Stuck working this holiday season? Living in a new city? Prefer not to visit your relatives, in-laws or otherwise? Can't afford a ticket home or have your own relatives taken off? Need some "me" time? Well, you can be alone during the holidays without being lonely! It's more than possible to enjoy the holidays as a singleton -- you may even make your coupled friends jealous.

VOLUNTEER

An easy way to feel good is to give back. In addition to helping others, who are less fortunate, community-based activities enable you to get involved with and meet your neighbors. Plus, there is less pressure if you don't meet someone you like or, as the 'tweens say, like like, to focus on the activity at hand. Organizations such as New York Cares offer urban Samaritans a variety of ways to volunteer, and Volunteers of America has a multitude of programs in 400 cities and 44 states. Singles Volunteer Boston is set up to specifically geared towards singles looking to volunteer. Also, try searching on the WE Volunteer opportunity search engine for opportunities.


BE ONE

You may want to spend the holidays alone, and you're not, well, alone. More Americans are heading up single headed households, and there are a number of chat forums catering to those who fly hans solo by choice. Sherri Langburt, who has been profiled in The New York Times and O Magazine, created a site called Singleedition.com, which offers chat forums, tips and resources for those who are proudly single. Sasha Cagen's book Quirky Alone and her website quirkyalone.net caters to singles who would prefer to not always be single. Cagen found that a great number of people, male or female, will find themselves single at some point in their adult lives, and that it is better to be single than in a self-destructive relationship.

MINGLE

See if a friend, colleague from work, or relative might want to join you to go out. Plus, a wing woman can be crucial if you need an excuse to get out of an awkward conversation with a perfect stranger. For those seeking a built-in party, New Year's Nation has celebrations in eight different cities. If you want a more zen evening, yoga studios also host events. In New York City, Jivamukti offers yoga class, vegan dinner, kirtan dance party and then from 9:00 pm to midnight, time for reflection. And on Christmas Eve, for those who don't observe, parties abound. Matzo Ball, a dance party for Jews, takes place in 22 cities, from Costa Mesa, California to Providence, Rhode Island.

HOST A THEMED-EVENT

If you want to spend quality time with quality folks, without breaking the bank, invite friends over. You can have a potluck, but with a theme, like dishes that are red, white and blue, or holiday leftovers only. Khalil Hymore over at The Tasty Dish offers great time saving recipes, and places like Trader Joe's sell wine and festive holiday treats at substantially lower prices. And, iPods enable you to have an endless mix of your (and your guests) favorite tunes at your disposal (just plug it into your stereo and voilà!). Of course, the theme can extend to "Game Night" where you all play Scrabble, Pictionary or Poker, or "Movie Night" where you watch classic films or ones with a New Year's theme.

TRAVEL

Grab a girlfriend, or two, and take advantage of some of the travel deals out there. From spas to yoga retreats to discovering a new country, the holidays will be memorable. Girlfriend Getaways features great deals. If you want to indulge, Annie Adair and Francesco Granchi offer personalized tours in Tuscany, Italy. You can learn about wine making, visit a village farm, and enjoy the perfect dinner in one of the most objectively beautiful regions in the world. www.tuscantour.com. For those wanting to stay stateside, Whidbey Island in Washington State offers three different package deals, a spa weekend and Girl's Night with trashy magazines and a midnight Hagen Das run, one pint per customer.