>I wish I could magically know who in the neighbourhood I could just knock on the door of and say hi and invite them to the extra seat at our table.
You should be doing that the second that you or they setup shop in the new neighbourhood.
It makes the christmastime awkwardness much less so!
Because yea, just assuming that a random stranger is going to be lonely for christmas (whether they live down the street from you or not) could make for a really awkward time, I agree!
For sure. My wife and I rented for a few years and bought our house this summer. We've done a lot better job meeting people. A lot of people just kind of want to be left alone and you've got to be able to take that in stride and move on to saying hi to the next neighbours.
"Kind of"? Nah, truly and really. Thats me. I am looking forward to christmas eve and the holidays afterwards being alone and having time for myself.
Someone knocking on my door and offering to rescue me from this situation would be in for a very awkward situation indeed.
When you live in a friendly neighborhood, it doesn't have to be an awkward meeting. Our neighborhood is very often getting together casually for different things. Whenever a new neighbor moves in, one of us always goes and knocks on their door and says hello, gives them contact info, and mentions the next time we're getting together. If they show up or contact us, they're interested in being social. If they don't, they're welcome to their space. By the time holidays come around, we all know who might like to be together and who might not. No awkwardness either way.
You should be doing that the second that you or they setup shop in the new neighbourhood.
It makes the christmastime awkwardness much less so!
Because yea, just assuming that a random stranger is going to be lonely for christmas (whether they live down the street from you or not) could make for a really awkward time, I agree!