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Wellness > Sex + Relationships

How to Survive the Holidays When You’re Single

Ah, the holidays. That magical time of the year when Jack Frost nips at your nose, hot chocolate is always readily available and you can practically smell that mistletoe you won’t be getting kissed under.

If you relate to the last one, you are not alone. Although the holidays are a wonderful time for all, if you’re single, they sometimes kind of totally blow. However, they don’t have to!

Take the 2013 holiday season in perspective––there’s so much less you need to worry about! Face it: you’re as solitary as that last autumn leaf on the biggest tree on campus. However, with some of these tips, you’ll feel very thankful for living the single life during these last few weeks of the year. 

Treat Yourself

The thought of a guy spending money on you during this time of year is definitely cute, but when you’re single… it’s obviously not happening. Unless someone is willing to change that before it’s time to go holiday shopping, dreaming about your Prince Charming is the only thing you can really do.

That’s why for the holidays, you have to treat yourself! Buy yourself a gift at the store and wrap it up really fancy. You saw it in the bag, but the fact that it’s finally yours is such an incredible feeling. You deserve it!

Need an idea? How about that really nice-smelling perfume from Macy’s  or that really comfy looking sweater from Forever 21? Even better: Check out these holiday gift ideas for less than $50! Merry Christmas to you!

Get Cozy

It seems like everyone likes to cuddle, just not with you. So you’re just going to have to keep yourself nice and toasty warm! Put on a comfy sweater, sit on the couch, watch the 25 Days of Christmas on ABC Family, eat some Christmas cookies and go to town!

Sure, it’s nice to cuddle up to someone while watching a movie, but not hearing a guy complain that you’re squishing his arm when you’re trying to watch the movie is even better! Maybe being single isn’t so bad…

You could even save your cuddles for someone who needs it most! Volunteer at an animal shelter or just play with puppies at a local pet store. Bonus: you can play with as many puppies as you want and the other puppies won’t get jealous.  

So basically, what you can take from this second tip is to stay cozy. You don’t need to have someone to love to do that!

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Have Fun With Your Other Single Friends

There’s nothing better than having a nice night in with your single girlfriends. Over winter break, invite some friends over for a good, old-fashioned slumber party complete with pizza, snacks and fun! Bring Christmas movies, make hot chocolate, bake cookies—anything that will liven up your holiday spirit. You can also meet them for a coffee date, or you can see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire for the umpteenth time. Josh Hutcherson is too adorable!

“I think it’s a fantastic idea to spend time with your girlfriends,” said Sabrina Safran, a senior at Rider University. “It’s a way to kind of hang out and forget about what’s bothering us. No boys, no stress!”

You don’t even have to talk about guys! If you haven’t seen your friends since summer, you can catch up on how life has been since the semester started and ended. With the end of the semester comes the end of many school-related stresses!

Re-boot for an Exciting New Love Life Next Year

There could be a few reasons why you’re single this holiday season. You might have just broken up with your significant other and you’re having a little trouble getting back on your feet, or maybe you just haven’t found the right guy yet.

The only thing you can really do is re-boot and come back with a kick-butt attitude for the upcoming year. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself and thinking, “What did I do wrong?” take into perspective all of the things unrelated to relationships that you do right. Remember that paper you totally crushed last month? Or how skilled you are at making Pinterest crafts actually look like they did on Pinterest? Or how supportive of a friend you were when your BFF went through a rough breakup last semester? You’re a pretty amazing collegiette!

You need to restore a firm “I’m awesome” mentality for the upcoming year so you can be ready for any experiences that come your way. Does telling yourself that you’re awesome every once in a while make you full of yourself? Not at all! It just shows that you’re confident in the fantastic qualities that you possess. Just because some people are too blind to see those incredible qualities doesn’t mean that they aren’t there! Heck, you may be too awesome. That’s definitely a possibility.

Wait for someone who appreciates everything about you. You’re better off looking out for yourself until someone comes along and realizes he wants to look out for you, too.

To wrap this up like a present: being single can be not so fun, especially during the holiday season. However, if you can spoil yourself, keep warm and cozy and maintain an awesome attitude for the upcoming year, maybe a fella will come along and be completely dazzled! After all, 2014 has the potential to be amazing if you let it!

J'na Jefferson is a Journalism major and Radio/Television minor at Rider University, and yes, that's an apostrophe in her name.Outside of being a writer for Rider's on-campus newspaper and a personality on the school's television network, this Jersey Shore native writes for other online publications and her personal blog, JibJabble. Her writing has also been featured on the popular website, CollegeHumor. She is also an avid dancer and choreographer who creates pieces for her school's dance ensemble. Her dream in life is to become a comedy writer for television, and to one day have the chance to have her own late night show. Her hobbies include reminiscing about the 1990's, eating fried food, and sobbing uncontrollably because she isn't Beyoncé. Feel free to read some of her one-liners by following her Twitter- @JnaJefferson.
As the Senior Designer, Kelsey is responsible for the conceptualization and design of solutions that support and strengthen Her Campus on all levels. While managing junior designers, Kelsey manages and oversees the creative needs of Her Campus’s 260+ chapters nationwide and abroad. Passionate about campaign ideation and finding innovative design solutions for brands, Kelsey works closely with the client services team to develop integrated marketing and native advertising campaigns for Her Campus clients such as Macy’s, UGG, Merck, Amtrak, Intel, TRESemmé and more. A 2012 college graduate, Kelsey passionately pursued English Literature, Creative Writing and Studio Art at Skidmore College. Born in and native to Massachusetts, Kelsey supplements creative jewelry design and metal smithing with a passion for fitness and Boston Bruins hockey. Follow her on Twitter: @kelsey_thornFollow her on Instagram: @kelsey_thorn