Christmas is the best time of the year right? Well maybe not when you’ve just gone through a breakup. Suddenly, presents might go unwrapped, festive movies unwatched and the whole thing just feels a bit depressing. Well, we got you on this one – because just like Santa, we don’t want anyone to be lonely this Christmas.
1) Return their gifts if you can
So if you’ve just broken up and the big day is just around the corner, you probably have already started buying up half of Amazon to give to them, right? Well the best thing to do is to probably return it. If you give it to them it might open a can of worms you guys aren’t ready for yet, and keeping it around will just remind you that they’re gonna be missing from your celebration this year. Do yourself and your bank balance a favour and send it back.
2) Be good to yourself
You can use the dollar you saved by sending their stuff back and get yourself something special to treat yourself this holiday season. The year has been long, and dealing with all this right now means you absolutely deserve a treat. Spend some time being good to yourself, and doing exactly what you want to do with the winter break. We promise it will help you feel like yourself again.
3) Spend some quality time with family
If you have family around this holiday season, try and throw yourself into spending time with them. Chances are, you have extended family from across the country to make visits to, or hoards of them heading in your direction. Throw yourself into and make some food for everyone, or come up with a festive game for everyone to play together. It might also be a good shout to have some quick and easy things to say in your back pocket in case anyone asks why your other half isn’t there this year.
4) Reconnect with friends
The most amazing about this time of year is old friends get the chance to reconnect and spend some time together. Reach out to some people you might not have spoken to in a while and organise a get together to do something festive, or just to hang out and eat loads of delicious food. Getting the chance to catch up is a great way to take your mind off it – it might just be a good idea to let them know about the break-up ahead of time so you don’t get caught out by awkward questions.
5) Get out the house
You might feel like sitting around on the sofa and eating a whole tub of Roses to yourself is going to be the ultimate heartbreak cure, but trust us it will only make you feel worse. Instead, try getting out of the house for a winter walk, go and do a little Christmas shopping with a buddy or go and see one of the many amazing movies that come out at this time of year. Getting out of your head is absolutely the best thing for you at this point.
6) Avoid some of the stuff you would do together
So if you’ve been in a relationship for a while, you might have a few holiday traditions that you won’t be able to do this year, or some plans you made for the festive season before the break up. You might feel tempted to keep them going, but trust us, it will only make you spend several hours feeling sad and thinking about them. Make some fresh new traditions with other people you love in your life at the same time as the original plans would have been so you can’t spend that time at home feeling rubbish. Feeling lonely this festive season? Read this.
7) Most importantly, have a wonderful holiday season, no matter what
It might not feel like you can, or that it is ever going to be possible to enjoy this time of year when you are freshly single, but if you fill your life with wonderful people, good food and exciting things, you can definitely get into the festive spirit. 2019 has been a long year, and you deserve to feel amazing.
Need someone to talk to at this time of year? Speak to one of our Digital Mentors here for confidential advice and support.
