Singles Say Holidays Easiest Time to Find Date (onlinedatingmagazine.com - December 16, 2003) MatchMaker, an online dating destination for singles, has revealed some tips for singles who want to find a date for the important holiday season events. "The holidays are a great time for single people to look for romance," said Kim Carrington, MatchMaker's dating advisor. "It's the season of parties and even with some added stress from shopping and other demands, people are in a "let's have some fun" mindset, and singles should use it to their advantage. Singles are seven times as likely to be spending New Years out celebrating with a group of friends as on a romantic date, so the pool of available folks is pretty substantial even when it seems like everyone's coupled up." A recent poll of singles conducted by MatchMaker revealed that a majority of singles actually think finding a date is easier during the holidays than during the rest of the year. "It's no wonder that most people wait until the last minute to find a date for holiday events - if it's easier to find one, then the pressure's off. But twice as many men as women told us they are planning to spend New Years on a romantic date - I want to tell all the women out there to raise their expectations to keep up with the men," said Carrington. The MatchMaker survey revealed that 55% of singles start looking for a date less than two weeks before a holiday event. Men and women differed only slightly in their sense of urgency, with a slightly higher number of men than women starting the search two to four weeks out. Three times as many men as women also responded that New Years is the worst night of the year to be single. "So let's recap: men are twice as likely to plan to go on a romantic date, and more likely to start planning early - then women should make sure the guys know they're out there and available - some one has to go out on those dates," said Carrington. Not surprisingly, men are twice as likely as women to use the company holiday party as a forum for scooping out possibilities for the coming year's romantic plan. "All year round, but more importantly during the holidays, it's the efficiency of online dating that really helps. If I'm out with friends I'm lucky to talk to one guy in a night, but online, I can have conversations going with a few at once, and the chances that I've learned enough to want to go out on a date with one are a lot better than just if I just bump into some one in a crowd," Carrington related. "Email is controllable, and let's me keep my distance until I'm ready to meet."