15 Best Things About Being Single During The Holidays
For whatever reason, the holidays are considered a famously awful time to be single but we think this couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, there are quite a few reasons why being single during the holidays is actually preferable. Sure, you might feel lonely when it's midnight on New Year's Eve and all those ~ couples ~ are lip locked. We get that, but there are also so many perks to being single during the holidays.
For starters, you can do whatever the hell you want to. This is such a big deal. You don't have to divide up time between your family celebrations and his family celebrations. I mean, let's be honest. Hanging out with someone else's family on Christmas can be kind of horrible. They have all these weird traditions and meanwhile, you're just trying to remember everyone's names. Also, think of all the money you will save by not buying presents for him or his family. That means you can splurge on yourself on Black Friday! Oh, we totally mean splurge buying gifts for your loved ones and stuff… but if you splurge on yourself, no judgment from us.
Below are 15 reasons why being single during the holidays doesn't suck at all and is actually really awesome.
15 No Corny Couples Costumes
Couples costumes are almost always horrible. Yep, we said it.
Once in a while, you'll run into an adorable couple, who is witty enough to come up with costumes that don't suck. This is very rare though. For the most part, couples costumes are corny and extremely predictable. Plus, your costume could end up dictating your boyfriend's. For example, if you want to be Harley Quinn, he'll have to be The Joker if he wants to match.
Of course, some couples choose to just dress however they want, without caring to match their partner. That's cool, but the plus side of being single is that you don't have to consider anyone else when you're picking out your Halloween costume. If you want to be a sexy maid, no one is going to stop you… and even better, no one is going to dress up like a butler so you guys can be matchies. I mean, who really wants to be that couple that dresses up like a maid and butler on Halloween?
14 In Fact, You Can Be Whoever You Want On Halloween
Like we touched on, you don't have to consider anyone else when you're picking out a Halloween costume. If your girlfriends want to be Spice Girls or Mean Girls or something else, there's no need to worry about ditching your boo in terms of your costume.
Also, you can totally embrace the Mean Girls philosophy of Halloween: it's your time to dress slutty. If you want to go as a sexy cat or a sexy mouse, you do you, girl. There's not going to be any upset boyfriend who is pouting about because you're basically just wearing underwear as a costume.
It's also a perfect hook up night if you're single. If you're dressed as a sexy cat and you see a cute guy dressed as a sexy Superman, you're free to make a move. Plus, there's something sexy about being dressed in a costume. Meow.
13 You Don't Have To Drag Him To Your Thanksgiving Family Dinner
If you're in a serious relationship, it will be expected that you two spend the holidays together with your families and let's all be honest, sometimes that can suck. If you have a wacky family (and don't we all?), bringing a guy home to meet your drunk Uncle Bill or talkative Aunt Sally can be a challenge. Sure, he'll probably meet these people eventually, but you won't be able to help feeling just a little bit embarrassed by your quirky family.
If you aren't in a relationship, you don't have to deal with this at all, which is a major relief. You can just get drunk and deal with your Aunt Sally's lame stories all on your own. You don't have to feel embarrassed when Uncle Bill passes out at the table.
Even better yet, you also don't have to deal with the awkward budding relationship, where neither of you know if you should be spending the holidays together yet. Do you ask him? Does he ask you? That is beyond the worst.
12 You Don't Have To Go To His Thanksgiving Family Dinner
Perhaps even better than not having to bring a guest to your family's Thanksgiving dinner is the fact that you don't have to go be a guest at his family's Thanksgiving dinner.
Holidays are supposed to be a relaxing time spent with loved ones. When you are attending his family's Thanksgiving dinner for the first few years, you won't be relaxed at all. You'll be trying to remember everyone's names. You'll be trying not to get too drunk but just drunk enough to have fun. You'll be trying not to make it completely obvious that you've had four helpings of stuffing. You'll have to be more alert than you are with your own family.
Being single means you can hang out with your own family whose names you already know, get as drunk as you want and eat as much as you want. That's a win, win, win situation.
