The beauty of getting to know christmas on your own

Seasonal

28 Jun

A different perspective if you are alone, or mostly alone, on Christmas

I know, you might be reading this and wonder: Christmas alone? Sounds miserable. But let me give you a little perspective change that might not make it so bad. Of course, I understand when you have loved ones around that you would prefer this.

But they are also people who have difficult families and might be alone more on Christmas, maybe you think it automatically has to be lonely when you are not around many people.

This is my first Christmas living alone, and I am so grateful for this. I am away from my toxic household and only see them for a few hours on Christmas now (And after this, I need a break).

I already hear comments from my grandpa: No, Christmas alone? Most of the time or not, this is not good. You are miserable.

Now, for my grandpa, being alone is the end of the world, and for me…it’s not.

Let me tell you why you can be grateful even for this time, and give you a change of perspective on why it might not be so bad.

1. You can find your own traditions you like

When you live with someone, you might have some traditions you love and a few you don’t like. Maybe you also have some in mind, but the people you lived with didn’t want to do them. Now, you have the space.

You can try a few traditions you may want to incorporate, and also with your future family. So, now you have the opportunity to find out the ones you love doing.

Some traditions you can do alone:

Get a Christmas tree and decorate it just like you want
Bake Christmas cookies with fun little cookie cutters. You can decorate them like you want and get creative
Have a Christmas movie marathon in your pajamas or a Christmas-themed outfit with some hot chocolate in a cute mug.
You can start to collect ornaments, personalized ones, or interesting ones.
There are also sets you can make your own Christmas ornaments with, and maybe spend some time with this
Get yourself some mystery presents; it doesn’t have to be much, but maybe in the range of your interests, you get some mystery boxes or bags that could be fun, since you never know what is in them.
Make a gingerbread house for yourself
A thing I want to do, maybe this is also something for you, is take a Christmas picture. I think it is cute when you take a picture every Christmas and see the difference over the years. Maybe another year, you get a pet, move in with someone, and seeing all of this over the years is cute. Starting alone in your home and seeing the difference.

It’s fun to start your own traditions; it’s a magical thing to experience. Especially for those of you who might not have had such a good Christmas in the past, you can make it special for yourself, give yourself a bit of the holiday cheer.

Do you have something you love doing the most on Christmas? Leave a comment with it.

2. Decorate without anyone’s opinion

Everyone has different tastes and a different aesthetic, so blast some Christmas music while you create the place you would love to spend Christmas in. And even if it takes some time, you can do a lot with less.

Maybe you like it light up and full of different colors, and another one likes it simple and with a few accents here and there. Whatever it is, you are the one who spends Christmas in the magical place you designed like you want it to.

You can get creative, just let it go freely, and it will create a safe space for you. Make Pinterest boards with your ideas, and you will surely find a lot of inspiration with things you might not think of.

Also, look here on Substack, I am sure someone has just posted about this too; you can get inspired by people.

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If my writing brings you a little calm in your day, you can support me with a small coffee☕️

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3. Getting a safe place for when coming from toxic families

This is for the ones of you that don’t have easy loved ones, I feel you. I am already looking forward to coming home after the yearly Christmas Eve fight and the arguments that will happen. It’s not even an ‘if’ question, but something I know. And I know one of you who is dealing with this has the same thing in mind.

You can create a place to come home to after these hours. I already made a simple plan, no matter when I come home:

Shower, get rid of makeup and skincare, make some hot chocolate, watch something to unwind, and read before bed. Go to bed a bit earlier to get through the next day.

It gives you some peace to know that peacefulness can be in being alone as well. I think it’s important to unwind, especially after some of us are going to have a lot of stress these days. Just think about how you always have the space to come home to, no matter what happened.

Reminder: You are enough. You are at the timeline that is right for you. You are loved.

Sometimes the same talks come up with some family members, so please, just keep the reminder in mind. As hard as it is, ignore any comments and don’t take them to heart. I know it’s hard, especially at holidays like this, but think about your peace.

You are in a time right now, you don’t know how long it will last, so take advantage of this and do what you want. Find some traditions or activities you like, maybe you can incorporate them when you have a family. If with kids, in a long-term partnership, or married. You will create something so beautiful for yourself that you can add to it later.

Imagine the cute moments you can speak about, maybe you found your favorite recipe and can tell someone about this, how this time everyone thinks of you as ‘lonely’, gave you so much back.

Lena