Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
10 Reasons Being Single at Christmas is the Best!
Reading Time: 7 minutesBeing single at Christmas sounds like a sad affair to many – but in reality, it could be your best festive season yet! Whether you’re single by choice or not this holiday season, we want to help you make the most of your unattached status to truly enjoy Christmas this year!
After a tricky 2020 for all of us, it may feel like being single at Christmas is the last thing you want – we do, after all, want to catch up with friends and family after months of Zoom calls and long-distance chats. However, here’s why your single status is something to celebrate!
- Save Money Being Single at Christmas
- No Arguments About Who You’ll Visit
- Treat Yo’Self
- Make the Most of Festive Food
- Die Hard or No Die Hard?
- Dress How You Want
- Take a Last-Minute Holiday
- Spend Indulgent Self-Care Time
- Splash Out on Friends
- Decorate However You Want
- More Christmas Tips and Ideas
Save Money Being Single at Christmas
When you’re not in a relationship, you only have to think about your own family and friends over the festive season. There’s no last-minute panic-buying presents for your other half’s nephew-thrice-removed or spending hours what to buy your picky father-in-law for his gift.
Without those presents on the list, you can save SO MUCH money! You can save even more money by using your free time to make gifts for your loved ones, too. Being single gives you total autonomy over your time – and that means you can choose to spend time on arts and crafts rather than being dragged out as the plus-one to your partner’s work party. (Or, perhaps worse, this year’s Zoom work parties!).
Even with this year’s social distancing and lockdown Tier restrictions, there will be some events taking place. You’ll save money here, too: you only need to buy tickets for the things YOU want to do – and when you’re there, only buying drinks, food, or souvenirs for yourself rather than for two.
No Arguments About Who You’ll Visit
This year in particular, we’re faced with a huge conundrum: with social distancing and lockdown rules in place, which households will be mixing for festivities? We reckon there’ll be a LOT of arguments about this in the coming weeks!
When you’re single at Christmas, who you choose to spend your festive time with is entirely up to you. If you want to stay with your family, go for it! If you want to stay at home and let Christmas pass you by, that’s totally cool! You won’t have to waste time figuring out who is in which social bubble and which partner gets to see their family on Christmas Day.
Treat Yo’Self
Christmas means bargains! Black Friday and Cyber Monday have been and gone – but you’ve still got a few weeks to snap up some bargains in the pre-Christmas sales. Fancy revamping your interior decor? Now’s the time to snap up cosy blankets, artwork, throw pillows and even DIY tools at a reduced price. Perhaps you want to indulge in a bottle of your favourite perfume – go on, you deserve it!
Especially with all the money you save by being single at Christmas (see above!), you’ll have a little extra spare to splash on yourself. When you’re savvy with your savings, using cashback sites and discount codes, there’s even more reason to allow yourself a treat after the horrendous year we’ve all had!
Make the Most of Festive Food
So, you’re unlikely to cook an entire Christmas dinner for yourself, that’s true. But it means you can pick the best bits you love and leave out the rest! Got a thing for Yorkshire puddings but hate stuffing? Make it your plate! However you enjoy your festive food, it’s all your choice.
There are some great deals on at this time of year, too. Stock up and pack your freezer to the maximum to take advantage of lots of seasonal food offers like two-for-one deals. When you’re single and living alone, no one else can see you eating the defrosted Christmas dinner ready meal in January. Nor can people judge if you have a mince pie for breakfast every day of December. You do you. (Though, obviously, we do recommend balancing out the rich festive deliciousness with some healthy veg in there somewhere…!).
Die Hard or No Die Hard?
The remote is yours when you’re single at Christmas! So, no arguments about whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not (it is), you can stick the entire franchise on back-to-back in a film marathon or ignore it entirely. Your choice!
Maybe you ADORE Christmas films and love putting them on while wrapping presents. Or, perhaps you insist on one Christmas film a day, like a movie advent. Subscription services like Disney+ are perfect for lining up an entire watchlist of festive films.
If you’re really not into Christmas at all, you can stay well away from live TV programming (which is, inevitably, all about Christmas) and use your Netflix, Hulu, or Prime subscriptions to set up an entire watchlist of everything that’s NOT Christmas. And you won’t have any arguments over it – because it’s entirely your choice!
