New Year’s Eve as Newly Single and Divorced

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and many are thinking of how to avoid this whole holiday. Others are celebrating their newly found freedom and will be partying the night away. Decide if you want to be a hermit or around others and plan accordingly. One way to not be alone, yet be distracted from the holiday, is to work.  On your job, you can treat the holiday as another work day/evening, or join in the staff festivities and potlucks.  When you are serving the public or dealing with projects, your mind will be on the task at hand.

Some newly divorced have shied away from small, intimate gatherings and gone for the big galas instead where conversation can be  more superficial. One aspect of New Year’s Eve is that couples may be together, similar to Valentine’s Day and less apt to invite single friends as they do for Thanksgiving. I felt lonelier when still married, on New Year’s Eve than I ever did post-divorce. I then celebrated with my mother and sons watching the ball drop while eating a luscious treat. I slept in on New Year’s Day, watched a parade, went to the movies and made a simple, but delicious meal. Think about starting different New Year’s Eve/Day rituals like I did with my sons. It may be offering to babysit your niece and having a pizza party. Kids are a great distraction and provide amusement. If they aren’t yours, then their parents will love you for letting them get some couple time away.

Other divorced friends have turned down invitations and enjoyed pampering themselves, such as with a facial mask and a great book. If you don’t want to go out for an expensive feast on New Year’s Day, then meet pals at a coffee shop.

The Washington Post had an article that said 49% of adults over 18 are not married (but some still may be co-habituating or in relationships). This is a large number of people not joined at the hip with a spouse on this holiday. About.Com stated that in 2010 of the 11.7 million single parents living with their kids, 9.9 of them were single mothers. That adds up to many single people deciding what to do on New Year’s Eve/Day.

The UK Guardian stated that in 2011, married and civil partnerships comprised 47% of the adult  population. In the UK, from 2001 to 2011, one person households increased by 1/2 million.  What used to be mainly couples celebrating New Year’s is now many singles. This in turn provides new ways to celebrate these two days and with more unattached friends.

Whatever you decide to do, have a fun New Year’s Eve/Day and remember to take Milk Thistle supplement to support your liver with the extra alcohol consumption.