A Single Person’s Guide to the Holidays…

They say that single people are lonely bitter bitches and it only gets worse during the holidays. Reality check, the holidays ain’t got nothing to do with it.

Seriously though, single people probably have more fun during the holidays than couples. If you’re anything like me, you use the season as your own personal ongoing protest of commercialized holidays that are designed to drive us further into debt and stay away from the madness.

And no, I’m not bitter, but I just don’t understand how the birth of Jesus (if that’s your religion of choice) coincides with iPods, flat screens TVs, hissy fits in the aisles of stores, cussing out other drivers over parking spaces, and eating yourself in a coma.

That said, some say that if a single person isn’t part of a couple during the holidays or with their families, they’re miserable. When in reality, most couples who have to spend holidays with their own families are the ones who are miserable. Leave us out of it.

So for all my single folks here’s my top ten list of things to do during the holidays to avoid the traps of overeating, overspending, and getting depressed over being single:

1. Read a book – I plan on reading Andre Agassi’s new autobiography, Open and Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue.
2. Exercise – I plan on spending as much time hiking and playing tennis as I can.
3. See A Movie – And that doesn’t mean 5 for $20 from brotha man on the corner, lol.  No really, skip the popcorn and Red Vines, but go to the movies.  Several independent Black films are being released this week.
4. Clean Up My House – Um yeah, I could spend a week or more trying to get this accomplished.
5. Jump Ahead – I love the holidays because it gives me a chance to get a jump start on work that I know needs to be done without my phone ringing and people sending me emails.
6. Volunteer – Self explanatory.  Find a worthy cause or event and volunteer your time.
7. Donate – Also a part of #4, I like to use the holiday season to bag up my old clothes and shoes and donate them.
8. Family/Friends – I use the holiday season to catch up with friends and family that I am normally to busy to hang with any other time of the year.  And when I say catch up, I don’t mean over a ten course meal. I mean over coffee or tea or by inviting them to the movies or hiking with me.
9. Get Organized
10. Sleep - Now this is my absolute favorite thing to do whenever I have any downtime, preferably with someone else, but I can get the same effect sleeping solo as well.

Bonus Round

1. Watch episodes of Cheaters to remember why being single isn’t really all that bad.