How To Help People Feel Less Alone On Christmas, Even When That Person Is You
We can't always be with people we love, but nobody should feel abandoned during the holidays.
getty images | Unsplash Christmas is the season for sharing! But that doesn't mean we always get to be with the people we love. Still, nobody deserves to feel lonely on Christmas — yes, that includes you!
For the majority of us, the festive season is a busy and social time to be enjoyed and celebrated with family and friends. From early December onward, our "to-do" lists can keep us very busy. There are cards to send, gifts to buy, and trees to deck with tinsel, bright baubles, colored lights, and a sparkling star.
Many of us have several social functions to attend be these with colleagues, family, or friends. For those who belong to communities, there are likely to be events that bring them together in the spirit of the season.
However, for a large number of people today, regardless of age and stage in life, Christmas can be a very lonely time.
This is especially true if they have been recently widowed, separated, or divorced and are living on their own. Others may be alone because they are traveling or new to town and do not have family or friends with whom to share the spirit of this special time of year.
Showing love for people who are alone on Christmas
Perhaps you have a neighbor you know is unlikely to have opportunities to enjoy the pleasure of sharing this special time of year. Maybe you are aware of someone who is new at your workplace or has recently arrived in your locale from another town, state, or country?
If so, inviting them to join you for some Christmas cake and a cup of eggnog to celebrate could be a simple way to share the spirit of the season.
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Photo via Getty
How to feel less alone on Christmas
Or maybe you, yourself, are not looking forward to Christmas because you are likely to be unhappily on your own at this special time through situation rather than choice. If so, take the initiative.
Take steps to help ensure that you are in contact with others — like family, friends, and neighbors — now.
Contacting an organization that would appreciate you volunteering time to help those in need is another way to bring the pleasure of two-way smiles.
Sharing the spirit of the season does not require us to be physically together.
Contacting those who live afar, whether in our own country or abroad, is so easy these days. Making a phone call — or arranging to chat online so that it is possible to both see and hear each other — overcomes the tyranny of distance and is likely to add smiles to their Christmas this year... and to your own, as well.
The real joy of this special time of year is in giving of ourselves — and receiving the pleasure that this gift can bring!
Yvonne Allen is an author, public speaker, and international relationship expert, who is also a well-known media consultant.
