Creative Ideas for Celebrating the Holidays Alone

Holidays can be both wonderful and stressful even under the best of circumstances. If you have the added challenge of being forced to spend the holidays alone, what are some things you can do to ward off a case of the "Holiday Blues?" Here are just a few easy tips!

Celebrate with other holiday "loners"

Organizing a holiday celebration with others who will be celebrating solo can be a terrific way to avoid a lonely holiday. Find friends, co-workers, elderly neighbors or perhaps students or military families unable to travel home for the holidays and plan either a pot luck dinner at home or a restaurant holiday meal. You might even want to include grab bag or "white elephant" gift exchange for fun. Group outings like skiing, sledding or caroling around the neighborhood are another option. Or if you prefer staying in, invite the group over for a movie night or a video or board game extravaganza!

Attend church sponsored events

Even if you aren't a regular member most church related holiday events will happily welcome visitors. Attending church sponsored dinners, holiday concerts and plays and special services can be a great way to lift your spirits and perhaps make some new friends. Check your local paper, church websites or simply call a church in your neighborhood to find out what types of holiday events they may have going on.

Volunteer

Helping out by serving holiday meals at a homeless shelter or food pantry or by distributing gifts to the needy can be a welcome relief to the holiday blues. You could also visit a nursing home or volunteer to shop, wrap gifts and make post office runs for elderly neighbors who want to celebrate the holidays but find it difficult to perform these types of tasks for themselves.

Rest

The holidays can offer the luxury of large, uninterrupted blocks of time to simply relax and recharge. Lounging around in your P.J.s and having cocoa and animal crackers might just provide a needed break from the stresses of modern life. If you feel too guilty being a total slacker, use the time to finish off a home project that you've been putting off like organizing those photos, finishing half-completed craft projects or sewing on all your missing buttons.

Travel

The holiday season can be an excellent time to go on a solo travel adventure. Cruise ships are a great choice over the holidays since there are always plenty of people around and plenty of options for both group and solo activities onboard the ship. Plus, shore excursion destinations are often much less crowded than at other times of the year.

Travel sites like:

www.solotravel.org

www.womentraveling.com

www.osolomio.com

can help in arranging safe and fun group tours for solo travelers of all ages.

Above all, don't despair. With a little planning and a healthy dose of creativity a holiday on your own could become one of your best yet.