If you’ve heard of the term ‘cuffing season’ but don’t quite know what it means, don’t worry, you’re not alone.
It first appeared in the Urban Dictionary about ten years ago and refers to people pairing up aka. ‘cuffing’ during the winter months to avoid having to go out on the cold nights – and of course, it provides a solid reply to any of those awkward ‘how’s your love life’ questions over the Christmas period.
People who partake in cuffing season are not necessarily looking for commitment for the rest of the year and as long as both people in the relationship know this, there’s no problem.
However, problems can occur if one person is only in it for the dark, cold months of winter and the other person is busy making plans to introduce their other half to their family and friends over the holidays!
As the “cold months” cover Halloween, Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s Day, this can lead to hurt, confusion and the other person feeling used if they’ve invested time, emotion (not to mention money for gifts) into what they thought was a meaningful relationship.
Here are some tips you should think about if you decide to ‘cuff up’ in winter:
- Be upfront about your wish to have a short-term relationship
- Set whatever boundaries you need to limit expectations – you don’t want to accidentally lead the other person on
- Decide together how you’re going to introduce the other person at parties or events eg. ‘friend’, ‘date’, ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’, etc.
- Set a spending limit on gifts over the holidays
- If you’re not sure what the other person’s intentions are, ask them
- Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ if cuffing season isn’t for you. It doesn’t mean you’re not cool. It means you know what you want and that’s a great thing.
