Working retail during the holidays is the literal definition of the phrase “this sucks.” The holidays are beautiful and magical, but working retail reveals the worst in people. Crowds may stampede, normally sweet mothers turn into monsters straight from the depths of hell when confronted with long lines and if you, like me, work grocery retail, you witness all kinds of food-related atrocities. Even if your holidays are a little more rushed than normal, that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy them. And if you’re on your own this year for the first time ever, there are little things you can do by yourself. 

1. Rent, or buy, a collection of Christmas movies. With my parents out of town until the day before Christmas and my fiancé a state away, getting in the Christmas spirit is going to be a little difficult. However, I have started hunting out and collecting my favorite Christmas classics on DVD to watch in the time I’m not working leading up to Christmas. This may or may not include: Love Actually, The Muppet’s Christmas Carol and all those claymation movies they used to play on TV. 

2. Bake cookies. Or a cake, if you’re not partial to cookies. The days leading up to Christmas are notoriously stressful for retail workers. Nothing dissipates stress like the mechanical measuring of cookie ingredients, followed by the joyous delight of eating them. Plus, the more Christmas themed they are, the more you can justify their creation to people. 

3. Send a care package. If your significant other is trapped a few hours or a few states away, get in the Christmas spirit by putting together a care package for him or her. Pack some of those holiday cookies, a present or two and a card telling them how much you miss them. It might not get there by Christmas, but just putting it together, and their excitement when they get it, will remind you what Christmas is really about. 

4. Schedule a Skype holiday. My fiancé and I are already planning a Skype call on Christmas, where we will celebrate Christmas together. Even if your Skype call is just with a friend, having a moment to celebrate with someone else, even through a laptop, will make the holiday a little more magical. Eating cookies, drinking eggnog and listening to Christmas music together will brighten up your mood. 

5. If all else fails, shop for your New Years Eve dress. Saturday, in a fit of holiday ho-hum feelings, I decided to online shop for my NYE outfit. I don’t even know what I’m doing yet, but I’m excited for the end of December just because it means I’ll be wearing my pretty new dress. Looking forward to something awesome will help the holidays not seem quite so terrible. 

Retail workin’ Lovelies, how are you celebrating the holidays this year? Do you have any additions to this list?