedford.org).

It’s beginning to look a bit like Christmas

Some of the traditional Christmas extravaganzas are on hold this year, but you can still take the kids on heated train rides through Edaville Railroad in Carver for the annual Festival of Lights November 13 through January 1 (edaville.com).

Make your reservation and head for Bristol to see the holiday “Sparkle” decorations starting this month at Blithewold Mansion and Gardens (blithewold.org), or join in the annual Bristol Christmas Festival, starting November 20 with the Christmas Snow Ball (christmasbristolri.com, facebook.com/ bristolchristmasfestival).

And for the most splendiferous of holiday exhibits, don’t miss a chance to stroll through the holiday “Christmas at the Newport Mansions” from November 21 to January 3 (newportmansions.org).

Shop small, shop local!

Why risk your health (and sanity) at crowded malls on Black Friday? Take advantage of incredible offerings in your own neighborhood on Small Business Saturday, November 28, throughout the South Coast. Check out sbsshopri. com for shop-and-stroll events in Rhode Island. For that special gift, support local craftsmen and artists by heading over to the Waterfire Arts Center in Providence to visit the safe outdoor pop-up markets (waterfire.org/art-mart). And on First Thursdays (November 5) you can “shop and dine local” in Barrington, Bristol, and Warren (discovernewport.org).

Kick-off the holiday season at Frerichs Farm in Warren with “Girls Night Out” on November 6, 7 and 8 – buy your holiday trees, greenery, and gifts there, too (frerichsfarm.com). Then mark your calendar for the Newport Block Party & Holiday Stroll at Bowen’s Wharf on November 27 – you can watch the Illuminated Boat Parade while you shop and enjoy Caribbean music (bowenswharf.com).

It’s the thoughtful gifts that count

And if you can’t find gifts for all the special people in your life, consider buying gift cards to restaurants, shops, vineyards, special event venues, local farms, e-commerce websites, or grocery stores. Use mail-order services to deliver flowers, sweets, and specialty foods yearround to someone you want to thank or to express your appreciation.

For those who are always hard to buy a gift for, consider signing them up for an annual subscription to a streaming service, app, podcast, premier sports/ movies/cultural channel, magazine, or newspaper. Or make a donation in their name to their favorite charity, educational institution, or cultural organization. Consider how much it would be appreciated if you upgraded an older relative’s digital capabilities with an easy-to-use smartphone, tablet, or notebook – and then helped to set up Zoom or Skype.

You can keep the holiday spirit alive this year, even though you may not all be together to celebrate Thanksgiving. It just takes some imagination and good cheer!