Dating sucks pretty much all year ’round, but there are some terrible people out there who obviously want to make it even worse at Christmas by partaking in a heartless dating trend called Scroogeing. Don’t let it steal your holiday spirit.
- The term was coined by dating site eHarmony. We know about ghosting, benching, breadcrumbing, love bombing… Scroogeing is just another in a long line of terrible dating behaviors some men and women take part in—this one’s just specific to the holidays.
- So what is it? Basically, Scroogeing is when someone dumps you right before Christmas. According to a survey performed by eHarmony, one in 10 British people are guilty of this, and the 18 to 24 demographic seem to be doing it most often.
- It happens for a pretty dumb reason. Apparently, you’re more likely to get Scrooged if the person you’re dating either can’t afford to buy you anything for Christmas or just can’t think of what to get you. Instead of just grabbing a Sephora gift card or asking you want you want, they’ll just end the relationship so they don’t have to deal with it. Uh, OK…
- Men are more likely to do it than women. Surprise, surprise! eHarmony discovered that guys love Scroogeing and they tend to start it with a slow fade leading up to the holidays so it doesn’t come as too much of a shock when you’re dumped outright. How thoughtful and considerate of them!
- Doesn’t everyone know that Christmas isn’t about the gifts? Sure, it’s nice to receive a present or a loving gesture from the person you’re dating, but that’s not why you get into a relationship (or at least it definitely shouldn’t be). I feel like it’s common knowledge that the holidays are about being with the people you love and spending quality time together. Why would you need to break up over presents?
- In the end, anyone who Scrooges their partner wasn’t ready for a relationship anyway. Seriously, if not wanting to buy a Christmas present for the person you’re dating is enough of a reason to dump them, you probably need to stay single. Forever.