11 You'll Have More Money To Spend On Black Friday
If you're not in a relationship, you won't have to buy him presents. How amazing. We'll get into the difficulty of buying a guy a present later. For now, we'll just think about the fact that not shopping for a dude means more money for you to spend on other things.
The good voice in your head is probably saying, “Yes, I can buy my parents that really cool, expensive gift I've always wanted to get them.” The bad voice in your head might be saying something more like, “I can buy those Manolo Blahniks on Black Friday.” We're not going to tell you which voice to listen to but either way, it's a good choice. You can win brownie points with your parents or fulfill some of your Carrie Bradshaw-inspired dreams, both things you couldn't have done if you were spending that money on a boyfriend.
10 You Don't Have To Bring Him To Your Office Party
Office holiday parties are always so much fun. You can finally be relaxed (and drunk) with those coworkers you see every day. It's a special little treat to see them in a different light than you usually see them. Also, it can lead to you bonding with certain people who you may not have much interaction with. Todd, in accounting, is hilarious and knows everything about Game of Thrones. Who knew? Monica, in marketing, actually knows your cousin! What are the odds?
This is, of course, what happens when you're not stuck with a ball and chain. If you can bring your boyfriend to the office party, you may feel like you have to bring him. That's fine, but it will certainly mean you will get to socialize with those coworkers much less. You'll be busy making sure that your babe isn't feel lonely or left out. Ugh, and introducing him to everyone. It's a total headache and takes away from the fun that office holiday parties can be. To think your boyfriend could keep you from getting to know Todd and Monica! The horror!
9 You Can Hook Up With The Office Hottie
Speaking of office holiday parties, work crushes are no joke. I mean, we've all seen The Office. We weren't watching just because it was hilarious. The whole Jim and Pam relationship played into why so many of us loved that show. Seriously, Jim Halpert is everything. If you have your very own Jim Halpert at work, you may be hoping that the office holiday party will be the time to make your move. You'll both be drinking. You'll be in different, cuter clothes. Hell, the holiday spirit will be everywhere. Why wouldn't you hook up? This is a special little gift to which only the single girl can look forward.
If you're in a relationship, you probably shouldn't be hoping to hook up with Jim Halpert at the holiday party because, y'know, you're in a relationship! Halpert action is strictly for the single ladies.
8 You Don't Have To Indulge In His Weird Family Traditions
Splitting time between a boyfriend's family and your family during the holidays is difficult for some of the reasons already mentioned in the Thanksgiving items. If you're with his family, you won't relax. You'll be on your best behavior. You'll be trying to impress everyone. It's exhausting.
Another thing to consider when you're spending time with a boyfriend's family during the holidays is that they may have some weird traditions that you'll have to embrace. Everyone may wear weird, onesie pajamas to bed so they can open their presents in them the next morning. Who knows? That example is honestly a very mildly weird tradition. It can get much weirder. You're really leaping in blindly, hoping that they don't do anything weird… but they probably do.
If you're single, you don't have to deal with his weirdo family traditions, you'll just have to deal with your own family's weird traditions.
7 You Don't Have To Shop For His Family
Ugh, shopping for his family. It is the worst situation. How much to spend? What do these people even like? Should you and your boyfriend buy them gifts together? It's all so confusing and it can go terribly wrong. If you buy them something that was supposed to be taken as a joke but they get offended, you could be digging your own grave. Also, it's best to not get those “funny” gifts for anyone until you're really part of the family.
Shopping for his family is even more stressful than shopping for him because you know even less about them. The whole thing is just super stressful, as you're trying to make sure these people like you. If you're not dating anyone, you won't even have to deal with shopping for their family. You'll just have to deal with shopping for your own annoying family, but that's honestly a relief.
6 You Don't Have To Pretend To Like Their Gifts
Speaking of his family and gifts, not only is buying gifts for his family extremely difficult, but you also have to deal with the gifts they will buy you. If you're lucky, they won't be that bad. If you're unlucky, you could have to act like you are actually happy to receive a purse that you wouldn't even let your worst enemy wear.
