The holidays can be a really tough time. The advice I often heard was, "Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Help others. Get out of your head." It's perfectly fine advice, but unhelpful if the mere thought of interacting with people is overwhelming. Anyway, here's a thing I did one year that did help:

I bought a Cookie Monster costume, went to the airport, and waited at arrivals with a sign that said "COOKIE"

Didn't have to talk to anyone and boy did I get to watch people's faces light up.

@kims But did anyone give you a cookie?

@BruceMirken
Funny you should ask. One girl, age 9 or 10, handed me the last of her 6-cookie pack of Oreos (the kind you get at an airport newsstand) while her mom watched from 15 ft away.

It gets *really* hot in that costume really quickly, but that small gesture (and the 2 cookies!) kept me there an hour longer than I otherwise would have been.

@kims I love it!