To keep ourselves and our communities safe and healthy this holiday season, we’ve been asking our Masonic Homes, Acacia Creek and Grand Lodge teams for suggestions of ways to celebrate while remaining social distant to stop the spread of COVID-19.      

This week, as winter is upon us, we’ve got a tip for a gift-exchange that works for any holiday occasion, courtesy of Kim Hegg, senior director of events, recreation, and volunteer services at the Masonic Homes: 

“Here’s how it works: Become an honorary elf on Elfster.com and follow the steps to set up a Secret Santa game for your family or friends. Provide the names and email addresses of the people that will participate.  

Players will receive an email invitation to join the game and sign up. The game pairs people up from among the group—so you get a name that you’ll play Secret Santa to, and keep it hush-hush. Buy them a present staying within the limits of the group (specified by the organizer of the game, can be any dollar amount). When purchasing gifts, you can have the gift sent directly to the recipient on a specified date decided by your group. Then, on that day, everyone joins on a Zoom call and so the present-opening fun can begin. 

A group of my friends are doing one for a gift exchange (over Zoom) on December 11 😊!” 

Resources for Staying Healthy 

State and local governments are issuing rules for gatherings, and we should abide by them.  For official guidance about staying healthy this holiday season, please visit these sites to stay up-to-date: 

• State of California Holidays and COVID-19 
• Alameda County COVID-19 Main Website 
• Los Angeles County COVID-19 Main Website 
• San Francisco County COVID-19 Main Website
• Center for Disease Control Holiday Guidelines 

For the latest news about the Masonic Homes and COVID-19, including employee policies, visit the Masonic Homes website.