Of course, you can't really blame them since they probably don't know you all that well yet. They're blindly shopping for something for their son's girlfriend. They will try their best but hey, the gifts still might totally suck. At least when your brother buys you a shitty gift, you don't have to put on such a show for him, the way you do your boyfriend's family.
Sure, not dating someone means that you won't be receiving gifts from his family but if they aren't good gifts, you wouldn't want them anyways. It also means you'll totally get out of this sticky situation.
5 You Can Kiss A Stranger At Midnight
We mentioned the whole NYE kiss earlier, but it can also be a perk of being single. Sure, having a boyfriend means that you have your NYE kiss all lined up. It's nice and easy but it doesn't give you the thrill that a NYE kiss is supposed to be.
When you're single at midnight, you can kiss a charming stranger or someone you've had a crush on for months. The possibilities are endless. This thrill is exactly what one is supposed to experience during the new year. It's a holiday of hope. You're setting resolutions to become that fabulous woman who eats less pizza and does yoga. Of course, you'll still eat pizza and skip yoga classes, but that special midnight kiss with the charming stranger will still be full of possibilities.
4 New Year, New You Is Even Better
Again, a new year is all about new possibilities in your life. You may be looking forward to progressing your career, taking salsa lessons or finding a real, lasting relationship. Whatever area of your life you'd like to improve, you can with the new year. It's a fresh slate.
One of the issues of being in a relationship during this time is that you may be attached to someone whose bad habits effect you. If he doesn't exercise and eats poorly, it will make your health and wellness goals even harder to reach. If he's lazy, it may effect your own work ethic. We're not saying that if you're dating someone who is unhealthy and lazy, you will also definitely become unhealthy and lazy. We are saying that if you're in a relationship, that person's habits can effect yours.
If you have lofty goals for yourself, they may be easier to achieve if you are single.
3 You Don't Have To Pretend To Care About Valentine's Day
Is there anyone out there that really, truly loves Valentine's Day? Most people I know roll their eyes at the thought of Valentine's Day and for good reason. It is, admittedly, kind of a stupid holiday.
If you're in a relationship, you'll be forced to give a shit about Valentine's Day, even if you don't really care. You'll have to pretend to like the candies, flowers, and stuffed bear that he bought you. If we're being quite honest, the best part about Valentine's Day is that your boyfriend might take you out to a fancy dinner. Who doesn't like a nice, fancy dinner? But, he could also just take you there on a Saturday night. If you're single, you could also just go out with a few girlfriends to a fancy dinner on a Saturday night. So, there's really nothing all that special about Valentine's Day and if you're single, you don't have to pretend to care about it. Lucky you!
2 You Don't Have To Buy Him A Gift
Throughout the holidays, there are two times you'll be expected to get him at least a little something: Christmas and Valentine's Day. The issue of buying him a gift has a lot of different layers.
First, should you get him a goofy gift about an inside joke or should you get him something extravagant? You want to prove you know him but shopping for a guy is just so hard, especially because what you buy him could have implications on your relationship. If you spend $300 on a Christmas gift for him and he spends $50 on your gift, it can leave the relationship feeling a bit… off.
If you are single, you don't have to indulge in this issue of shopping for a present for him. What a relief.
1 You Can Just Do You
All in all, the best part about being single during the holidays (and always) is that you can just do you. You don't have to feel that you must go somewhere or buy someone a gift. You can simply enjoy the holidays. You don't have to bring your boyfriend to an office party or a friend's holiday party, where he won't know anyone. You are free to float from party to party, without a guest to tie you down. You can drink and mingle and just be you.
Also, if you're single during the holidays, you totally don't have to shave… unless you're planning on making a move on your office's Jim Halpert. In that case, you should shave, girl. This is your opportunity to hook up with the office hottie. Sure, having a boyfriend is great and all but sometimes, being single during the holidays has its own perks.
