Childless or Childfree this Christmas? 10 Top Tips for Thriving (Not Just Surviving) this Festive Season

As the festive season is upon us, what better time to think about the best ways to make the Christmas period as enjoyable as possible? Christmas can be a difficult time when you don’t have children, so here are some suggestions from fellow Non-Mums to help you through…

1. Avoid the shops!

Being surrounded by so many families can be triggering – not to mention making it more difficult to actually find what you want to buy amidst the crowds. Order online and get your shopping delivered, or shop in the evenings when it’s quiet.

2. Christmas gifting is not just for kids!

When families suggest only buying for the children, that means non-mums arrive with a huge stack of gifts and go home empty-handed. Suggest they include you on the gift list if that’s the case, create a Secret Santa for the adults, or set up a gift exchange with some other childfree friends (my friends and I use Draw Names.

3. Sponsor a child/person in need

in your community. Just because we don’t have children, it doesn’t mean we don’t want to give gifts. Find a local agency who matches gifts with recipients and donate a gift from their wish list, or buy a gift for a local homeless shelter.

4. Volunteer

Become active in the community by offering your time and service at a local charity, homeless shelter or as an usher at the local theatre during panto season.

5. Get away!

Save the money you would have spent on Christmas to jet off to sunnier climes and avoid the traditional Christmas scene altogether.

6. Treat yourself

Splash out on quality food and drink, a new board game, fancy pjs and spend the day doing whatever makes you happy. If seeing family is unavoidable, bring the big gathering forward and get it out of the way before Christmas Day so that you can relax, or schedule a special day for yourself for immediately afterwards as a reward for making it through.

7. Avoid family-centric activities

you’re likely to find triggering. Go for long walks in nature with your dog (or borrow a neighbour’s dog) plan fireside lunches at your favourite pub with other non-parents, or go to the cinema to watch non-family films.

8. Read!

Snuggle up with a hot drink and a heated throw and lose yourself in a gripping story. Many non-mums cite crime fiction as their preferred genre, due to the non-family centric nature of the content. The Agatha Raisin books and tv series are popular amongst non-mums, not least because the detective is herself a 50-something childfree woman.

9. Work work work!

If you don’t enjoy Christmas, why not work over the festive season and save your pennies and annual leave for a well-earned break once it’s all over? I usually go to Thailand in January – it’s very satisfying being on the beach knowing everyone back home is grumbling about going back to work and the school run.

And if all else fails…

10. Remember: it’s just one day!

As non-mums, we’ve all been through tough times and have built up the skills and resilience to overcome so much that a single day is not going to keep us down for long! Be kind to yourself, give yourself permission to grieve should you need to, but try to allocate a certain amount of time for that and then dust yourself down and do something you enjoy. And if that means a Netflix marathon or a working your way through a pile of chocolate, then so be it! Buy yourself a new diary or notebook and start making plans for the year ahead. Nothing cheers me up more than fresh stationery! The blank pages are waiting to be filled with your future childfree adventures.