:: How to Survive Christmas as an empty-nested Single Mom ::
Hello, beautiful! It’s party time.
Are you enjoying the holiday season!? I sure am! I have been crazy busy at work, which led me to put the Christmas tree and decorations up earlier than usual, so as to not cramp everything at the very end. So that, actually, we’ve been really enjoying lovely evenings at home. Christmas is such a wonderful time of the year – very cozy. But it is not so cozy for everyone in the world.
And as I passed the refugees in the Red Cross camp on the way to my client every day while in Brussels, my heart has been going out to those. I managed to bring them some goodies from my home in the UK on my following trip to Belgium.
But nonetheless, these people will have to celebrate Christmas away from home, from their family, the people they grew up with and the land they were familiar with. There appear to be a lot of ‘single’ men. Where are their wives and children? They may not all be poor, but they all are vulnerable. They are likely to have to endure tough times for months and months on end, till they will have landed on their feet again, in some other place in the world, other than their dangerous homeland.
Winter is the time that many people need more support. And when I say support, yes, some financial support and donations can do a lot of great things and will make the difference in the world of many. However, support means so much more than money. It means being there for friends, family, the village, society. It’s sharing the broken cookies with friends who baked them with you. It means doing the dishes for someone who cooked amazing meals. It means listening to someone else’s story (when you have no time), so they can ‘vent’ and clarify their own thoughts and develop the solutions for their personal challenges. It means bringing back some else’s library books and putting a coin in the just-expired parking meter of a car you walk by when you see a meter mate in the corner of your eye arriving. All that is support. The most meaningful support is the support from our heart, the seat of our soul. When there is less sun in the sky, we have to become that sunlight and shine it out for the world to see its own magnificence. That to me, is support.
So today, at our ‘SHARE IT’ party, that’s what I want to share today. Today, I am not featuring a craft or a hobby, but a story. The story of a single mom. To get a glimpse of what that’s like. And you will be surprised.
How to Participate, Get Featured Next Week and Get Free Advertising & Promotion
As you know, we have adopted the party etiquette of The Creative Muster which is loaded of giveaways and freebies for you, but also asks you to be a more active participant.
SHARE IT – Linky Party Etiquette
Here is the new party etiquette, with LOTS OF GIFTS FOR YOU! 
SHARE IT Linky Party Badges
You can grab your party badge to post on your blog, or just use a text link. That’s fine too.
 | Click in the text box on the right, Ctrl A (to select all), and Ctrl C (to copy). Then, paste the code on your blog. Thank you for doing so. |
Party Host
As per always, your party host is Rose, from Fine Craft Guild.com. Please follow me. Here are my social media buttons: 
Party Co-host
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Today’s cohost is Angela from ‘Blooming on a Budget’. She writes the story of a single mom, in all its many tales on her blog. These lovely roses here represent her blog.
This Week’s Party Feature
It always strikes me as miraculous that those who, from my perspective, could use support the most, bear their challenge with a good heart and a good attitude. Angela, the lady behind ‘Blooming on a Budget’, appears no different. In fact, she is writing her blog to help others thrive, sharing her resourcefulness and uplifting points of view.
This week’s featured story is about how to survive Christmas when you are a single mom. I am imagining is not easy in general. It’s nice when your partner makes the coffee for you two to enjoy in bed. It’s nice when you can share the delight of family and the chores of the household with a partner. It is nice to be able to discuss the issues of raising the kids with a partner. As a single parent, raising children on your own, you don’t have the luxury of loving partner support that’s always there…
Then, when the kids will also not there with you on that family-centric day of Christmas, because custody rights want it otherwise, it all brings in another dimension. Angela at ‘Blooming on a Budget’ brings that tale, but sure gives an unexpected spin in it! Go celebrate what you have ~ she says in a nutshell.
I hope her story gives us all food for thought and an encouragement. And, given the nature of her site, I am sure that Angela would love to read your comments on her story.
How to Survive Christmas Alone, as a Single Mom
An empty nest, just then.
Blooming Alone Christmas Survival Tips (https://www.bloomingonabudget.com/how-to-survive-christmas-alone-as-a-single-mom/)
SHARE IT 42 – linky party
This week’s party is here. You can use the social media buttons on each image to share your submission on social media and pin your idea.
Thank you again for partying with us!! I appreciate you sharing your wonderful ideas. The party isn’t the same without you.
Footnote
When you link up, this means that you love for us to Pin, G+ and/or otherwise promote your wonderful photos & ideas across social media platforms and on this blog, and you are giving us permission to use your photos and ideas for this purpose. Typically, themed-features will/can be promoted on an ongoing basis. Those that are featured in next week party in the party post are typically promoted during that party week. Exceptions apply.
