True love may be on the top or your holiday wish list, but according to a nationwide “Holidating” survey, most of you people don’t expect to meet that special someone during the holiday season.

This survey covered more than 1,200 singles and asked whether they, or someone they know, had ever met someone unique during the holidays. Both men and women responded devastatingly (79 percent) “no.”

This is the season of eating, drinking and making merry, but it’s also traditionally viewed as a hard time for meeting someone. But it doesn’t have to be! There’s a whole lot of ways to find that special person who is only available this time of the year.

Holidays Dating Secrets:

• Don’t miss a social gathering;

Office parties, New Year’s countdown parties, game-watching parties — each offer an occasion to get out of the house and meet people outside your direct circle of friends. The holiday season is also a great time to host a party and show off your best assets. If you’re a wine fanatic, you can host a wine-themed party and impress everyone with your knowledge. Or if you’re an excellent cook, you can lure guests in with your holiday fare.

• The Catch-up Catch;

Most people travel to their hometown during the holidays. Use this as an excuse to call old acquaintances and ask them to meet you for a quick holiday decompress from too much family fun.

• Rules are rules, right?

Guys and girls can benefit from the time-honored holiday tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. It may be cliché, but you can go from perfect stranger to perfect date by finding that strategically placed mistletoe and meeting someone under it at just the right moment. Use this same strategy when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s!

• A date is not always a date!

This season brings you an opportunity to ask out someone special without the pressure of a real first date. Whether it’s the holiday office party or simply an informal get-together where attending in pairs makes more sense, the deniable date is a great approach for a single guy or girl who’s been waiting for the perfect opportunity to get to know someone without fear of rejection. If things don’t work out, well … you’ll both end up just as well as you started.

• The Gift Approach

Use shopping time to meet someone by asking advice from that attractive store employee who’s caught your eye. This is a great no-pressure way to start a conversation while reading whether or not he or she is interested.

This “Holidating” survey showed that the gift approach is a very popular tactic for both men and women. When asked whether they had ever talked with a store employee while holiday shopping simply because they thought he or she was cute, more than half of the men (74 percent) and women (51 percent) responded that they had. By contrast, fewer respondents have admitted to using mistletoe (30 percent) or New Year’s Eve (37 percent) as an opportunity to kiss someone.

Keep in mind, though, that while mistletoe and New Year’s Eve are great excuses for socially acceptable kissing, you still need to judge the situation carefully. It’s best to probably go for the cheek, and expect that the lips will follow.

The “Holidating” survey also revealed how singles felt they ranked on Santa’s naughty or nice list. More than half (64 percent) of respondents claimed that they were nice. And when it came to who’s naughtiest, it was men above the age of 50 and women ages 25-34.

And here’s some more interesting holiday info from this survey: Given a list of 10 popular holiday rental movies to watch on a date, men and women had different opinions. The majority of single women voted “Love Actually” the best holiday-themed movie for a night of snuggling on the coach. The same movie ranked eighth by male respondents. Men preferred “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” which ranked third by females.

It all boils down to this. Once-a-year meeting opportunities, along with a fresh start to a new year, make this an ideal time for finding that special someone.