It’s December, and you know what that means – 24/7 Christmas music on the radio, eating pie and candy that you will have to work off for most of 2026, untangling lights, and watching other people have more fun than you, living their perfect lives. Bah humbug. I used to dread holiday season too, and I let that dread steal a lot of good moments from me. The whole month can feel like one long comparison trap. And if you’re already feeling behind, the season has a way of making that louder.

I spent many of them single, wishing for a life I didn’t have to create Instagram-able moments. I really believed all these Facebook friends and real friends were living better lives, enjoying more success. Instead of embracing holiday traditions with happiness, I fought against them, determined to drink or avoid my way through New Years a la Bridget Jones. I’m upset that I missed out on all of the good things about the holidays for far too long.

I’ve been reading all the surviving while single stories that inevitably crop up this time of year. Yes, we get it. Christmas and New Years is filled with couples showing off major PDA, and prying families seem far too concerned with your lack of love life. So it might sound trite to say that you should embrace and enjoy this holiday season exactly as you are, single or not, but seriously, it’s a waste of time if you don’t. The pressure does not disappear just because you pretend to be above it.

I’m talking about embracing who you are and where you are in life RIGHT NOW. Enjoy that pie. String some lights. Buy a tree for your studio apartment. Invite your friends over for dinner. The holidays are not about progress. They’re about enjoying the end of the year, celebrating your happiest moments, and valuing the people in your life now. Make this holiday season count. The point is not to have the perfect life on display. The point is to be present for the one you already have.