When the holiday season comes into full effect, the pressure to find a significant other to share the festive cheer with is almost insurmountable. However, in many cases, the pros of being single during the holidays actually outweigh the cons.

Being in a relationship ultimately means having to partake in the mandatory family gatherings of your significant other. Dealing with your own family gatherings is bad enough without the stress of having to impress the entire extended family of your boyfriend/girlfriend. Three hours at a dinner, no matter how simple the task may seem, becomes complicated and stressful when the entire duration of the event revolves around impressing a family that isn’t even yours. If you aren’t in a relationship, however, you eliminate an extra family gathering from your schedule, allowing you to take the time and enjoy the gatherings of your own family.

Boys–fear not about screwing up and buying your girlfriend milk chocolate when you forgot her favorite kind is dark. Instead use the money to buy yourself some brand new, marked down Ray Bans on black Friday, or save the extra money to buy a larger item for yourself in the future. The pressure to have the perfect gift for your significant other no longer exists when you’re not in a relationship; enjoy your time off.

When it comes to buying gifts for a boyfriend/girlfriend however, girls get the short end of the stick; it’s much harder to focus and find that perfect gift. It’s not because guys are picky, but because girls over-think everything to the point of self-destruction. Just think about all the mental exhaustion you’re saving yourself from! No need to stress over which skate brand hat he wants the most or which scented wax he wants for his surfboard.  Instead, focus on buying the right gifts for all of your friends. This is much less stressful because you can buy gifts for yourself at the same time!  What’s more relaxing than sipping on a caramel brulee latte while scoring a 50% off leather jacket for yourself, and then going one store over to get a Victoria’s Secret pajama set for your BFF?  Nothing, clearly.

If you aren’t in a relationship over the holidays, you now have one less person to buy gifts for. That gives you a budget surplus of around 20-50 dollars, depending on how much you had planned to spend originally. With this extra money, you can bring some added happiness to your life by treating yourself to an extra gift during the holidays; of course, its nothing to feel guilty about, considering you had planned to spend the money on someone to begin with. Plus, you have the extra bonus of not having to feign excitement towards a gift you don’t actually like when exchanging gifts with a significant other.

The holiday season is a perfect time to get together with a group of friends and enjoy each others’ company. Without the weight of having a significant other, you can plan a successful outing between friends, perhaps getting a nice dinner and shopping around a holiday-decorated mall. If you don’t feel like going out, a small holiday party amongst friends is also a viable option; ugly sweaters and cookie decorating may sound cliche, but can ultimately become a fun holiday memory.

Being single allows you to focus on the happiness of yourself, rather than the happiness of yourself plus another, allowing you to to fully enjoy all of the little things that the holiday season has to offer.