Photo by cottonbro from Pexels. — Photo by **cottonbro** from **Pexels**.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! 🦃 I hope you are all having a happy, healthy, and ideally with just your immediate household family this Thanksgiving Day! I realize the pandemic has inhibited many (but not all) from traveling to see loved ones this holiday weekend. Others are unable to travel regardless of the pandemic due to obligations, logistics and financial reason. But that does not mean you can not virtually celebrate with them today and this weekend!

Here is a list of virtual conferencing platforms that have or are offering free time-unlimited access for Thanksgiving:

Facebook Messenger: Unlimited call length with up to 50 users, but requires the Messenger app or desktop client and a Messenger/Facebook account to join.
Facetime: Unlimited call length with up to 32 participants, but the app is only available on iOS, Mac, or iPad devices.
Google Meet: 24-hour meeting length (until March 31, 2021, then drops to 60 minutes). Free calls support 100 participants, but require a Google account to join.
Houseparty: Unlimited video chat time for up to 8 people. You’ll need the Houseparty app, but this might be the only way to get Fortnite-obsessed teens in your house to join a virtual family gathering this year.
Microsoft Teams: 24 hour-long calls with up to 300 participants. Only the host needs a Teams account; guests can open a meeting link from any device without installing the Teams app or needing a Microsoft account to join.
WhatsApp: Unlimited call time for group of up to 8 users, but requires the WhatsApp app.
Zoom: Usually 40 minutes per meeting, but unlimited on November 26. Meetings can be joined from the web without the app or a Zoom account.