In an NPR article on American holiday excesses, the last section on resisting excess is titled, "Thanksgiving for one." Asked how he planned to spend the holiday, a Texas professor said, "I plan to spend Thanksgiving alone. I want to spend part of the day reading, and part of the day walking as far away from the city as I can get."

The reader who sent me the link (thanks, Meg!) included this note: "...most matrimaniacs wouldn't get it, but ‘Thanksgiving for One' sounds lovely to me." Not all of the people who send me notes like Meg's are single. Some tell me that they are married, but single at heart, and would love to be spending the holidays on their own.

Some people carve out alone time even when surrounded by others. A colleague who loves books once told me that on Christmas day, she would open presents until she got to a book, then disappear with it for hours. My father had a limited tolerance for holiday socializing. Toward the end of big holiday dinners, when more than a dozen people were lingering around a long table dotted with desserts and coffee, he'd quietly head downstairs where the guests rarely wandered.