About Dating & Relationships > Dating Safari: 10 Holiday Mate-hunting Tips + One

Are you ready to take advantage of the holiday mate-hunting season?

Here's how you can maximize your odds for attracting dates and meeting potential mates among the 100 million singles in the U.S. who will be mixing and mingling this season. Even though you will bump into a few scrooges, you will have more fun when you take chances with these novel approaches. Be brave and bold this holiday season using these 10 novel mate-hunting tips.

If you are married or attached, share these fun tips with your single friends. And don't just try to help women over the holidays. I get calls all the time from men asking for tips for finding their Ms. Right. It's not easy to be alone over the holidays so give singles the gift of hope.

Holiday mate hunting tips:

1. Take a gift poll: If you see a cutie across the room, go for it with a gift advice question. Try this opener, "Hi, I'm taking a poll for what to give my boss this year. What kind of gift will be impressive, but inexpensive?"
2. Break the ice with cool compliments: Meeting someone new is all about using icebreakers. Why not start a conversation with a compliment about something they are wearing? Try this opener, "I love your sweater. Where did you get it?"
3. Go for above-and-beyond baking: Don't just grab the cookies at the gourmet supermarket this season. Find that old family recipe and dazzle everyone by bringing a homemade appetizer to holiday gatherings. You will be the hot topic around the table.
4. Roll-up your sleeves around the sink: Everyone knows that the party is in the kitchen. If you are willing to help with the prep work or clean-up duty, you might find your catch with sleeves rolled up around the sink.
5. Be a romantic Rudolph: Give creative gifts with an element of surprise versus spending big bucks. What about a jar of sand with a catchy gift label, "Wishing you the Peace of this Virgin Islands' Sand this Season." You will give someone a big smile at a minimum.
6. Host a holiday singles dinner: Ask your single friends to bring one available catch and balance the sexes. Add spice to the party with a wine tasting theme. The conversation will flow and you just never know who might show up.
7. Organize a fun singles outing: Why not initiate an ice-skating party or watch the sailboat holiday parade? Again, ask your unattached friends to bring at least one other single friend to balance the sexes. You will be a hero for bringing everyone together!
8. Double victories by volunteering: By volunteering to deliver presents to children, you might get a double holiday victory. Not only are you helping the less fortunate, you might just meet that cute catch - or someone who knows your match.
9. Hit the singles-packed slopes: Singles flock to the slopes over the holidays. For women, the odds are especially in the female favor. One Christmas Day, I flew to Colorado with a Baltimore girlfriend for a week and was pleasantly surprised by the 10-2 male-female ratios.
10. Wear your confidence sex appeal: Keep it positive over the holidays no matter how blue you feel. Confidence is the great sex appeal out there so let it shine. When hunting for a holiday hunk, draw other singles in with a smile.

Bonus tip: Spruce up your profile: Attract more dates online by giving yourself a profile makeover. Update your Yahoo! Personals profile introductory line and "in my own words" paragraph because that is what most singles see first. Check for any spelling and grammar errors. Mention any seasonal activities (skiing, snowboarding, ice skating) you especially like. Look at your photographs -- you do have more than one, right? Rotate your photos and select a new one to be your primary photo. By updating your profile, you will boost your numbers, ego and odds online.

If you position yourself for success, you will get many dates and meet potential mates this holiday! Start believing that you deserve the best, wear your confidence sex appeal and take more chances. The more you practice these icebreakers, the easier it will be, and you might just find your special someone this season. Happy Hunting!

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Liz H. Kelly is a dating coach and author of "SMART Man Hunting: The Fast Track Dating Guide for Finding Mr. Right (or Ms. Right)." Her proactive dating strategy has been featured on such shows as FOX News, BBC Radio, Dick Clark’s “The Other Half” and Lifetime’s “Speaking of Women’s Health.” Her dating tips have also appeared in Cosmopolitan, Glamour, USA Today and the Chicago Tribune. Look for Liz online at smartmanhunting.com.

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