Holidays may be the most treasured memories from your childhood. They may have been special times in your marriage. After a divorce, they may be painful times especially if you are living alone or not with your children.

Being alone during the holidays

Try to accept the situation and make the best of it. Here are some ideas

• Deal with this by planning ahead

• Find others to spend the holiday with

• Do charity work that day. You will brighten the holidays for others and for yourself

• Try to remain active. Sitting at home will likely cause you to get depressed

• Think about getting away that day. Turn it into a long weekend and go somewhere interesting

• Start a new tradition for that holiday

Being alone during the holidays can be especially difficult the first season or two after your divorce. You may not be looking forward to the holidays at all. You see others excited and busy and that makes you feel worse. There are no easy answers to this feeling. In many ways it is normal but the bottom line is you need to find the energy to fight it.

Do not keep putting off planning until the holiday is upon you. You will just isolate yourself then and feel very depressed. You need to set yourself a goal each day and follow through on it. Probably the most important goal is to make sure you get out of bed and out of the house every day of the holiday. Staying at home will only cause you to think about the bad stuff and it becomes a vicious cycle dragging you down.

Where can you go?

Movies

Yes, it is OK for a single person to go to see a film by themselves. You do not have to compromise either on which film you go to see.

Bookshop

These days bookshops are places to hang out. Go to a bookshop and grab some books or magazines and maybe a cup of coffee and hang out for a while. Do not get books on divorce or relationships or parenting. Pick a book you can get absorbed in and get your mind off any negative thoughts.

Go for a drive

Wrap up well and go drive to a place you haven't visited before. Go for a walk or hike. Bring a camera and take photos. Explore a new town. Many cities have plenty going on during the holidays.

Go on a holiday

You are single now and one of the advantages is that you can go away whenever you want to. Pick somewhere to go to.
Perhaps a sun holiday if you can afford it. Many cater to singles with plenty of activities. You may even meet someone.
Try a cruise. Again these have plenty of activities going on and there are singles cruises.

Can't afford an expensive holiday? Look for last minute deals and other budget holidays on the Internet. There are often great deals to be had. You can hop in the car and drive wherever you want. The only thing holding you back is yourself.

Go to a museum or zoo

There are often special holiday exhibits. Visit a planetarium. Some of these have laser shows or IMAX films also.