How to Plan to Spend Christmas Solo

Spending Christmas by yourself? There can be any number of reasons, and maybe, just maybe, visions of sugarplums are not your thing. Take time to set up a blissful, rewarding year-end interlude and start off the New Year relaxed, calm--OK, fine--even smug.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Create a wish list of how you would like to spend the holidays.
2. Express your desires to friends and family. Oftentimes people simply assume that everyone has plans and don't think to ask. Sometimes knowing you have an invitation to spend the holidays at a friend's home makes it feel all right if you ultimately decide to curl up with a book or watch a favorite movie by yourself.
3. Jump on a plane. Plan and book your trip in advance for the best rates. Experience a different holiday mood and look. If you live in a cold climate, this might be the year to celebrate the holidays in a warm-weather spot. If you live in a warm area, why not go skiing or celebrate in a destination where a white Christmas is guaranteed? See 405 Plan a Trip.
4. Hang out with other poeple who don't celebrate Christmas.
5. Volunteer at a children's hospital or the pediatric ward of a local hospital to deliver presents from Santa. Dress the part.
6. Contact a local senior-citizen center or assisted-living home to see if there are any folks who will be spending the holidays alone. Ask if you can visit them--and even take a picnic lunch.
7. Pick up your hammer and contact an organization like Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org). Many of these organizations host volunteer trips to Third World countries during holiday breaks (because many of the volunteers are students and teachers). See 404 Build a School in a Third World Country and 386 Build Low-Income Housing.

Tips & Warnings

• Use Christmas Eve or Christmas Day as a travel day if you're going on vacation. You'll avoid the crowds.
• If you decide to travel to a vacation spot, make sure it is not a hotel or destination that shuts down tight for Christmas. There's a big difference between solitude and isolation.
• You may enjoy your solo holiday so much, you'll want to avoid large family holiday gatherings in the future. Don't get too used to it.

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