The same goes for things like board games. The holiday season is inevitably when we dust off our Monopoly and get into super-competitive mode with our in-laws. You might still do this with your own friends and family – but once again, you can be more stubborn with the ones you love about the things you do (and don’t) want to do. There’s no politeness unlike a visit to the in-laws – if you don’t fancy playing charades, you won’t feel so obliged to join in.
Dress How You Like
If you want to spend your Christmas break in a reindeer onesie, that’s entirely your choice. Or, perhaps you want to dress up for your Zoom calls in a cocktail dress (with matching cocktail) to celebrate the festive season. It could be time to bust out that sequin bow tie you’ve had hanging around for ages.
We’ve all become rather accustomed to ‘comfy wear’ this year, as we’ve spent so much time at home. It doesn’t matter whether you want to invest in Christmassy comfy wear for the entire festive season, or feel like dressing up in jeans and a nice top just to hit the supermarket. There’s no dress code, no partner’s work parties to stress about, no requirement to ‘look nice’ for your other half’s estranged great auntie you’ve never met before.
Take a Last-Minute Holiday
OK, this one might apply for NEXT year (or Easter!) but it’s still worth mentioning. When you’re single at Christmas, you can choose to opt out of the entire thing – no visiting your family and friends, but instead taking some well-deserved time off for yourself.
Single travellers can bag fantastic discounts and upgrades if they’re willing to wait for the next flight at the airport or take a chance on booking a last-minute deal. You’re more flexible as a single person than when you’re in a couple or travelling with others, and that means you’re more likely to get that elusive business class upgrade!
Last-minute holiday deals are (usually) great bargains to snap up. Visit sunny climates or take on the ski slopes for an active holiday, choose a yoga retreat or go sailing around Greek islands. It’s entirely YOUR choice and you can leave at the drop of a hat!
Spend Some Self-Care Time
Even if this year is a bit tricky to go abroad for Christmas (thanks, Covid), you can still plan ways to indulge yourself. You don’t have to spend a lot, either – a home spa day could be the best way to treat yourself to some ‘me time’ this festive season. Make the most of having time and not being dragged to see your partner’s friends or family this Christmas – instead, spend that time on yourself.
Yes, we’ve all been at home a LOT more this year, but setting aside self-care time where you actively indulge yourself is something we could all do more. It doesn’t have to be an at-home activity, either: plan a solo hike to your favourite countryside location, for example. The idea is to enjoy being on your own, meditating on your thoughts, and maybe even planning ahead for 2021.
Splash Out on Friends
This year, more than any, we’ve become hugely aware of the importance of strong friendships. Because you’re not required to spread your gift budget thinly across your partner and their family this year, you can show your appreciation for your friends more!
You still don’t need to splash out on lavish luxury items to show your friends how much they mean to you, though. It’s all about giving them your appreciation – which could mean offering your time to them (such as helping them with paperwork, offering to babysit once a month for a year, or something similar). Without obligations to a partner and their own committments, you’ve got far more time to spend on the ones you love.
Decorate However You Want
If you’ve previously lived with a partner, it’s likely that Christmas became a bone of contention when it was time to talk decorations. This year, more people than ever put their decorations up in November – because we all need some cheer right now – but we imagine that caused a few arguments in households across the UK!
You might want to put up boxes and boxes of wreaths, ornaments, fairy lights, and tree decorations. Or, maybe, a minimal nod with a few festive candles. Or you don’t want any decorations at all. It’s all entirely your decision! (Unless you’re in a house share, when you might still have to compromise a bit…). The point is, you can be as Christmassy – or not – as you like, and there’s nobody around to chastise or tease you for it!
More Christmas Tips
Being single at Christmas can save lots of money, time, and headaches. There are plenty of other ways to save these things, too! Check out these articles for more Christmas money tips:
- Last Posting Dates for Christmas 2020
- Best Discount Code Sites for Christmas Gifts
- How to Have a Free Christmas
- How to Make Money from Unwanted Christmas Presents
Great opportunity to spend the day exactly how you wish.