For a military spouse being home alone for the holiday's is not a joyous occasion and can be quite difficult without proper support channels in place. I can remember so vividly my daughter and I spending Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years without my husband and I can tell you from experience, though difficult, you can still have a joyous holiday season, all it takes is some creativity. The Internet with e-mail capability was not an option when my husband was away which speaks to how far the military has come in terms of keeping families connected during deployments.

Here are ways to cope with being alone and how to stay connected to your soldier during the holiday season:

1. Handwritten letters and notes: Though old fashion indeed, handwritten letters and notes are still the way to go. Having been a soldier myself, nothing is more comforting than receiving letters from back home. Handwritten letters are so personal, the idea that someone (mom, dad, sister, wife, husband, aunt, uncle, girlfriend, boyfriend, etc.) took the time to sit down to write you a letter speaks volume and shows a soldier especially during the holiday's just how much you love them. One of the things I appreciated about letters from back home was the fact that I could read the letter over and over again when ever I wanted. Very special letters were carried around in a pocket somewhere and every chance I could, I would sneak a peak to help pick up my spirits. For my husband, I would spray my letters with his favorite perfume inside and out. Other creative items to include in your letters could be a small lock of your hair freshly shampooed, pictures, love poems. Today's technology allows you to include CDs with your voice on it, favorite songs shared by you both and so much more. Again, the key is to be creative and when sending letters by mail for the holiday's, allow yourself enough time for delivery, if you want your soldier to get the letter(s) before the holiday.

2. E-mail: As I said earlier for me, e-mail was not an option when my solider was deployed but for today's deployed military it is widely used, so why not take advantage of it? There is so much to do with e-mail, you can send photos, audio files, electronic greeting cards created with a desktop publishing software like (Microsoft Publisher). The one key benefit of e-mail is that once you click the send button, it’s delivered immediately. But if your soldier is in a very remote area, it can take a few hours for delivery but the idea is that your message is delivered instantly. When e-mail did become an option for me, I would send so many short messages in one day, I would loose count of just how many I sent. If I just felt like telling him that I loved him, I sent it knowing that he would receive the message in minutes and of course he tried to check for messages at least once a day because he shared the computer with other soldiers who too were waiting to hear from back home.

3. Live video conferencing: Many of the military bases today offer some type of video conferencing program that enables families to connect to each other live in real-time using video streaming technology. Check with your base family support center to learn if your base offers this service. If by chance you do get to connect with your soldier live, use the time wisely: read love poems live, tell he or she just how much you miss and love them, bring the kids along to and make it a special family affair, allow everyone a chance to say something and try to leave a few extra moments for you and your soldier. You'll be amazed at how these special moments carry you over during times when you feel alone.

4. Throw a holiday dinner: You probably ask yourself, is this woman crazy? But, wait a minute, let me explain. Being alone during deployments is difficult all by itself but more so during the holidays. But if you can try to keep the tradition of cooking during the holidays alive and well, you'll be surprised at how well it turns out. Plan your meals, and share your holiday experiences with your deployed soldier using video e-mail. Invite other military spouses with deployed soldiers for the holiday dinner — pack the house — tell them to bring the kids, a dish, and gifts and make it a big military spouse family affair. Burn your videos onto a DVD and offer to provide each spouse with a copy (they can each give you a DVD to burn the video on). Then, mail the DVD to your soldier. Or, upload your video to a free video sharing community and e-mail your soldier the link. (www.militaryspousechannel.com, offers this service for free exclusively to all military families).

5. Create a family blog: Blogs are a growing trend in the world of instant information distribution. A family blog can be created online instantly and in most cases for free (www.blogger.com, http://wordpress.com). A blog enables your military family the ability to communicate with each other 24/7 sharing text, video, audio, photos, etc. Everyone in your family can document the events taking place in their lives (spouse, children, grandma, grandpa, etc.) your blog can be totally public for the world to view or private for only the family to access.

Being alone without your soldier for the holiday doesn't mean that you have to be lonely, with a little creativity and a great support network of family, friends, and fellow military spouses, you too can enjoy the holiday season.