The inspiration behind the making of the Solo Christmas Short Stories season was simple. One in three people live alone in the UK and for different reasons, we were alarmed to hear that last year, it was estimated one in five people may have spent Christmas alone. We’ve no reason to think it will be different this year. For some people, spending Christmas alone will be of their own choosing but for many, it won’t be a day spent alone through choice.

We thought about what Solo Living can do as a small operation reaching out to people living alone. We recognise people may be spending Christmas alone for all sorts of different reasons. Living abroad and being away from family is just one. Many solos will also be single and no-one really talks about what it’s like to be navigating the festive season without a partner or family. We wanted to do something fun.

Thus, Solo Christmas Short Stories came to life. We asked new Glasgow writer, Hannah Westman, if she would like to write a series of short stories about solos during Christmas time. The brief was to write stories in chapters so we could share each part, every day between December 22nd and January 5th. The idea being everyone can read along with the stories as they are published on a given day, creating a fun and festive event connecting people through a shared reading experience.

Thereon, we left it to Hannah and what you’ll discover are five heartwarming short stories, told in 18 chapters with a story to tell about each character. Shaun’s story comes to you in four parts over the course of Christmas Day! What a treat!