Anyone else spending Christmas alone this year?

[MelindaMoose]

Is anyone else spending Christmas alone?

Me! I am always conveniently working on Christmas Day. It gets me out of enforced socialisation, travelling last-minute through motorway traffic (and possibly snow), and eating out in busy restaurants with dry food and stressed staff, since my family decided to start going out for Christmas dinner. All Christmas gifts are sent beforehand, and that is my contribution to the festive season.

Call me the Grinch, but I'd much rather spend time with my girls (AKA milking cows), scrape muck, eat whatever I like, walk my dogs, and enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside!

I always buy myself presents! This year is running trainers and gold earrings 😁

Good for you. Sounds like you've got it all planned out.
Make sure you get some really nice food/drink in and enjoy the break from work.
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I am going to a hotel for Christmas on my own. I have a large family, but I am the single auntie, and I find Christmas very stressful.

The first year was odd and weird, I have to admit, but I’m a bit of a pro at it these days @Bananacrepewithnuts. My mum died days before Christmas when I was 23 so it’s never going to be my favourite time of year. Can’t say I love it, but I’ve got the coping strategies sorted these days.

Thank you!

Well your post was one of them but it wasn’t just aimed at you, generally speaking there’s a lot of people who come on these threads saying they are alone while they are at home with a partner or one child!

But yeah I understand where you are coming from.

No family anymore and no friends where you live sounds terribly lonely.

What holding you back from getting out there and widening your circle?
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A hotel in the UK?
Do you eat in the room to avoid everyone having big family dinners in the restaurant?
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I think a lot of us use coping strategies to get us through Xmas in many different circumstances.
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This will be my 11th christmas alone if you are only counting humans as company.

I'm ok with it now.

People are overrated.

Volunteering often comes up as a suggestion but personally I would hate volunteering on Christmas Day, because it opens you up to other questions from fellow volunteers about how you’re spending the rest of Christmas Day.

Or maybe the people you’re helping inadvertently will painfully remind you of how alone you are by remarking upon how nice you are to leave your family for a few hours to spend it with them 😆

Plus I don’t drive and public transport is horrible on Christmas Day so I’d struggle to get around.

I would much rather get some good food and binge watch movies and read some books!

It’s all very complicated. And yes I’m very lonely.

My family are all alive still but we are estranged. It’s impacted me terribly as it happened after/during/because of me having a nervous breakdown. Who knows. I have diagnosed CPTSD and agoraphobia which I manage to go out. I’m ok in quiet places which are familiar.

i have tried friends now I don’t have any. I’m friendly with a neighbour so that’s something.

it’s not woe is me, I love my home garden and the other parts of my life.

I'd bloody love to but at the grand old age of 59, still in the claws of the last remaining parent 🤣

I usually spend the day alone since the last of my parents died and I'm more than happy to do so, I have a lovely day. I sometimes lie to people and say I'm going to a friend's place though, it's just easier.

I bought a bottle of perfume last week that I’ve put away for Xmas, and I’ve also earned some money on my M&S Sparks card that I will keep saving until Xmas and treat myself to something.

So you aren’t alone then .

I spend Christmas alone. Not from choice, i may add. I have one sibling that I don’t see at all, and two friends who are close enough to want to spend Christmas with but one lives abroad and the other has a partner who is not very nice, so that’s that. It’s not just one day where I live as there’s no public transport for two days. I plan a lovely dinner and have a stack of gifts to open.

I am hoping to! We had a cat who we were told we were welcome to take to my dh's family home for the last couple of years (it would never have crossed my mind to do so, but they insisted) but it became apparent fil does not like cats and was really unkind to it. This year we will hopefully have a new kitten and I will not expose it to that environment so I've told dh to crack on and I'll stay home. I love christmas, I've actually almost finished my christmas shopping for my side of the family, I own loads of christmas jumpers which I start wearing from late November, but honestly, the day itself isn't important to me at all so if I'm lucky enough to adopt a rescue kitten by then, I'd much rather be alone with it! I'm sorry for anyone alone not by choice tho because I understand it can be a difficult time.

Your husband will leave you with the cat to spend Christmas with his family?

Genuine question - but is this a happy marriage?

I’m thinking of going away somewhere?
I had my first Christmas alone last year and it didn’t go particularly well, not because I was on my own as such but a series of unfortunate events conspired against me.
I’ve had a lonely year and I don’t think it would be good for me to spend Christmas alone.
i just don’t know what to do though.

What happened?!

I bloody love Christmas on my own! I’m a pro at it now. Every other year DD went to her Dad’s, I have my routine down to a T.
Nice leisurely bath in the morning, walk the dog on the beach, pick up a take away on the way home, eat, watch TV, fall asleep, wake up and eat, watch TV, fall asleep on repeat 😂. Love it.

Yeah it’s very telling some people can’t seem to get their heads around what spending Christmas alone means.

It happens on these “solo Christmas” threads every time without fail.

I appreciate people may have other difficult situations at Christmas but this thread is about those spending it alone.

Alone as in by yourself.

Your relationship status of single or married etc is irrelevant if you’re spending it with others.

Keep trying.
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Erm, that’s not alone though.