Here are the creative ways people celebrated, hugged, visited and got married in 2020
Restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 prevented many family gatherings, celebrations and many other aspects of normal life this year.
But that didn't stop people from finding creative ways to carry on with hugs, parties and visits.
Here's a look at some of those moments.
Drive-by parades
Birthday parades helped people drop off gifts, honk their horns and celebrate despite COVID-19 restrictions.
Garrett Stuller's family and friends wanted to make his 18th birthday extra special.
In May, an endless stream of cars, trucks and first responders drove past the Pennsylvania home of the teenager with special needs.
An endless stream of cars and trucks, including first responders, blasted their horns and sirens to let Garrett know how much he is loved.
“Garrett loves anything social. And he loves waving to cars, big trucks and fire trucks. This is something that just made his day,” said Brenda McMahon, Garrett’s mother.
Watch the video above to see Garrett's reaction to the parade.
Other parades celebrated adoptions, hospital discharges and holidays.
This parade was held in Massachusetts to mark the adoption day of a 6-year-old girl.
In Iowa, family, friends and strangers welcomed Mia Evans, a fifth grader with Down syndrome, home from the hospital.
Mia's parents had taken her to the emergency room in Iowa City when she started complaining about her neck. Doctors told them Mia had atlantoaxial instability. The top vertebrae in her neck was broken and was pinching on her spinal cord. They had to operate as soon as possible.
"She had like five days in the hospital before surgery and she'd look out the window and talk about parades," said Barb Evans, Mia's mother.
Mia says she loves to watch parades, but wasn't able to see any this year because of the pandemic. But just a little more than a week after her surgery, Mia got her parade.
A community in Mississippi recently held a socially distant Christmas parade, which required people to watch from their cars and wear masks along the parade route.
Sky-high visits
Visitors were prohibited at many hospitals and nursing homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19, leading some people to find ways to see their loved ones.
Daughters of a 93-year-old COVID-19 survivor in New Hampshire used a bucket truck to celebrate his recovery with him.
Janet Thompson and Susan Hicks said they have been on an emotional rollercoaster since their father, Fred Penney, was diagnosed with COVID-19.
After he was symptom-free, they were able to check in on him through his second-floor window at the Courville at Manchester in New Hampshire.
Penney's daughters used a bucket truck to get up to their father's window. He showed off an award he was given for beating the virus.
He also was able to see his grandchildren in England through FaceTime.
Other people used firetruck ladders or stood outside windows for socially distant visits with loved ones.
For residents of at this nursing home facility in Pennsylvania, firefighters provided an opportunity for face-to-face visits with family.
Friends of Ryan Neighbors, who was born with spina bifida, crowded onto the ninth floor of the parking garage at Norton Children's Hospital in Louisville to wish her well 30 minutes before a surgery.
While Ryan is just 11, it was her 48th surgery. It also marked the first time many of those friends couldn't line the hallways of the hospital to wish her well.
When the Harvey-Carelis family welcomed Baby Maeve into the world, her older siblings weren't able to go inside a Massachusetts hospital to meet their new sibling.
Instead, big brothers Rory and Cormac, along with big sister Paloma, were able to see their beautiful little sister through the window.
Impromptu weddings
Antoinette Brown and Henry Bell commonly referred to each other as husband and wife for 14 years, but after Bell nearly died while he was hospitalized with COVID-19 for nearly two months, the couple opted to tie the knot in the hospital parking lot surrounded by the health care workers who helped save Bell's life.
"It was wonderful," Brown, 48, told CNN. "Me and my husband went home to start a new life, and thank God for life and all the staff and doctors that made this happen. It will be a day to remember forever."
When Bell arrived at HCA Healthcare's Orange Park Medical Center in Florida, he was immediately placed on a ventilator. After weeks in the ICU, Brown was forced to decide between placing Bell in hospice or giving him a tracheostomy, a procedure that involves creating an opening in the neck to place a tube into a person's windpipe so they can breathe.
Bell says he was sedated for most of the time he was in the hospital. He has no recollection of what happened or what he went through. But he does remember that the moment he woke up, he wanted to make Brown his wife.
"When I was aware and I saw her, all I wanted to do was marry her," he said. "I could not talk, so I acted as if I was putting a ring to propose to her."
The couple married on Nov. 5. Doctors and nurses helped Bell get to the altar, where he was able to stand for the longest time since being hospitalized.
"We are touched and honored that Henry and Antionette wanted our caregivers present for their wedding," said Dr. Bradley Shumaker, chief medical officer at Orange Park.
"Throughout the pandemic, our colleagues have done tremendous work on the front lines," he said. "Witnessing Henry's remarkable recovery and being a part of this special moment was a great reminder of why they do what they do every day. We wish them many more years of happiness, good health and a speedy recovery."
Brown and Bell weren't the only one who had an unconventional wedding during the pandemic.
Steven Shoemaker and Kirsten Haigh tied the knot in the courtyard of a Los Angeles-area nursing home to ensure that Haigh's 89-year-old grandmother wouldn't miss it.
Carlos Muniz was hospitalized for COVID-19 the same week he was supposed to get married.
He spent nearly a month at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio and had a few close calls during his battle with the virus. His lungs have collapsed twice and he was eventually placed on a lifesaving machine.
When hospital workers heard about Muniz's engagement, they decided to plan a ceremony for Muniz and his fiancee, Grace Leimann.
Unique ways to hug
A senior living center in Colorado figured out how to safely allow its residents to get something many around the world lacked in 2020 — the warmth of a hug.
The Katherine & Charles Hover Green Houses in Longmont, Colorado, set up a tent with arm holes, allowing residents to embrace with loved ones through a thin sheet of plastic, .
"Oh gosh, that was marvelous. I just ... I couldn’t hold her hard enough. She’s so sweet. It’s just wonderful," 97-year-old Vince Shryack told the station after hugging his daughter for the first time in about eight months.
Amanda Meier, a project coordinator with the Conversation Project, told KMGH the supplies for the tent cost about $250. The idea came about from seeing similar tents being used elsewhere in the world.
A grandmother in New Jersey also came up with quite an adorable way to hug her grandchildren for the first time in two months due to the pandemic.
In the video posted to , the grandma walks toward her grandkids in a pink unicorn costume.
One of the boys runs toward his grandma and literally jumps for joy to hug her.