A guide to spending the holidays online, whether you're lonely, bored, or feeling extra festive
Andrew Lloyd
- If you need somewhere to hang out over the holidays, the internet has you covered.
- Whether you want to ignore the festive season altogether or lean in further, there's a place for you.
While the holidays are a social celebration for many, it can also be an isolating time for those who either don't celebrate, or would love to get festive but aren't surrounded by friends and family.
If this is you, fear not — the internet has you covered.
Whether you're looking for some like-minded people packed with holiday joy, a space to vent about the festivities, or a place to distract yourself from the celebrations, here are the best online spaces to spend the holidays virtually.
A Facebook group for festive fanatics.
If you can't get enough of the season and you're looking for others who are just as thrilled about the festivities, it may be worth signing up to the Magical Holidays of Christmas & Winter.
Here you'll find 1.5 million Facebook members counting down to the big day, sharing updates on their decorations and preparations, seasonal greetings with one another, and memories from past holidays.
If you’re sick of the holidays, there’s a group for that too.
For those who are actively opposed to the seasonal celebrations and everything that comes with it, there's a community of people who can fully relate.
Over 8,300 members have signed up to the Facebook group "I HATE CHRISTMAS!" which prides itself on being against the trappings of the holidays, from the costly gifts to the whole concept of St Nick.
Ditch the celebrations and join an ant colony instead.
If you want to take the community-based roleplay a step further and completely forget about Christmas, as well as the human experience in general, you can temporarily transform into an insect this season instead.
Over 1.7 million Facebookers have already joined a group where they pretend to be ants working hard in an ant colony.
Some members share updates on the tasks they have completed that day, like lifting heavy items or moving dirt, while others share ant-based jokes and cartoons as a reward for all the hard work.
Visit a December from your past in a time-traveling Facebook group.
If you miss the holidays from your childhood or want to reminisce about your teen memes, it might be worth visiting a group where people pretend it's still the period between 2007 and 2012.
Over 740,000 members have already signed up to the "brilliant little time capsule of a very strange time on the internet" as the description puts it.
Users share memes and jokes from that pocket in time, including dated festive references in the run-up to the holidays.
Forget the holidays altogether.
For those in need of distraction, r/Damnthatsinteresting is a subreddit with 12.8 million members who regularly share photos and stories they think others will find fascinating.
The lengthy list of existing posts covers a vast expanse of topics, from bizarre facts to obscure nuggets of history, which means there's plenty to keep your brain engaged if you need a break from the festivities.
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