How does one deal with having little to no family?

With the holidays coming up I have been pondering how I don't have a single relative I speak to other than my parents and two sisters. My sisters and I are all single and childless, and I'm the youngest at 35 (weird?). I have no children, no nieces or nephews, and no in-laws. My grandparents are all long gone. Neither of my parents talk to their siblings, so I haven't seen any aunts, uncles, or cousins in many years. It feels lonesome, especially this time of year. I hear people talking about big family gatherings and it gets me down. I know it could be worse, I could have absolutely no one, but it still sucks. I fear the future when my parents are gone (I still live with them, I'm embarrassed to say). What will life be like then? I don't even see my sisters much. One lives 1700 miles away and is frankly a bit unstable. The other only comes over on birthdays and holidays.

I know what you're going through. All I have is my wife. My parents are divorced and live far from me. I don't talk to my brothers and very little with my sisters. I have no aunts, uncles, or cousins I've talked to in years. My wife and I moved in with her mother four years after her father had committed suicide. Last September, her mother died after a long flight in the hospital. So, now, she considers herself an adult orphan. Other than a couple of distant cousins, I'm all the family she has and she's the only family I have nearby. Holidays are tough especially last Christmas. It was the first in forever that she didn't spend it with her mom. But, we have each other and we have friends looking out for us. So, even when we think we're alone, if we look around, we will find people who care about us. Some of my friends are closer to me than my own family. Look around. I'm sure you'll find someone who cares about you.

Reach out to people you like, make them your close friends . It is very common to lose all kinds of family and neighbors when you get older . I have lost most of mine , look for people who are kind and interesting . It hurts a lot to lose people . Forget old grudges its not worth your time . I take no pleasure in people passing even ones who were very bad . I am constantly thinking about how wonderful some one was that has passed and they deserved to stay longer than me .
Young people pass a lot of us by without a thought but there are still people out there to enjoy . Be a good friend and you will find some more people to care about for awhile . Try writing some kind letters it may help you keep up with family and restart some good stuff . People love letters from someone kindly reaching out to them .

In your situation you have to be kind of proactive. I made it a point in the past to be active in the community, volunteer, work, church, join groups, accept invites etc. Then I went through a bad period and it all fell away. I was surprised. I didn't know I had been putting effort into staying connected until it was all gone. While you are still young and your parents are alive you could make an effort to get connected in your community. Your fears are not unfounded. Without effort one day you could find yourself quite alone.

People with big families also feel lonely, too. Sometime they just see family members on holidays, but daily life is lonely. I am making a New Years resolution to reconnect. You will be surprised how much can happen in a year if you make this a goal.

Wow...I wasn't sure anyone else had these kinds of issues.

For me it's been lifelong, so I'm kind of used to it. It does feel a little strange when others talk about all their relatives and familial schenanigans and I'm just there like "Um...okay."

I'm the only child of a widow. Both my parents had siblings, whom they aren't on particularly good terms with and I've only met a handful of times. The last time I saw my first cousins I was a baby (they were in their teens, I think). 3 of my grandparents were dead before my parents even met, and the last one died in may of this year (we weren't close, so it really didn't matter to me). There are some great-aunts I know, but that's about it.

My mom used to call her and me "the world's smallest family". I never liked it, and I think that attitude is what morphed into her need for "family loyalty" and for us to present a "united front" and the fear that anyone who suggests her behavior negatively impacted me is "trying to turn me against her". Did I mention that side of the family is fairly dysfunctional?

So yeah, my mom and I don't get along. She has her own mental health issues that clashed hard enough with mine that living at home was becoming toxic, so I left. She insists she still needs to know where I am and what I'm doing, which stresses me out, but otherwise we want little to do with each other.

I basically have no family myself. They're either dead or estranged. The internet helps, though.

That's sad but believe it or not even people with big families can end up alone, too, if the family was/is dysfunctional. I know from experience. It's sad you and your mom are estranged, but do you think it will be forever? I have a young adult kid and we have our on periods and off periods. I am enjoying some real connection now. He used to say he was going to have 6 kids but so far its not happening lol - but it could happen later on ala BradJolie. Yeah, be prepared for surprises in life. I'm gonna do that, too. Love your avatar.

When will people learn to live with the family you have . Tv has made us all think there are these perfect families . Everybody has problems, its hard to trade with another family if you know all the problems .
even the real tv families had big problems . The Kennedy's had theirs the Queen of england has her problem family . Find the good in your own family and get the best out of it when you can . Avoid the worst parts but forgive the rest . It won't be around very long so deal with it .
I have to tell myself the same thing constantly .

Well, when I married I found my now ex's family much more enjoyable than mine, and had many years of pleasure being a part of that family. Sadly, it ended with the divorce. So I am thrown back on my family again, and it is just a difficult family system, filled with difficult personalities --- it's better to disengage. Some families are kinder than other families. That's just reality.

Volunteer.

Maybe offer to help out at the food bank handing out hampers. Maybe a shelter. Maybe host a needy person or family for the holiday.

I am very much distant from my family in miles. If I wanted to go see them, I don't have the money to do that. I only have my brother and sister left. Both of them are very bogged down and don't have room for me.

I've volunteered but I don't think it fills the hole. In the coming year I am going to try to make a couple of new friends. Not easy. I can go through a lot of people. I too would visit my siblings but we are separated by mega miles. But if I had the money I'd travel to see them. I think the best thing is to make friends close to home, and that does require tolerance, trust, and keeping an open mind.

Thanks everyone. Good suggestions. I actually volunteered at a food pantry yesterday and today, but I still feel a little down. I'm doing better than over the weekend though.

I'm sorry to everyone in the same boat.