Solo Holidays can Be Fun!

Are you dreading spending the holidays alone? Perhaps you’re going through a divorce, you recently moved to a new city, or your loved ones live too far away to travel.

With the COVID pandemic taking another spike, you may wish to avoid people altogether.

Regardless of your situation, holidays alone don’t mean having a miserable time.

In this post, I will share 5 tips to help you stay sane—and actually have a great time–if you’re spending the holidays alone.

1. Plan ahead

Don’t let the holidays sneak up on you unprepared. Instead of moping and feeling sorry for yourself, use the ideas below to inspire you to take action and make these holidays rock!

Line up your ducks. Make sure you have at hand all the materials, ingredients, and equipment you’ll need to carry out your desires and pick them up before the stores close or run out of stock.

If you wish for company, make plans with others before their dance card is full.

2. Connect with others

Just because you’re alone for the holidays doesn’t mean you have to be lonely. The loved ones you can’t see in person may be as close as a phone call, text, or video call.

And remember that you’re not the only person spending the holidays alone. Reach out for company and have a blast!

Below are just a few options to inspire you to create fun of your own!

Attend or host a holiday party

Get out there and meet new people. Attend a holiday party at a nearby church or community organization.

No parties near you? Throw your own pot-luck bash and invite other people who are spending the holidays alone. Ask everyone to bring their favorite holiday dish or something traditional to their family or culture.

Volunteer

Being of service is the best way to beat loneliness and self-pity.  Seek opportunities to volunteer, whether it’s at a soup kitchen, a toy drive, wrapping or delivering presents, or visiting the elderly. Caring for the less fortunate will make you realize how blessed you are and will fill your heart with gratitude.

Join a local holiday event

Towns large and small host a variety of holiday-themed events, from tree-lighting ceremonies to movies, holiday markets, and library events. Check out your local newspaper, Meet-Ups, and Evite for events near you. You may make new friends and feel more connected to your community.

3. Pamper yourself and enjoy life’s simple pleasures

The hustle and bustle of the holidays can leave you feeling stressed and frazzled. Take advantage of your “me time”  to relax and recharge!

Do what brings you joy and engage in nurturing activities that you are usually too busy to do. Or do nothing at all and savor the moment.

These are just a few options:

Indulge in self-care

Take a fragrant bath surrounded by candlelight, curl up with a good book, or just take a nap. Enjoy a solo movie night. Catch up on your shows and binge on new releases and traditional holiday movies and series.

Feast on holiday treats

Stock your pantry with your favorite holiday foods. Try out new recipes or travel in time and cook your family’s traditional meals. Take out your nice dishes for added pizzaz and post your masterpieces on social media.

Brave the great outdoors

Go out for a walk. Visit a park or nature trail. The exercise will boost your energy and spirit. If the weather’s too cold, go for a night drive. Delight in the light displays in fancy neighborhoods with childlike wonder.

4. Get a head start on the new year

Make your holidays productive. Your alone time gives you the perfect opportunity to clear your head, reflect on the events and accomplishments of the year, and plot your goals for the year ahead. Grab your journal, make a list and take action.

Get cranking on your new year’s resolutions

Use this bonus time to work on those goals, whether it’s getting in shape, starting a new project, or learning something new.

• Get organized. Embrace your inner Marie Kondo. Clean out your closets, declutter your home and donate gently used items to charity. Take a tax deduction on your next tax return.
• Tackle the tasks you avoided all year.
• Start or finish those projects you’ve been avoiding and plan new ones for the year to come.

Take on new hobbies

Do an inventory of your dreams. Is there a hobby you’ve always wanted to try but were too busy or too chicken to pursue it?

Whether it’s skydiving or knitting, start investigating courses and equipment you’ll need to begin your journey when the holidays are over.

5. Get help if you have a bad case of the blues

If the stress of solo holidays is more than you can handle, get help.

Talk to a mental health professional or investigate options available online, from hotlines to virtual visits. You don’t have to go through this alone.

