Flying solo for the Holidays

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(Graphic by Matt Weir)

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: โ€œAre you dating anyone?โ€

For me, this has always seemed like an annoying and somewhat embarrassing question since the answer has always been a โ€œno.โ€ Seriously, 21 years on this planet and not one Christmas with someone to show the family.

Maybe you are newly single or perhaps youโ€™ve been flying solo since what feels like the Jurassic era. Either way, itโ€™s hard not to feel lonely when youโ€™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 โ€œplus one.โ€

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 donโ€™t have to stress about what to get your significant other or how youโ€™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 youโ€™ve missed. So do it. Thereโ€™s no one to answer to and no one to get dressed up for. You just get to โ€˜do youโ€™, which is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

The hardest part of being single will probably be New Yearโ€™s Eve. Especially if, over the years, youโ€™ve had that โ€œspecial someoneโ€ 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 donโ€™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 youโ€™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 didnโ€™t even expect. For me, I predict that my love interest will be my motherโ€™s delicious mashed potatoes.

Happy holidays!


3 Responses to “Flying solo for the Holidays”

  1. Kelly Reise Avatar

    Great article! Perfect outlook :)

  2. Shirley Reise Avatar

    As we said before, this is great work. Tell Kylie we are very proud of her.

  3. Terry Ricci Avatar

    love it Kylie… that is so well done! congrats!

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