5 Tips for Staying Sober This Christmas

It’s that time of the year again: the festive Christmas season is knocking on everyone’s doors. It’s certainly the time for celebration, gifts, shopping, parties, and most especially, family gatherings. The latter two may be guaranteed to feature alcoholic drinks if you’re in adult company, and the temptation to drink may be severe.  

For those who want to remain sober, this could be the biggest challenge of the year. Luckily, you don’t have to allow alcohol to ruin this special season for you. You don’t have to turn down invitations to parties, gatherings, and catch-ups just because you don’t drink. On the contrary, this could help you to better appreciate the occasion. Whatever happens, you can certainly have fun and enjoy the wonderful Christmas season while still staying sober.

Should you come out of the season after staying sober, you can expect to come out with a stronger mindset that could completely change your life.

How to Stay Sober: Christmas and New Year’s Edition

For those who might need more help during this season, we have outlined some tips for staying sober despite the possible temptation. Here are five things you might want to think about.

1. Offer to Be the Designated Driver

Get those car keys instead of those shot glasses when you’re staying sober. This way, you can go to any occasion you want. It becomes easier to come and go from different parties and gatherings, avoiding any chances that you have to stay and make yourself more susceptible to drinking alcohol. Another potential bonus to this is that you can help friends and family get to where they need to when it’s time to return home.

This also means you have to look out for yourself, because driving under the influence is illegal, so you shouldn’t even have an accidental drink. You can ask your friends to look out for you, but you need to be trusting yourself first to be responsible.

2. Turn to Alcohol-Free Alternatives

Like we said, you don’t need to drink to enjoy Christmas and the New Year. If everyone around you is drinking alcohol and you don’t want to feel left out, you can always opt for non-alcoholic alternatives that you can drink while socializing with others. There are several mocktails that you can drink, or you can turn to other beverages like a cold and refreshing glass of lemonade. Just because you won’t drink alcohol doesn’t mean you can’t share a toast during this festive season!

3. Your Loved Ones Are the Key

The key to being able to remain sober during this season is to surround yourself with people who will support you. This means that you should keep your family and friends close. By spending quality time with your family and friends during this season, you won’t be thinking about needing to drink alcohol, and this will give you a more meaningful Christmas and New Year.

4. Host Your Own Party

Knowing how to stay sober during this season is about knowing how to keep yourself busy, so why not have the party at your place? By hosting your own party, you get to choose what activities you want to do and what food and drink are served. You can have a movie night with family and friends, or you could play monopoly or other board games. These activities and more can be engaging and fun even without drinking.

5. Be Honest to Other People

There’s no need to feel ashamed if you can’t drink during the Christmas and New Year’s season. On the contrary, once you get through the month while staying sober, people will be even more proud of you. As such, it’s a good idea to tell the people around you that you are going alcohol-free. Not only will they understand, but most will probably be there to support you, taking steps to avoid putting you in situations where you might feel pressured to drink.

A festive environment will undeniably be a challenging place to be for those who want to remain sober. However, this could also turn out to be a new start. If you think you need more help in staying sober this Christmas and you are considering a recovery center near Clarksville, give us a call at Haven House Recovery Center. Our experts will be more than willing to give you advice!