Amanda Northrop/Vox

Experts on safer — and riskier — ways to see friends and family, keep kids busy, and give back in a raging pandemic.

Winter and the holidays can be hard times even in typical years: short days, cold winds, seasonal blues, and family stress, to name a few of the challenges many of us face. But the ongoing Covid-19 surge, with more than 100,000 new cases of the virus reported every day since November 5, is putting the hallmark activities that can help sustain us through the darker days — holiday gatherings, meals with friends, volunteering, or a visit to see Santa — in more dire limbo.

Despite being nine months into the pandemic, figuring out whether and how to approach a previously routine activity or event is still complicated and often stress-inducing. And the calculus seems to change