Five Ways to Cope With Being Unemployed During the Holidays

There are an estimated 15.1 million people unemployed at the moment. So no, it doesn't exactly make us want to burst out singing "The Star Spangled Banner" when we hear that Congress has tied the fate of unemployment checks to that of extending tax cuts to the rich. We know what the jobless really want isn't 99 weeks of $300 benefits checks. They want jobs. And until they get them, the new normal is one big smack-down. But coping with continued and seemingly ever-lasting unemployment is no fun, especially around the holidays.

Here are five tips to help the unemployed get through the holiday season.

1) Take a vacation from looking for a job. Traditionally, hiring slows down during the last few weeks of December anyway. Decision-makers are frequently on vacation and sending in your resume just risks having it get overlooked or buried deep in the stack of accumulated email. So give it a rest.