How to Love Being Single at Christmas

Everyone hates being single during the holidays. Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas are times when a lot of singles get depressed about being alone. Everywhere you look, people are enjoying the holiday celebrations with their spouse or significant other. And they all look so happy.

We make the choice to be single because, for one reason or another, our past relationship didn't work out. We enjoy the freedom that being single gives us in other areas of our lives. We need to include the holidays in those too. But how do you enjoy the holidays when you're alone?

You have to change the way you look at being single. Remove the stigma that comes with being single during the holidays. Create your own holiday traditions and celebrate them anyway you like!

Being a single man or woman, you are free to do what you want. You can choose to go to your parent's house for the holidays or not. Here are some tips to help you create your own enjoyable holiday experience:

Call up a couple of your close single friends and invite them over for a Christmas dinner. Tell each one to bring one inexpensive gift ($ 10.00 or less). Get a premade dinner from the local supermarket (turkey or ham slices, mashed potatoes and green beans, stuffing and pumpkin pie). Tell your friends to come over around 5 p.m., enjoy a great dinner and watch movies afterward.

A few days before Christmas visit your local video store and rent a couple of Christmas movies. A Christmas Carol, It's A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story are all good choices.

Another option is to invite another single friend and go out to a restaurant dinner. Local restaurants usually have a holiday dinner on the menu for $5-$10.00 that includes the turkey and stuffing with all the trimmings. No cooking, no dishes and enjoyable company. We did this a few times at my house when we were just too tired to cook a big holiday meal. Each person chipped in 5 bucks and we went to Denny's for Christmas turkey dinner. It was a lot of fun. There is no rule that says because you're single you have to be alone for the holidays.

Decorate your house or apartment for the season. You do not have to have a Christmas tree just for yourself. Some people prefer not to buy a big tree that will just die and have to be thrown out. You can buy a small tree or plant that can be decorated now and then planted outside when the holiday is over. Or buy a small miniature sized artificial tree that can be reused next year. Decorate the tree and string the lights, and put out some holiday scented candles to get yourself into the holiday spirit. Candle scents like spiced apple, pumpkin pie or oatmeal cookie smell great and remind you of your grandparents house when you were a kid. Grandmas are always baking cookies or cooking delicious food.

You can enjoy being single at Christmas and other holidays by keeping yourself busy with things to do. Loneliness and isolation are two things that normally affect singles during the holidays. People end up staying home alone because they do not have anywhere to go. If you have friends to celebrate with, then there is no reason to be alone. And if you do not get an invitation to a holiday party, then host your own!