As I sit here with a peppermint mocha in hand, curled up in my fuzzy blanket, I can’t help but wonder why I wish that there was someone cozied up next to me to share the cold toes and warm smiles. The holidays seem to be made for holding hands to fight the chill of snowy evenings, for unexpected mistletoe kisses, for sipping cocoa cuddled up by the fire and the tree with “Baby It’s Cold Outside” drifting from the record player. What good is the cold if you can’t use it to steam up the car windows, or pull in your sweetheart a little closer… what good is all of the cheer if you don't have someone special to share it with?

Why does being single during the holiday season seem so saddening?

On the daily, I adore the nuances of the single life: every weekend is an adventure of meeting new people, every day a new story of flirty glances and new sparks. Being single and ready to mingle is fabulous! Yet I find myself wandering the snowy pathways wishing there was an arm around my waist and the warmth in my heart… the kind of warmth only that special someone can bring. Is there such thing as a holiday fling? If there is I think I want one. The other ten months of the year I wouldn’t bat an eye at sleeping alone, spending my evenings at a cafe in my own little world.

But during the holidays, no matter how hard I try to fight it, the longing to have someone to dance around the living room to Christmas jazz with, to unwrap in the late hours of the moonlight… I want to have someone to smudge frosting on the nose of while we bake cookies on Sunday afternoons.

Maybe it’s my hopelessly romantic soul or the holiday parties where it seems nearly everyone has a plus-one, or the thought of watching the clock tick to midnight with no one to melt into and kiss, that keeps my heart a little less than cheery during the holidays. Or maybe it’s my attitude… after all, the holidays are the most magical time of the year! So in an effort to make my heart merry once again, and maybe a few other single souls out there too, here are some self-loving and super-single holiday things to make this season merry and bright:

• Go Christmas shopping for yourself and fill up a stocking full of surprises, just for you!
• Volunteer somewhere, like bell ringing for the Salvation Army… who knows what kind of cuties you’ll run into while you’re rocking that Santa hat and a big smile! Nothing fills the heart like doing something to make someone else’s holidays special.
• Put on your favorite jams and get baking! Spend some solo time in the kitchen… and share the finished goodies with neighbors and friends.
• Grab a glass of eggnog or cocoa, whatever your favorite drink is, make some kettle corn, and snuggle up in your favorite lacy pj’s or sweats (or nothing) and watch an old Christmas movie!
• Pick up a new book and head to your favorite coffee spot for an afternoon of blissful, uninterrupted reading.
• Take younger siblings, family members, or neighbor kids sledding… seeing those young faces and rosy cheeks light is a surefire way to feel the joys of a warm heart in the chilly air.
• Gather up your friends and go out! Snowy nights on the town at the movies, concerts, different bars and breweries might leave your toes chilly but your heart warm. The cold doesn’t have to keep the fun and hot nights of single life at bay!
• House hop between friends and family for holiday meals… with no one but you to make a plan around you can come and go as you please!
• Throw a New Year’s eve party; get dressed up, make a batch of sangria and let the good times roll.
• Kiss a mysterious stranger at the New Year’s party; laugh, dance, celebrate all that 2017 has in store.
• Take some time to run a bath, light some candles, add some smelly-good things, then write down some goals for the New Year! Woohoo!

Maybe the holidays don’t have to be sad and cold and lonely. If anything, there is tons of potential for all of the cheery spirits the holidays can bring, single or not. Regardless, it is a time for sharing, for hope, love, and celebration. So go out and celebrate how lovely you are… you never know who you might bump into under the snowy, street lit sidewalk or the mistletoe hanging in the doorway.

“Though the weather outside is frightful,” I’m off to drink something delightful, rock the around the Christmas Tree, and see if this “O Holy Night” will lead me somewhere under the mistletoe. Happy holidays, may your days be merry, bright, and of course… super sexy!

xoxo- Abby