What are your holiday plans? Share them and post your ideas for alone holiday fun in the comments below!

Happy Holidays!

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The post 5 Tips to Enjoy Spending the Holidays Alone appeared first on Sonia Frontera.

You Don’t Need a Date to Have a Great Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching… Are you feeling depressed yet?

For many of us, Valentine’s Day, a holiday that is supposed to celebrate the beauty of love and friendship, has become a source of anxiety and pain. Why?

Because Valentine’s Day reminds us of the ways we do not measure up, fit in or have enough.

We have been brainwashed to believe that we must be in a happy relationship with an affluent, thoughtful and generous companion to be happy.

Commercials start early on flashing at us diamonds, romantic scenes and marriage proposals.

As the day goes on in the office, we keep seeing the delivery guys from the flower shops bringing in the bouquets—the spring mixes, the roses, the long-stemmed roses—and we wonder…is that one mine? When will mine come in?

So, if you’re the unlucky gal who got the gas station 3-mum-bouquet with the teddy bear on a stick, or worse—the boyfriend who forgot, or worst—no man at all, you will feel miserable and will wish that the calendar missed Valentine’s Day altogether.

Unfortunately, unattached women feel bad about themselves on Valentine’s Day because we are conditioned to believe that we need a partner to validate our self-worth and to offer us gifts of flowers, candy and jewelry to demonstrate their affection.

With all this misguided brouhaha, no wonder we lose the meaning of this joyful feast and the precious gift every moment brings with it.

I therefore declare that Valentine’s Day is an overrated holiday and propose changing the rules of engagement from this day forward!

Make this Valentine’s Day your best up to now and keep on making them better and better every year!

The simple solution to enjoying ourselves without a partner is to nurture ourselves, and to give to ourselves those things we have been trained to expect from a partner.

Self-worth comes from within and can be cultivated. With a little self-care and love towards others, you can make this Valentine’s Day the best up to now!

Here are 8 fun ways to celebrate:

1. Buy yourself flowers the week before Valentine’s Day, before prices go up, and enjoy their beauty for days before the depressing holiday.
2. Go to the spa or even better–turn your home into a spa–and treat yourself to a scented bubble bath with candles, music, a glass of wine, a hair and facial treatment, and emerge feeling like a goddess.
3. Buy yourself a beautiful piece of jewelry to represent your unwavering commitment to put yourself first. Remember those right-hand rings that were popular 15 years ago? Women of the world, raise your right hands!
4. Have a party with your unattached friends and share the genuine beauty of love and friendship, which is what Valentine’s Day is truly about. Have each guest bring a festive dish and a small present and have a secret-cupid gift exchange.
5. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Performing acts of kindness makes us realize how blessed we are and reminds us to be grateful for the things we do have, instead of focusing on what we lack. Doing nice things for others takes the focus off our limitations and puts us in a happier state of mind.
6. Have a special date with your pet! Take your dog for a long walk in the woods or a play date at the park. Curl up with your kitty and watch your favorite movie.
7. Treat yourself to the book you’ve been dying to read and don’t stop until you’re finished!
8. Have a fun date with a child! Do you have a friend or relative with a delightful young kid? Offer to babysit and play with the child, play like a child! Do something you enjoyed doing when you were a kid! Your friend will be grateful for the couple time with his or her significant other and you will feel great about yourself.

These are just eight ideas, but the possibilities are endless!

What makes you feel joy? Go ahead and do it—on Valentine’s Day and every day of the year!

Life is not a dress rehearsal. May you enjoy the beautiful life you deserve!

Sonia Frontera is a family attorney, empowerment trainer and full-time doggie mom. She is the proud survivor of an unhappy marriage, a liberating divorce and is living proof that there’s life after separation.  Sonia is the author of the #1 bestseller “Solve the Divorce Dilemma: Do You Keep Your Husband or Do You Post Him on Craigslist?”

She loves to hear from readers and can be reached at her internet home.

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The post Is Valentine’s Day Overrated? appeared first on Sonia Frontera.