As the leaves start to fall, and temperatures begin to drop, singles across the country begin to get a little antsy. We’ve all had our spring flings and our summer loves, both of which are typically short-lived. Once the fall and winter months roll around, the mentality of the once single-and-ready-to-mingle individuals starts to shift once more. That’s right, it's officially cuffing season.

What is “cuffing season” you might ask? Urban Dictionary gives us an accurate definition of the term:

“During the Fall and Winter months, people who would normally rather be single or promiscuous find themselves, along with the rest of the world, desiring to be "Cuffed" or tied down by a serious relationship. The cold weather and prolonged indoor activity causes singles to become lonely and desperate to get cuffed.”

Don’t try to deny it, we’ve all been at that point where we long for someone to bring home for the holidays and cozy up by the fire with. We want someone on our arm at the annual Christmas party and someone to hold hands with as you take a stroll trough the streets in the snow.

I know all of this might sound fantastic, but I’m going to stop you right there so you don’t turn into another ridiculous cliché. The cuffing season was designed for the lonely souls searching for a Mr. Right Now, not a Mr. Right. I’m going to let you in on a little secret before you go out hunting for a man to lock down for the next couple months; You can survive the winter without getting cuffed.

Here’s the solution: Delete your Tinder, avoid all suspiciously flirty men over the next few months, and cuff your best friends instead.

More often than not, your best friends make better boyfriends, anyway. They already know you inside and out, they know your likes, dislikes, favorite foods, favorite alcohol, favorite movies, and chances are they have a similar taste that makes it easy when planning fun winter activities.

Your best friends can fill every role that a boyfriend would during the holidays. Your friends will cuddle with you for hours without expecting anything in return, and they will take you up on any offer to get food regardless of the time of day. Your friends will understand the need to take 50 pictures by the Christmas tree to get that one Instagram-worthy shot.

Your best friends will want to go ice-skating with you, build gingerbread houses, watch the "25 Days of Christmas" marathon on ABC Family, and you won't have to beg them to rock out to the Justin Bieber Christmas album with you.

Don’t focus on cuffing for the season when you can focus your time on making memories with the girls that are going to have your back for a lifetime.