A little shout out to the lonely Christmas vegan

Hi there,

I noticed you found my blog, at least three times now, by googling “vegan alone at Christmas” and “vegan–xmas alone”.

I don’t know how you feel about being alone at Christmas, but I guess you’re searching for recipes for one, or things to do? If you want to be less lonely, leave me a comment, and we’ll totally skype you from our own, semi-lonely, Christmas for two.

Well, in case you are looking for inspiration, here’s what I would do, if I were alone this Christmas:

Presents: I would get myself a present, even if it were something free, like a book I already have but haven’t read, or cheap, like a once-off face mask or bubble bath or food I liked. If you save it up, you have something to look forward to.

Contact: If you’re in contact with family, or have friends, I would try to call or Skype them at some point during Christmas day. Just be sure to have something fun planned for afterwards, because sometimes contact people at a party when you’re alone can leave you a little bummed afterwards. If you’re working, why not take something special to work, to share with whoever you meet? If you’re not working, you might also be able to volunteer somewhere at Christmas, and get your social contact that way.

Food: If it was just me for Christmas, I would still focus on good food. If I were in a cold climate, with access to fake bacon, I would make myself some creamy, facon-y pasta, some green beans and brocoli with oil and garlic, and a hot chocolate or mulled wine, and I would buy a Christmas pudding from the shops and microwave it, to have with vegan ice cream. If I didn’t have access to vegan stuff (like here in Tbilisi), I’d chop one carrot, one potato and roast them with herbs and garlic, and make myself a mini stuffing. There are some good recipes here. I’d still have the hot chocolate, and I might dip some chocolate into my hot chocolate, for good measure.

If I was in a warm climate (hello, down there!), I would make myself some panzanella. Its easy and yummy – fry some chopped bread in oil, and set aside. Chop a tomato, a bit of parsely, a clove of garlic, and any salad veg you like. Toss together in a bowl with some chickpeas and walnuts, olive oil, add the bread, add some salt, pepper and herbs and you’re all set. Awesome. I’d also have some cherries or mango, and some favourite ice cream. Instead of hot chocolate, I’d have some sweet, sparkly wine or some apple cider.

Entertainment: I would have a bath, then set myself up on the couch with a good book (maybe a christmas present book), some hand cream (for self-given foot rubs), a blanket (in cold weather), liquids (preferably hot chocolate), and some cherries or strawberries, and a nice, big pile of movies.

When I’m alone, I love me some romantic comedies – a little weepy, but happy in the end- a buddy movie, or something no one will watch with me. Some Christmas favourites of mine are The Holiday, Love Actually, and the Family Stone. TV shows are good, too. I don’t know about you, but the other thing I do when I’m alone is sing along to everything and anything I can find in my music collection.

Tips at Random

My totally subjective tips for being alone on special occasions (and I’ve had some practice with many a birthday or Easter spent on my own):

• Act like it was a choice – whether or not it is, acting like you want to be alone, and focusing on doing what you like, totally helps.
• Celebrate – for me, at least, ignoring it doesn’t work. Bring on the Christmas music and a little tinsel.
• Pick a few things you love, and do them.
• Do stuff your friends/family/partner don’t like doing. This could be eating food you love but they hate, watching something they wouldn’t sit through, going out to to something that bores them, what have you. It helps make it special.
• Cake, but not alcohol. I have found that some “special” food like a really nicely decorated cake, or boxed chocolates, or what have you, makes it feel like a celebration. A little wine also feels celebratory, but a bottle of wine leads you to drunkenly calling everyone you ever liked and sobbing about your aloneness.
• Ditto on the staying up late. If you’re not usually a night owl, go to bed on time. Watching movies at 3am seems to have a similar affect as the whole bottle of wine.
• Light some candles. If you’re like me, and live somewhere with shitty fluro lighting, this helps. Its means you don’t have to choose between being in the dark and being in the harash, glaring light of up-too-late-watching-bad-movies.

Good luck, Vegan Alone At Christmas, and don’t forget to leave me a comment if you want a solidarity skype session.

xoxo