Growing up, whenever my brother and I got on our mother’s nerves, she’d holler: “Take it outside! Both of you!” And we’d scramble outdoors like the varmints we were. Going outside was not a punishment. It was a tension reliever, a safe retreat, a welcome escape. (Though he was stronger, I was faster.)

Turns out, Mom had the right idea. Nowadays, the outdoors with all its foreverness and fresh air is becoming that go-to place to celebrate our upcoming holidays. Who saw that coming? Next to being home alone, being outside is the safest place to be in these plague-infested times, experts say. So, as we look for ways to enliven and share our COVID-hindered holidays, taking them outside may be just what the doctor ordered.

Indeed, starting with Thanksgiving, say the data wonks who track these sorts of moves, households across America, in climates warm and wintery, are planning