Merry (covid) Christmas: Local families share how they plan to spend the holiday - TribLIVE

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Christmas this year, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, will be different for most, if not all, families.

As the virus continues to spread, Gov. Tom Wolf curtailed some businesses and shut others through the holiday season. Health officials have urged people not to travel and to celebrate Christmas and the New Year only with those who live in their household — limiting their exposure to others in an effort to tamp down a surge that started in the fall.

A few local residents shared how they plan to spend the Christmas holiday with family, be it limited in person or remotely via video visits.

When Dan Galbraith travels this week to see his 89-year-old dad in St. Clair Township, he won’t be met with the large Christmas gathering of siblings and extended family normally there.

Instead, the 56-year-old Hempfield resident will visit his father, Charles Galbraith, separately from others — all in an effort to protect him from the virus.

“None of it’s going to happen, so it’s really disappointing,” said Galbraith, noting his sister and brother usually gather with their families for dinner and to open presents.

Galbraith and his wife, JoAnn, will visit his dad Friday morning, alternating with his sister, Cathy Melville, 67, and her husband, Roger. They will visit in the afternoon, sitting on opposite sides of the room to be socially distanced and wearing masks when not eating. The Melvilles will travel from Hershey and stay in a home they still have in Fairfield.

Two other brothers, Dave Galbraith, 59, who lives in Michigan, and Chuck Galbraith, 65, of Seven Fields, will visit via Zoom.

Chuck Galbraith also is taking extra precautions this year, as his wife is a nurse at UPMC Passavant.

“We just can’t take any chances,” he said. “With the vaccine coming out, we’re getting close to the finish line. If everyone can just hold off a little bit, that’s what we’re trying to do. I want to be with my dad because he’s 89 years old, and it hurts to not be able to do that.”

Despite a Christmas that is far from normal, Galbraith is hopeful things will be back as they once were next year — and they can visit their dad like in past years. Dan Galbraith said his father will be happy to see his family in some form this year.

“I’m sure he’s disappointed we can’t all get together at the same time,” Dan Galbraith said. “We’re not sure how many Christmases we have left with him. It’s a bummer. At the same time, you understand why you have to do it. He can’t afford to get sick.”

— Megan Tomasic

Matthew Fridg has been using FaceTime to connect safely with friends and family during the pandemic. The Latrobe filmmaker and father of four will rely, at least partially, on that remote technology for this year’s atypical Christmas celebration.

“We do FaceTime a lot because a lot of us have Apple devices,” he said.

As long as they’ve had no known covid contacts, family who live nearby are planning to get together in person for the holiday. But that gathering may not include two of Fridg’s three siblings, who live farther away — a brother in Pittsburgh and a sister and her children in Lancaster.

“Christmas is the one holiday when we usually all do get together,” said Fridg, who grew up in Indiana County. “Since we don’t have family that needs to fly, it’s inexpensive for them to just drive across the state.

“This year, it’s so different. A lot of people are not going to be coming into town. Hopefully, it’s just this one year.”

In addition to video games for the kids, there will be a new entertainment option this year.

“We’ll probably sit down to watch a DVD of the Westmoreland Ballet Company’s ‘Nutcracker,’ ” Fridg said.

Since the annual ballet performance couldn’t be presented in person, Fridg’s company — Headspace Media — filmed the dancers at indoor and outdoor locations around Westmoreland County, including at the Diamond in Ligonier. The recorded performance initially was streamed online for paying viewers.

The Fridg Christmas menu will be missing a traditional entree.

“We usually deep fry a turkey when everybody gets together,” Fridg said, “but we won’t have enough people to do that.

“It makes you kind of sad. We look forward to that every year.”

— Jeff Himler

As usual, Mary Ellen and Phil Raneri are spending a lot of time in the kitchen leading up to Christmas. Unfortunately, the heart of their cooking crew is missing this year.

Mary Ellen’s 98-year-old mother, Lucy Pollock, the star baker of “Baking With Lucy” on Facebook, died Nov. 22 of covid-related complications.

On Christmas Eve, the Latrobe couple will whip up their traditional Italian feast, including capellini, marinara sauce and cod.

“I’m drawing the line at the squid soup, though — can’t do that,” Mary Ellen joked.

They’ll also spend time on her mother’s Facebook page, where they’ve continued to guide viewers through Lucy’s trove of recipes since her death. Phil will even dress up as Santa.

“He ad-libs. He’s hysterical — you’ll pee your pants laughing,” Mary Ellen said.

Sharing time with family and friends has always been a big part of the holidays for the Raneris.

“Typically, we’d have a big party a few days before Christmas with a cast of thousands, upstairs and downstairs,” Mary Ellen said. “Mom loved that — she’d be right in the middle of it.”

Last year, they invited friends with musical talents to bring their instruments along for a mammoth jam session. This year, they’ll visit with family members and friends on Zoom instead.

“People will still be coming here. It will just be online,” Mary Ellen said.

All of those Facebook cooking lessons also resulted in a holiday bounty for others.

“We’ve been giving a lot away,” Mary Ellen said. “We’ve been doing porch drop-offs of cookie trays and nut rolls.”

Imagine opening your front door to the sight of Lucy’s signature oatmeal, chocolate chip or orange coconut cookies, almond rusks and peanut butter fudge, or the Russian tea balls and jelly-filled thumbprint cookies that are favorites from Phil’s side of the family.

“We’re trying to do everything that Mom loved, and it makes people so happy,” Mary Ellen said.

— Shirley McMarlin

Categories: Local | Westmoreland