Christmas time may be a very merry time for some but it may be a very lonely time for others who may have relatives living overseas, are single in the holiday period or may have just lost their jobs and Christmas is looking just a bit little bleak this year. Here are five ways to celebrate Christmas on your own, create new traditions, beat the holiday blues and avoid Christmas stress.
Volunteer work
Instead of sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself, volunteer at the local homeless shelter or visit people at the nursing home who do not have any relatives to visit them. This will bring some happiness to those who are less fortunate than yourself, give you a sense of purpose and also bring a little bit of Christmas cheer into your own heart.
Call your local charity and see what activities they have planned for Christmas and how you can assist. You may even meet new friends and make volunteering a regular event on your social calendar.
Go on a shopping spree
Save all the money you would have spent on a potential partner, friends and family at Christmas and spend it on yourself in the post Christmas sales or on an indulgent holiday staying in a great hotel. Being single means you have the freedom to spend money on yourself with no other financial obligations.
Retail therapy is a great way to ease the loneliness in this period but make sure you don’t overspend and leave yourself with post sale blues and feeling unhappy when the bills arrive in the New Year.
Go on exotic holiday
When all your other friends are busy cleaning up snotty noses, avoiding the family bore or touchy feely relative, you can be sunning yourself on an exotic island with only gorgeous wait staff and single travellers to keep you company. As we all know, the meaning of Christmas can be easily lost after a few days at home with the family so enjoy your freedom.
This may also be a good opportunity to visit a friend interstate, fly to visit friends and relatives or visit a place that you have always wanted to visit. You may be able to get a last minute deal and go on a cruise or vacation.
Flying solo
So you don’t have a plus one to take with you to Christmas parties? This is no reason to stay at home and brood. The holiday season is a great opportunity to meet someone new so the more parties you go to, the more your chances increase of finding a great partner to spend next Christmas with. At the least, you might meet a likeminded friend who is in a similar situation to you and has no one special to spend the holidays with.
There are great advantages of being free, single and liberated at Christmas time and not having to suffer through boring family dinners or go to obligatory Christmas dinners so enjoy it while it lasts.
Movie marathon
Buy yourself a DVD box set, turn on Foxtel or hire out some videos and have a movie marathon. Make sure you buy the snacks in advance to avoid last minute shoppers trying to find ingredients for their Christmas lunch. Turn off the mobile phone, switch off the computer and put the answering machine on.
Take advantage of your solitary state and have some ‘me’ time whether that is pampering yourself, catching up on your reading, giving the house a holiday clean or getting organised for the New Year.
It may not be the easiest thing to do but enjoy the time that you have when you are single. All you need to do is change your outlook and your ‘grass is greener’ mentality. When you’re a busy wife or husband and/or looking after a family and you don’t have a spare moment to yourself, you will look back wistfully at the days where you had no obligations and the freedom to spend your time as you wish without anyone to answer to.