You’ve Heard of FOMO… I'm ready for NOMO

We’ve all heard of FOMO - that creeping Fear of Missing Out that tugs especially hard during party season, whispering that we should be everywhere, doing everything and capturing it all for Instagram. FOMO is what makes us check our phones far too often or RSVP to that thing we don’t really want to attend. Stick on the telly in December and the adverts would have us believe we should be out every night of advent, shimmying around in sequins, chucking back Baileys with one hand while gobbling the ambassador's Ferrero Rochérs with another. It looks exhausting, and I love a party as much as the next person, so long as the next person is also carrying a pair of emergency flats and a book for the train ride home.

With the evenings drawing in and the box sets starting on Gold, I’ve discovered a new acronym that feels much closer to home in more ways than one. I bring you NOMO - Night On My Own.

TBH I have had FOMO for this party since I was 8.

Ambassador, With This Self-Care You Are Really Spoiling Us

The lead up to Christmas is magical but let's face it, it's A Lot. I've also personally being going through a bit of a responsibility-heavy time of it lately, and frankly I haven't got time to find out which way is up right now, let alone get my glad rags on and join Sophie Ellis Bextor sashaying through snowdrifts to a party with her M&S pals. I'm not worried about missing out. I'm desperate to stay in.

There's something magical about an evening spent with no plans, no demands and no pressure. Just me, my knitting, and maybe an audiobook - or, let's be honest here, a true-crime podcast about an 'orrible murder (Spotify Wrapped says I'm in the top 17% of True Crime listeners, I'm so proud). NOMO is about reminding ourselves that it's perfectly ok - in fact it's positively wonderful - to sometimes just have a bloomin' good sit down and shut out the world.

I think knitters are naturally very good NOMO-ers. Knitting is in itself mindful, relaxing. Studies have shown that activities requiring focus, including knitting, can improve concentration by as much as 30%. Take that, bubble baths! You can't knit in the bath, anyway. At least, I'm not sure I want to try.

We live in a world that glorifies being busy, where saying you’re “booked up” feels like a badge of honour. But the truth is, embracing the joy of a quiet night in this Christmas isn’t just self-care—it’s rebellion. It’s choosing to value your own company, to say, “I deserve this time for me,” and to knit those rows guilt-free. It's a box set that nobody else wants to watch, accompanied only by your cat who sits there silently judging your row tension (maybe that's just me). It's the bliss of not having to explain why tonight you're choosing quiet over chaos.

A Night On My Own? The Best Gift Of All

So if you’re feeling the pull of NOMO this Christmas, whether your solitude is chosen or enforced, lean into it. Slip into your comfiest pyjamas, grab your fluffiest, ugliest socks (bonus points if you’ve made them yourself), pick up your work in progress and let the festivities carry on without you for an evening. The world will manage, and you’ll return to it feeling just a little more restored. And if you’re feeling extra indulgent, treat yourself to some new yarn—a skein that makes your heart sing, one that turns a quiet night into something extraordinary.

You could even build your own pyramid of Ferrero Rochér and eat the whole thing while nobody's watching. In your face, Ambassador. Now, would you mind passing me the remote and making yourself scarce? I think they're showing the Father Ted Christmas Special again and I've only seen it 8,542,596 times.