They call it the most wonderful time of year, but is it? Sure there’s extra family time, holiday parties, endless Out Of Office notifications, and it’s likely all of your routines are getting a little looser. If you’re online dating during the holidays, it’s not exactly the easiest time of year to meet someone or maintain something fairly new.

According to a recent survey from Flirtini, 75% of online daters have had a relationship end during the holiday season. For those that opt to try to continue to use dating apps during the holidays, over 60% find this most wonderful time of year the most difficult time for online dating. 

Interestingly, nearly 60% of men would date someone they aren’t really genuinely interested in to avoid being alone during the holiday season. The majority of women seem to feel the total opposite with 60% reporting they would not date someone they aren’t into to avoid being single throughout the holidays. They’d rather just be single. 

Although men and women seem to fall on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to whether or not to commit to whoever you’re dating at the end of the year, a lot of people feel the pressure to commit. Fifty percent of those surveyed said they feel pressure to invite people they’re dating to holiday parties or family gatherings.

Finally, gift giving is a major point of contention among those swiping through the holidays. According to the survey, 32% of daters would buy a gift for someone they’ve been dating for a month while 23.7% were ready to purchase a present afteronly 1-2 weeks. Just under 20% think waiting at least 3 months is reasonable.

For those buying gifts for these very new people in their lives, the majority agreed that gifts should be under $100, with 40% down to spend $25 to $50 and 30% willing to up it to between $50 and $100. Women were twice as likely to spend under $25 than men are. (Is it simply the thought that counts?)

How To Be Alone During The Holidays

While dating someone new during the holidays seems to be stressful for some, there are ways to lessen the pressure. You could simply put a pause on dating. As 60% of men said they’d date someone who is wrong for them to avoid no one to kiss under the mistletoe, when the clock strikes midnight on December 31 or in order to avoid being dateless on Valentine’s Day, spending some time with yourself, friends and family is always an option. You’re not alone, you just don’t have a date for the holidays. 

We’ve learned the combination of holidays and dating seems a little more substantial than dating nearly any other time of year, so opting not to waste yours and someone’s valuable time is always a great option. 

If spending the time alone or with friends or family doesn’t seem like the route you want to take, you can always volunteer or get a head start on next year. Whether it’s for work or even dating, this is a great time to unplug and determine whatyou want, need and what that looks like for next year. While everyone else is involved in the holiday madness, you can reflect on the last year and revamp that dating profile to find what you’re really looking for while you’re swiping through HighReply.com.

Consider Commitment And What Speed You Want The Relationship to Move

Dating someone new during the holidays offers so many opportunities to expedite the relationship. Where you may normally want to wait to slowly introduce someone new you’re dating to family and friends one by one and over time, there’s family gatherings and holiday parties. There are so many opportunities to show up places as a couple rather than simply going out on dates together. 

You can go to all of those events solo, with friends or with a family member. This can be as easy as a conversation with the person you just started dating about when you’re comfortable with them meeting your friends and family or showing up as a couple together, and asking them their feelings and comfort about it. Letting them know doing these things together is a little faster than you’d like to be moving, is honest and allows them to make whatever plans of their own through the holidays, and you can still make it a point to spend some special time with them one-on-one. 

If you decide you’re ready to celebrate Valentine’s together or have a plus one to these types of holiday parties, a conversation with your date can still go a long way. Discussing expectations (and sharing any need-to-know information of funny uncles or friends that drink a little too much eggnog at the party) is a good way to check the temperature on the speed both of you are moving within the relationship. 

A great party trick when introducing a date to friends, family, co-workers or whoever is to simply say their name rather than offering a title beforehand. This can go something like, “Uncle Bill, this is Sasha” rather than “Uncle Bill, this is the woman I’m dating, Sasha.” Keeping it straightforward by using names rather than titles like partner, date, boyfriend, girlfriend or friend (yikes) doesn’tleave any room for mixed messages or weird misunderstandings between the two of you when attending these things together.

How To Approach Gift Giving To Someone New You Are Dating During The Holidays

If you’re feeling pressure about getting something for someone you’re still very early in the process of getting to know, you have a few options. First, figure out if you even want to get them a gift. Forget the pressure of the holidays and dating, and ask yourself if you know this person well enough to get them a worthwhile present. If you don’t, don’t do it. It is as simple as that. 

If you do decide toget them a gift, choose to give a gift because you care about them. If there isn’t a conversation about this between the two of you, give to give not to receive, and don’t expect anything in return. The key to gift giving in this early stage of the relationship is keeping it small and thoughtful. Showing you’re paying attention, listening and you see them for what they’ve shown you is the way to go here.

This can be something like a bottle of wine you heard them say they loved while you were out on a date. Think about if they have anything in their routine that they always do for themself. Do they get their nails done? What do they do to treat themself? The only time a gift certificate is acceptable early in the relationship is if you want to treat them to something that they always do for themselves. 

For those of you that may be a little more serious but are still on the fence about what it is to get this person you’re trying to know better, do something to give you the opportunity to spend some special holiday time with them. This can be tickets to a special event, a staycation or a night away in a remote place not too far from where you live to unplug from the holiday chaos for some quality time without having to ask their size or approach a conversation with their best friend about what they like. It’s more than a date but different than buying them a gift. 

Final Thoughts

The only difference between dating during the holidays and during the rest of the year are the types of ways you can get to know the people you’re meeting on dating apps. Whether that’s attending a New Year’s Eve party together, being Valentine’s dates, sharing small gifts with one another or deciding to do neither, figuring out what you’re comfortable with and what you want is the first step and talking about it is the last. And, make sure you’re up front about what holiday obligations you have on your plate and what that looks like for you. Just because your holiday schedule doesn’t allow you to spend the time you want to and normally would, doesn’t mean your new person shouldn’t know that. 

Now that you know the holidays don’t have to be a scary time for dating new people, sign up for HighReply.com, and get to swiping.