4 essential tips for single people whose families get *super* nosy about their love life during the holidays
For single folks, it’s that dreaded time of year when you have to head home to see family and friends, which too often means fielding 1,001 questions from your nosy family about your personal life. And by “personal life,” we unfortunately mostly mean “love life.” Because as we all know (*cue eye roll*), for a lot of our family members, our overall happiness and success in life is exclusively measured by whether or not we are in a committed, monogamous relationship that is speedily heading towards marriage and babies. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with those things, obviously, if those are things you want…but even if they are things you want, there’s still something annoying and unpleasant about being subjected to so many prying questions about that one little part of your life (like, can’t we spend a little time talking about my big promotion at work, grandma?)
Of course, family members generally mean well, but still, sometimes you don’t want to talk about why your last Tinder date didn’t go well. Some families don’t understand that we might actually *enjoy* being single and are not interested in settling down just quite yet. So if this is a situation you are facing this holiday season, we put together a few essential tips to help you deal and keep your sanity.
1 Keep your besties on speed dial
When your aunt asks you if you’ve tried online dating for the umpteenth time, you are going to need to send your friends texts requesting puppy gifs. Puppies make everything better. Don’t go anywhere without your phone cause you never know when that time will come.
2 Make time for yourself
The holidays can get a little overwhelming with family, extended family, family friends, you name it. Set some boundaries and make sure you carve out personal time to recharge and stay healthy.
3 Be prepared with some foolproof responses
Before getting on that plane, bus, or train get in touch with your inner overachiever and imagine all the dating related questions you might get. Then plan out some foolproof responses. Having a prepared answer to, “Do you remember Matthew from fourth grade? I heard he’s single now!” will make suuuuuuch a big difference. Trust.
4 Indulge in a few luxuries
Part of going home for the holidays is being able to put your feet up and unwind from your everyday life. But if your family keeps hounding you about your relationship status, you might need to indulge in a few luxuries to keep it together. Have that mimosa during brunch and wear that snuggie with zero shame. You deserve it!
