Every year, at some point between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I have a tradition that I do all by myself. I make myself a cup of hot chocolate with a candy cane to stir it with, and I settle down to read All Seated on the Ground by Connie Willis while I listen to Handel's Messiah. It makes me feel happy and cozy, and it's something I make sure I set aside time for every year. :comfy:

Today was that day this year, and it occured to me for the first time, that out of all the traditions I take part in all year long, I think this is the only one I do just for me. All the other traditions are things that I do with family or friends, but this one is just mine. And it's not that I don't enjoy those other traditions for themselves--I'm a sentimental fool, so I get real enjoyment out of the others, I'm not just bowing to social pressure. But still, this is the only little ritual that I do by myself, as far as I can remember. It got me thinking about other solo traditions I could start doing during other parts of the year, just to mark the seasons and set aside some time for restful and restorative activities. I haven't thought of anything really good yet, so I thought I'd ask for inspiration. My tradition just happened organically--I read the story once and loved it, then the next year when Christmas came around, I got in the mood to read it again, but with my favorite Christmas music to go along, since it fits the theme of the story, and I just kept doing it until it turned into something I looked forward to, and suddenly it was a tradition. So, does anyone else have little solo traditions that you do during the year? Or do you have good ideas to share?