Snowglobing: Are you a victim of this Christmas dating trend?

Warning, singles – the festive season brings with it a fresh new dating trend to be aware of.

Enter, snowglobing. This is where you meet someone just in time for the Christmas/New Year countdown – say early December – and the timing leads to a much more intense relationship than you’d typically expect.

You’ve likely heard of cuffing, the dating trend for coupling up with someone purely for the colder season, to enjoy cosy indoor activities before splitting up ahead of summer.

But this is much more of a shorter term thing reserved strictly for the festive period – a time when cute, romantic events abound.

This might be a great opportunity for some budding romances, with new couples given ample opportunity to show their affection for one another. You might do sweet activities together like ice skating or attending a Christmas market, or even full-blown relationship behaviours like meeting one another’s families.

So far, so good. But some people may go from 0 to 100mph with the seasonal festive affection, before dropping their new partner out of the blue.

So why do people do this?

“One may be that they simply don't want to be alone, or they don't want to be seen as being single during the holidays,” couples therapist, Gary Brown, told Cosmopolitan UK.

"Feeling embarrassed about not being in a relationship can be so painful, that people will make romantic gestures as a sort of 'short fix' so that they don't have to feel the pain of loneliness.”

So how do you tell you distinguish between a snowglober and someone with more long-term romantic intentions?

“If you notice beforehand that they are talking about you with their friends, family, and co-workers, then that may be a sign that they're truly interested,” advises Brown.

Words by Francesca Specter

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.

Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.