Robyn is the CEO & Founder of HER. Find her on Twitter.
Nov 24, 2021
The holiday season is a time for good food, gifts, and festive cheer, but it’s also a time to spend extra time with your loved ones. While for most, it’s a welcome chance to catch up and enjoy family and friends, if you’re in the closet, it can be stressful.
But it can also be a great time to come out. Often you’ll be spending time with your friends and family anyway, there are plenty of distractions to avoid there being too much pressure, and people are feeling more joy and love than usual. So, why not make the yuletide extra gay?
People choose to come out of the closet in a myriad of different ways. You can just sit down and have a simple conversation, or you can choose a more unique way to tell your friends and family who you are. However you want to do it, you can add a festive spin to make it a more memorable experience.
Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, or another festive occasion, you deserve to be your most authentic self all year-round. So think about using one of these methods to let your loved ones in and show them who you really are.
Rainbows are a sure-fire way to make your coming out fun, and this is a way to make your rainbow festive too. You could buy yourself a rainbow stocking, or just buy a white one and decorate it with your own personal rainbow. It’s the perfect way to show your Christmas spirit and your pride at the same time.
If you struggle to articulate yourself, or you’re not sure what to say when you come out, writing a letter can be a great way to communicate your feelings without being put on the spot. So, put a Christmas spin on this coming out tradition by writing to ‘Santa’ to bare your soul. If you’re nervous about how your family might react, you could even leave it with the traditional milk and cookies to sweeten the deal, as it were.
Holiday cards are an age-old tradition to let people know you’re thinking of them over the festive period. Even if you’re not usually a holiday card person, this can be a great way to let all your loved ones in at the same time. Like letters, mailing a card gives the recipient space and time to process and formulate a response before reaching out. It takes the pressure off of both parties.
The Christmas tree is one of the key cornerstones of celebrating the holidays. And, it’s another one that you can repurpose to announce your authentic self. You can also give this one your own personal spin. Buy rainbow-colored tinsel, rainbow lights, or create your own decorations. Or you could decorate baubles to spell out “I’m gay” or “I’m trans”. The possibilities are endless.
We’ve all seen the adorable “My First Christmas” ornaments that new parents get to celebrate a new life coming into the world. Coming out is like being reborn as your authentic self, and that deserves to be celebrated too. There are plenty of DIY baubles and ornaments you can buy to announce your true self to your family and to the world. Get your creative juices flowing, and have fun with it.
There are countless different ways to come out and which one you choose is personal to you and your relationships with your loved ones. If you’re anxious about coming out this Christmas, it can feel like the simplest way is just having a direct conversation. But if you’re lucky, you know the people that will immediately and unapologetically accept you for who you are. So, use the opportunity to make your coming-out experience a story you can tell for years to come, and pick a unique way to do it.
However you choose to come out, it can help to have a community of LGBTQ+ around you to lean on, get advice from, and share your experiences with. A good support system is vital, and having loving LGBTQ+ people in your inner circle can help you feel seen and understood. If you’re looking to date, hook up, or just connect with other like-minded people, HER can help you build a community. Whatever you’re looking for, you can find it on HER.
Download HER app Robyn is the CEO & Founder of HER. Find her on Twitter.
