Together rather than alone over the festive period
People who spend Christmas or New Year’s Eve alone often feel lonely. Services and initiatives are available to bring people together, however.
Christina Henning ,
12.12.2025 
The candles on the Christmas tree have been lit, dozens of presents are piled up underneath and the Christmas dinner is roasting in the oven – many people celebrate Christmas with their families or with friends. But not everyone has the chance to celebrate with their loved ones, for all kinds of reasons - including bereavement, separation or a move to a new city. Rather than enjoying the company of others, many people experience loneliness at Christmas. We present ideas and initiatives that help people feel less lonely over the festive period.
Matchmaking at Christmas
The founder of the initiative “Keine(r) bleibt allein” (Leaving no one alone) knows what loneliness feels like: after separating from his partner just before Christmas, he suddenly found himself all on his own. It was this experience that gave him the idea for “Keine(r) bleibt allein”, a platform for matching lonely people with those wanting to offer some company. Each year, the initiative receives around 80,000 enquiries from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The team of volunteers arranges suitable meet-ups at Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Getting together in the local neighbourhood
Who wants to go jogging with me? Who will lend me a drill? Who’s got a spare egg I could have? Perhaps someone who lives just around the corner. For over ten years, the nebenan.de portal has been putting neighbours in touch who didn’t previously know each other. The range of services on offer is expanded at Christmas time: a map on “Wir Weihnachten” (We Christmas), an initiative of the nebenan.de Foundation, shows events happening all over Germany that are designed to bring people together during Advent and the festive season.
Community in the church
Churches in Germany also invite people to get together in all kinds of different events over the holiday period. As well as the religious services, which are open to believers and non-believers alike, other opportunities for getting together are provided nationwide: in the north German town of Heide, for example, a “living-room church” is held – with sausages and potato salad on offer for everyone. An event in Koblenz called “Christmas Eve in company” invites people to come and enjoy music, Christmassy readings and a shared meal.
