If there is one thing that I am dreading about the holidays it is the inevitable question that all of your relatives will ask at family dinner, and what continues to ring in your ears for afterwards: “Are you dating anyone?”
For me, this has always seemed like an annoying and somewhat embarrassing question since the answer has always been a “no.” Seriously, 21 years on this planet and not one Christmas with someone to show the family.
Maybe you are newly single or perhaps you’ve been flying solo since what feels like the Jurassic era. Either way, it’s hard not to feel lonely when you’re wearing five layers of clothes and practically hibernating during the long winter months.
Regardless, I have decided to embrace the single life this year and share with you some ways you can enjoy your holidays without a “plus one.”
The most obvious plus side to being single over the holidays is all the money you are going to save.
Of course there are still family and friends. But you can rest easy knowing that you don’t have to stress about what to get your significant other or how you’ll scramble to find the funds to get them what they want.
There will be days during the break where all you want to do is lay in bed in your pajamas, eat an obscene amount of potato chips and watch all the episodes of Dexter you’ve missed. So do it. There’s no one to answer to and no one to get dressed up for. You just get to ‘do you’, which is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me.
The hardest part of being single will probably be New Year’s Eve. Especially if, over the years, you’ve had that “special someone” reserved for the traditional midnight kiss.
An easy way I discovered which really makes not having a person to kiss at midnight rather bearable is to pop a bottle of champagne. Baby Duck has always been there for me at midnight and I don’t foresee that changing in the near future.
The number one thing I swear by is surrounding myself with friends. I know it sounds cheesy, but they know you and often know what to say to make you laugh even when you’re feeling quite certain that you are on the path to becoming a lonely spinster surrounded by cats.
Single or not, all that matters is that you have a relaxing and fun holiday. This is the time of year when there are no essays, mid-terms or exams. You should be soaking in every carefree minute of this and not stressing over your relationship status.
Who knows? Maybe your happy-go-lucky outlook could spark a new love interest that you didn’t even expect. For me, I predict that my love interest will be my mother’s delicious mashed potatoes.
Happy holidays!
