How to Avoid Being Alone During the Holidays

For many people the holidays is a great time to share with others. But some of us will feel displaced and alone. If you are feeling unconnected and lonely at this time in your life -- read on for ways to overcome your isolation and find your holiday spirit.

 


• Gather other holiday "orphans" from your office, apartment building, church or synagogue, and stage your own dinner.
  
 


• Volunteer to spend the day at a hospice, children's hospital or nursing home.
  
 


• Sign on at a local soup kitchen or with a meal-delivery service such as Meals on Wheels or Little Brothers, Friends of the Elderly.
  
 


• Enlist in the Holiday Project, a group active in some 25 cities that visits people spending holidays alone in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons.
  
 


• Treat yourself to a vacation, with holiday tucked into the middle.
  
 


• Be brazen. Call a friend whose family you enjoy and announce that you'll be alone. You're almost sure to land an invitation to dinner. If you don't, try another friend.
  

Tips: Cooking and delivering meals on Thanksgiving Day, and many other holidays, has become such a popular pastime that if you show up at headquarters unannounced, you might even be turned away. But the rest of the year - even the rest of a holiday week - organizations are hard-pressed to find volunteers. If you can spare the time then, you'll be welcomed with open arms, and you'll still be extending the true spirit of Thanksgiving.


Warnings: If you're heading out of town, remember that Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest travel time of the year. Make arrangements far in advance, and to ease your stress level, try to leave by Monday of Thanksgiving week and return after the following Monday.