Thanksgiving and Christmas may be hard to face after a personal loss such as death or divorce. But it could also be the time you start reinventing yourself and your holidays.
Decide who you want to be with, but be flexible. If you can't fly off to visit family, see who you could be with locally.
Often, if you share your lonely feelings, people will reach out to you. You could find that others would be pleased to share a feast or visit a restaurant with you on that day. If they are all busy, maybe you can get together the day before or the day after.
Then, on the holiday itself, throw yourself into the spirit of the day. Resolve to enjoy. Fake it until you make it.
When children are involved, be creative and joyful. Immerse the kids in the meaning of the day, too.
Create an activity that's different from any you did before. One psychologist suggests scheduling a silly string fight in the garage. Buy cans of silly string to spray at each other. Don't forget to take pictures.