So it’s the time of year that makes us all a little bit more aware of our love lives (or lack thereof!) People are starting to make festive plans, newly formed couples are nervously deciding on christmas present etiquette and pre-covid many of us were gearing up for a Love Actually christmas party romance (the cute guy and Laura Linney, not the creepy secretary who breaks Emma Thompsons heart obv)
When it comes to finding love now we are all practically housebound, where do you even start? Well I won’t lie to you, it’s definitely not as easy as it may have been in previous years, but all is not lost! So here are my top 3 ways to find love locally this Christmas, just call me your festive Cilla Black…
Network
Lockdown has given us one amazing gift, we have all slowed down. For a lot of us that hasn’t been by choice (thanks furlough!) and for some of us it’s been an active decision to make time for things that may have fallen by the wayside. When something like a global pandemic hits (I think we can all agree we never thought we’d see/hear or say those words!) it makes you take stock of the life you’re living and the people that are in it. I’m sure I’m not the only person who has been reconnecting with friends and people that I haven’t spoke to in a while, some friendships have even petered out. Reviving those relationships that you know are important to you is a gift in itself but it also has the added benefit of opening up your potential dating pool, it’s always nice to be matched by someone you know and when life does start to return to normal again there’s something kind of lovely about having formed both a romantic connection and an amazing friendship.
Up your online dating game
It’s the easiest way to meet people and in lockdown we are all practically glued to our phones so the chances of making a connection are a lot higher than usual. Think of your online dating profile as your love life linkedin, if you haven’t updated your profile in a while now is the time, get those new profile pics of you enjoying your daily walks up, got some funny lockdown stories? Put them on your profile. Make sure you are clear about how you are looking to meet someone, are you up for a socially distanced date, or do you prefer to facetime for now?
Stay Local
Using local dating websites makes it easier to connect with someone in your area, I live in Kent so by visiting a Kent dating site I already know that I am going to meet someone who is available for a socially distanced coffee. You also have the added benefit of local lockdown stories to share, I know for myself that I have clicked a lot quicker with people over the past year when we can share nightmare stories of the queues at the local M&S and tips on the best places to go for walks in the city. It goes without saying but being able to stay local (so for me that means to date in Kent!) is one of the best ways to have fun without putting anyone at risk, no date is worth travelling and potentially spreading the virus, even if Jamie Dornan was suddenly single and looking online for love…
I did want to add something else, one of the benefits of dating during a pandemic is that you are less focused on the physical and a little more focused on getting to know someones personality. Now don’t get me wrong, sexual attraction is obviously important and I personally think it’s every bit as important as clicking mentally, but I definitely feel it can sometimes cloud your judgement and even prevent you from seeing little red flags that you wont miss if you are just getting to know someone based on their chat! By having that little bit of distance (literally in this case) you are able to really find out if your personalities click, nothing really compares to that in person physical chemistry but I personally like that we are all able to put a bit more effort into seeing if a connection is worth making that facetime call or organising that socially distanced meetup. We are able to be a bit more selective about how we choose to spend our time and with who, and I think in the long run it will definitely need to deeper and longer lasting connections.
So those are my top 3 ways to meet someone this festive season, I really hope they were useful and if you’ve met someone this year or are looking for love this Christmas I would love to hear all about it so make sure you leave me a comment below!
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