It’s that time of year again when the whole world falls in love – yes, it is the festive season! It’s time to take down the decorations, string up the lights, and prepare to eat, drink and be merry.
Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? There is just one little exception: if you are single the holidays can stir up a lot of unwanted feelings. You will constantly be bombarded by reminders that you are single as the cold winter weather is definitely the season for handholding, cuddling, and the dreaded New Year’s Eve kiss.
Thanks to Hollywood, the overuse of public displays of affection are abundant both onscreen and in real life, so there really is no escape. In that case, can anything to be done to overcome the singleton Christmas struggle? Fear not, help is at hand from a fellow single girl as I present you with the ultimate “single for the holidays” survival guide.
Don’t be discouraged by being single for the holidays
Being single for the holidays is not the worst thing in the world. It can often leave you feeling sad and lonely but in reality, it won’t do you any harm.
Your relationship status, or lack of, does not define who you are or your self-worth. At aggravating times like this, it’s important not to be discouraged and to focus more on what you have than on what you don’t have.
If you really think about it, you probably have a lot going for you already without fully realizing. Maybe you have a pretty good job or are working towards it by putting an effort in college.
Also, you probably have a family and friends that love you, a good health (maybe minus the odd winter cold), good hair, a keen fashion sense etc.
Honestly, that list could go and on, so why would you let a temporary thing like the fact that you’re single get you down?
Avoid holiday themed Rom-Coms
Avoid, avoid, avoid. It may seem a little childish perhaps, but sometimes evasion is the key to survival. Romantic comedies are all well and good to watch when you’re having a girl’s night, but when you’re single they can be more annoying than fun.
Festive films, in general, can be a little too much to handle at times in terms of sentimentality, but romantic comedies set at Christmas are the absolute worst.
It seems that single characters, usually women, are deemed to be sad, lonely and Scrooge-like creatures who will never understand the true meaning of Christmas until they find love. (Insert the plot of Love Actually, The Holiday, While You Were Sleeping or any other such film here).
No pressure there, right? I honestly don’t understand why being single during the holidays is seen as such a bad thing. The only single character who actually had a negative impact on others was Scrooge, and even then he was only victimized for being a miser and not his marital status.
So it’s probably best to avoid them at all costs unless you want to be made to feel worse about your status.
Create dates with your friends
Okay, so it doesn’t have to be all doom, gloom and dateless when you’re single. Being single doesn’t automatically need to mean that you have to be alone.
Your friends are pretty much the lifelong companion that you have always wanted, minus the romantic aspect.
Some might think that creating dates with your friends is a poor substitute for a relationship, but if Sex and the City has thought us anything it’s that relationships may come and go but the bonds of friendship are forever.
Now these ‘dates’ that I’m suggesting don’t need to be ones where you do each other’s hair and gorge on a bucket of ice-cream, although I doubt anyone would say no to a tasty frozen treat.
When you go out with your friends you should do things that you would normally do when in a relationship, such as going out for dinner/drinks, going to Christmas markets, having movie nights in, or even just walking around the town with hot chocolate.
Generally, you should do anything that makes you happy and eases any discomfort about being single during the holidays.
Remember you survived being single for the holidays before
What you have done before you can do again. If you think back to all the times you thought you couldn’t do something, whether it was finishing a project, passing an exam, or starting over, you eventually made it through in one piece.
The same can be said about being single for the holidays, as like so many things it is only a temporary situation. You have probably been faced with a bad breakup before, or maybe it just happened to be a dry spell and thought that you would be single forever.
Well, you weren’t; you eventually began to date again and you will do so once more. Whatever your reasons may be you just need to give it time. You may be single for this holiday season but that does not mean that you will be for the next one.
So if you are newly single, or if this is the first “single” Christmas in a long time, then it might be a little difficult for you. I, unfortunately, am a little of both so believe me when I say that you can survive this holiday season. (Especially by following these wonderful tips if I do say so myself).
There are also some added positives of being single such as not having to buy extra presents for your other half, praying that you like what they get you, or eating all the holiday food you want without any judgment.
Although if they judge you for what you eat, such as an entire Christmas pudding, then you probably don’t need them in your life.
What do you think my fellow singletons? Do you have any more survival tips?
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