Feeling Lonely This Winter? Try These Simple Steps

While many families are busy planning a warm Christmas holiday surrounded by loved ones, others are feeling lonely as Christmas approaches. Almost every childhood memory of Christmas combines laughter, love, and gifts, but perhaps you just aren’t able to relive those memories this year. 

Being alone in the winter months can be discouraging. Not only are you lonely, but it’s also freezing cold! That combination of circumstances may make anyone blue, and it’s totally understandable if you’ve reached that point.

Fortunately, there are ways to counteract your feelings and bring some warmth to your inner hearth! 

Try the following ideas to warm your heart and soul: 

1. Care for the homeless. If you check your local newspaper or watch a community channel, you’ll likely find stories about shelters that are doing something special for the homeless this winter. Why not sign up as a volunteer and take part in the following ways: 
    

• Being a food server at a homeless shelter is one of the most rewarding things you can do.  
   
• Reading bedtime stories to kids who seek refuge in a homeless shelter is a great way to bond with someone and open your heart to caring for another person. Many homeless kids don’t know what it feels like to have someone care for them. Seeing their eyes light up with pleasure can bring you as much joy as it does them. 
   
• Taking some warm clothes to homeless people can be a heartwarming experience for you as well. Your generous act contributes to the comfort and safety of those who might be in dire straits without your help. 
   

2. Donate to charity. If you’re not inclined to visit a homeless shelter, or if you can not do so, you could always make a meaningful donation to a charity of your choice. You won’t be directly involved in the lives of those you’ve contributed to, but they will still feel your contribution. 
    

• Make a meaningful cash deposit to the Salvation Army account. 
• Ship a box of fun toys and gifts, individually wrapped, to a local children’s home. 
• Purchase tickets to Disney World, especially for a named child and guardian at a home of your choice. 
   

3. Take a vacation. There’s no better time to treat yourself to an exciting vacation than during a winter when you’re feeling lonely.  Choose a place with a lot of activities and allow yourself to be open to meeting others. They may be in the exact situation that you are in.
    

• Go skiing in the mountains. 
• Spend a few days at a spa resort. 
• Visit a country you’ve always wanted to visit. 

It’s so easy to give in to those feelings of loneliness, but taking purposeful action to make your moments bright and memorable this winter will bring you the warmth you crave. Get a new lease on life this winter by using these simple to implement strategies!