Alone For the Holidays? Read This.

Away From Family This Season? Pandemic Holiday for One.

When I think of the holidays, the words “chosen

family” come to mind. The weight of family is a

heavy one. It wasn’t until a year ago, with a new-

found understanding of myself and the love and

support I deserve to experience, that “family” didn’t

carry with it such a trying reluctance. Holidays had

become something worth building a tradition

around. Friendsgivings with botched homemade

dishes, Christmas with bellinis, and the Hallmark

Channel in the background of bubbly mac-and-

cheese and vegan side-dishes for yours truly. Yet, a

year later amid a global pandemic, I’m faced with

the realization that I may not see the family I’ve

chosen for myself.

@JulieK via Twenty20

If planning a holiday gathering wasn’t already tricky, planning one during a pandemic is a test from some

higher power. However, not in the way one may think. I see this test as a blessing and a curse. If this pandemic

has taught us anything, it is that our need to get comfortable with ourselves is just as critical as our need for

human connection. The holidays are expertly sold to us as a time to be around family and loved ones. This

pressure to be with your family, however amazing or toxic they may be, sits in the chilled air around us. We

acquire the notion that being alone during the holidays is a dark place to be--the romantic aura of Winter

Holiday street markets, New Year’s Eve kisses, the desire to recreate every holiday-themed meet-cute in the

book. However, where does this leave us under the constraints of a pandemic?

I would like to venture away from this essayistic format and explore some options for reinventing this

pandemic holiday. As feelings of loneliness creep and mental health takes a slight turn in the wrong direction,

I’ve returned to some old feel-good remedies. My special formula? Baking, holiday-themed beverages, cliche

(romantic) feel-good movies that will probably leave you in worse condition than you were before you

watched, and one-person dance parties to holiday music. 

@JulieK via Twenty20

In honor of baking for the betterment of one’s mental health, here are the recipes for vegan pumpkin pie and

vegan cornbread (I know! It’s delicious and dairy-free!). For when you need something sweet and warm to get

by: 

Vegan Pumpkin Pie (Part One) (Part Two)

Vegan Cornbread

@beorn via Twenty20

In honor of snuggling and getting that rush of serotonin that only a good movie can give you, here is a movie

list for your next night of holiday-themed pandemic fun: 

A Christmas Story 

Best Man Holiday 

Edward Scissorhands

Home Alone 1 and 2 

Elf

The Grinch 

Meet Me In St. Louis 

Mingle All The Way 

My Christmas Love 

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo 

Save The Last Dance 

Shaandaar

The Family Stone 

This Christmas 

White Christmas 

Lastly, in honor of those dance parties in your living room with just a speaker and fuzzy socks, here is a playlist

dedicated to the holiday spirit by yours truly:

[click the image for holiday tunes]

This pandemic has brought on a lot of new things for me (as it has for many). A new job, the start of my last

school year, a new mental illness diagnosis, having to deal with those old mental illnesses on a new level, a

new treatment regime, a new girlfriend, my first time away from my closest friends and family members. With

it, I’ve learned a lot of things about myself. I never thought I would reach a point in life where I miss all the

people I won’t be able to see for the holidays. I am both faraway from those I’ve let into my life and close to a

handful of people I never thought I’d imagine wanting to spend Friendsgiving with. For those away from loved

ones this holiday, like myself, I would like to reassure you that you aren't alone. For those spending their first

holiday with only one (or two) loved ones, I would like to say, take a breath and look forward to getting to know

them on a whole other level.