Living alone, I think of all the friends I’ve known, but when I dial the telephone, nobody’s home. All by myself, don’t want to be, all by myself anymore. All by myself…
If this song by Celine Dion from Bridget Jones’ diary resonates with you then I’d just like to say that you are not alone, I am here with you. See what I did there? Okay, I’ll stop quoting songs now and get to it. We’ve all grown up with the concept that the holidays is a time to be with family and friends so that when you are not, you feel sad and alone. Well, you are not. If it makes you feel any better, I am all alone this holiday season but it is a choice I made. Sure, I’d love nothing more than to see my family whom I love very much but for personal reasons I chose to postpone my trip to Nigeria.
Since we’ve established that I’m alone for Christmas as are you (allow me my fantasies). What are we going to do about it? Well, let me tell you that being alone doesn’t have to be a bad thing, not unless you want it to be. Being alone is a time to reflect and also get to know yourself, what you like to do and what’s more, you get to enjoy it fully because you are alone and there is no one to restrict you.
I, for one, LOVE watching movies so I’ve put together a list of things that you and I can do alone during the holidays.
Here are four ways to enjoy being alone this holiday season:
1. Go to the movies.
Watching movies is my favourite past time, it is my guilty pleasure and how I like to unwind. I sometimes think I should have been a movie critic but when life gives you lemons… Diving back in, take yourself to the movies, there are a few seemingly good movies showing at the moment like The Edge of Seventeen and Why Him? Buy yourself some popcorn and a cold drink, go wild and get some chocolate too then turn off your phone and enjoy the moment.
2. If for some weird reason, you’re not a moviegoer, I’d call you a weirdo and suggest a dinner date.
No, it is not strange going to dinner alone, I do it and I’m fabulous! You end up having conversations with people, usually, men who are undercover trying to hit on you because they find your independence sexy and maybe a little intimidating. I love food so I don’t wait to be asked out on a date before I treat myself – #treatyoself. You can even go the extra mile and order an Uber for your dinner date. That way, you get to feel like a princess without the prince. #ownyourthrone, as Boity says.
3. Sightsee.
Nothing is stopping you from travelling on your own and if you can’t afford a trip to Paris or Italy, perhaps a tour of your city will do the trick. Go to the beach, art gallery, theme park, Robben Island – whatever interests you and whatever your heart desires. If you live in Cape Town, your heart will desire many things, do it all and document them with your camera/camera phone.
4. Last on the list is, Gin.
Yes, that’s right, GIN. Last summer, one of my very good friends’ who left me to go to Zanzibar (you know who you are) introduced me to gin and tonic and we spent our summer holiday drinking gin and tonic with cucumber and lemon and boy, was it delicious! The beauty of gin is you can mix it with anything and it’ll still be yum. As a matter of fact, the January issue of Cosmopolitan magazine has a gin cocktail menu. Who knows, you may be inspired to open your own cocktail bar or get stupid drunk, your choice.
I hope you’ve come to realise that being alone during the holidays doesn’t have to be lonely. Go out there and enjoy yourself. Be fierce my love, and let your theme song be “I’m coming out, I want the world to know”.