Stop it already!! Folk in relationships and marriages have to stop acting as if single people are sitting around miserable because they aren’t.
A good example of this is around the holidays when lots of single people dread being around friends and (especially) family, who always find a way to bring up the awkward conversation about why they aren’t married or why they aren’t bringing someone home.
The truth of the matter is that being single has many perks, ESPECIALLY around the holidays! So when your family and friends start to go in on their single shaming trips, clap back with these responses of why you’re loving your singledom this holiday. Here are a few advantages of being solo during the holiday season!
1. You don’t have to argue over whose house to go to
Once you’re married or in a serious relationship, deciding which “in-laws” house to go to for the holidays becomes a headache in itself. Oh and once you have a kid, it goes to another level because most in-laws want to see their grandbaby for the holidays.
Also if the family is out of town, now you have a road trip to take. And road tripping with an entire family in tow can be a fiasco that can get to be pretty expensive. When you’re single, so can just cop an airline ticket for 1 and call it a day. Plus, you’re not nearly as obligated to make your family rounds as you are when you have children and a spouse.
2. You don’t have to worry about a mate embarrassing you at the company holiday party
We all know that company holiday parties run rampant, and usually you are expected to bring your spouse or significant other along. Well, many times bringing that plus 1 with you can cause chaos at those parties!
A little too much alcohol or one wrong statement could put your career on the line or cause all kind of judgment. The good news is that when you’re single, all you have to worry about is behaving yourself!
3. You don’t have to worry about others asking when you’re having another baby
If you’ve already had one baby, you’d better believe everyone will be asking you when baby No. 2 is coming. For some reason, family and friends forget that having more babies is: not such an easy thing, expensive, a personal decision and thus: none of their business!
It’s just something about turkey and dressing and opening presents that make people want to dig EXTRA deep into your personal affairs. I understand that single people have children, but that added push for more kids from others typically comes when there is a spouse in the picture also.
4. You can be free as a bird
One of the best experiences you can have when you have that time off from work is being able to travel over the holidays! You can plan trips overseas, out of town, quick day trips and so on—all without having to really consider a mate or spouse. Embrace those moments, and do you!
5. You probably don’t have to host
Hosting Thanksgiving or Christmas usually does not fall on the single person! You’re welcome! You don’t have to clean up your house, figure out who is sleeping where, plan out the menu, clean up NOR make the decision of when it’s time to tell everyone to “get the steppin.”
Okay, folks don’t take this blog the wrong way because I don’t want people to think that being in a relationship or married around the holidays is all bad. What I do want though is for the single fam out there to understand that while in that single season, embrace the positives that can come along with it and not just the negatives.
Oh, and for you folks who are in relationships know that single folks don’t have to “survive” the holidays because they can still LIVE and THRIVE during that time.
Single, do you feel single shamed during the holidays? Tell us your single shaming stories.