The silly season is rapidly approaching, and for many, this means work Christmas parties, celebrations with friends, family gatherings and indulgence in food, gifts and all things jolly. As your social calendar fills up, here are some tips on how to avoid filling your glass too deep along with it.
We understand Christmas can be a stressful time, especially if you’re trying to drink less. Many of our celebrations involve drinking (often to excessive amounts) as part of the holiday spirit, and it is hard not to feel a pressure to conform to these expectations.
It’s important to have a few backup solutions to surviving a sober Christmas, and listing some advantages of taking it easy with the booze will help with your motivation. Think of how much you’ll save by not splashing out on those expensive bottles of champagne! And how nice it would be to minimise the chances of drunken confrontation with the in-laws, or saying something inappropriate to grandma over copious gingerbread cookies.
We have gathered some of the best advice around to help you continue your positive relationship with alcohol this Christmas.
To enjoy an alcohol-light Christmas, you need to have a plan
Be selective about the events you attend
Remember that you don’t have to go to every event; if there are certain celebrations that you know will make it really hard for you to feel good about your drinking goal, maybe consider skipping them. Attend the ones that will not focus so much on drinking to have a good time.
BYO drinks
Take your favourite non alcoholic drinks to the party with you, like a bottle of soda and a lime or a few ginger beers. This way you’re not missing out on drinking altogether and it may be a smart tactic to stop people asking you if you want a drink every five minutes.
Plan activities that don’t involve sitting around drinking
Organise a friendly game of backyard cricket, ice skating or DIY holiday card making. Watch a Christmas movie or print off lyrics for carols and have a classic, festive sing-a-long.
Have a reason and get real
Be assertive with your decision to not drink and come prepared to talk about why you have chosen not to. Some people are genuinely interested, and who knows, it may even inspire them to think about their own relationship with alcohol.
Come up with an exit strategy
If it all just gets too much and people are giving you a hard time about not drinking, or everyone’s too smashed to have a slur free conversation, just get out of there. Most of the time they will hardly remember you leaving anyway. Just give the hosts a call at a reasonable hour in the morning to thank them and explain why you felt like you needed to leave.
Focus on the love
Find the joy in spending quality time with those you love, doing the things you love!
One Comment
Add a commentThese are good strategies to have to combat the crazy silly season.Interestingly I just learnt that the word for wine and grape-juice (which is absolutely delicious and very healthy) is he same in Hebrew..so Jesus turned the water into grape-juice not wine as everyone says because wine is fermented and that takes a long time not the instantaneous miracle of Jesus..interesting isn’t it! Have a really joyful and peaceful Christmas