Celebrating Your Birthday Sober

When you first started your journey in sobriety, you probably marked that day. People make it a point to celebrate their sobriety birthday in addition to their real birthday. Both birthdays can be a bit of a hassle to plan. You might have been racking your brains to come up with an enjoyable celebration.

Don’t panic! There are ways to celebrate your birthday without involving alcohol. Don’t feel pressured to buy liquor even if your guests are drinking. We’ve come up with several ideas to help you!

1. Do not include any alcohol in your menu.

Although this might seem like a killjoy thing to do, it is best not to have any liquor available. You can tell your guests about this so they’ll know what not to expect. You can still have a fun sober birthday without it. Prepare other activities that will keep you and your guests entertained all night long.

2. You should carefully choose who to invite.

Whether you’re celebrating sobriety or your birthday, you should be picky about who to invite. Avoid inviting people you used to drink with or those who aren’t supportive of your journey in recovery. This may make you feel guilty, but you surely don’t want to risk your progress in sobriety.

3. Include your sober friends.

If you worry about risking your sobriety, you can always invite people from your recovery group, even your sponsor. It would be nice to have someone there while you’re celebrating sobriety. You can be certain that they will be there to support you throughout.

4. Try to make mocktails.

If it is really necessary to have drinks at your party, make mocktails! These drinks don’t have any alcohol in them. Instead, infused water, juices, or sodas are added in the cocktails for flavoring. You can look up easy recipes online!

5. Cook scrumptious foods.

People will not notice the lack of liquor at your sobriety birthday party if they can’t take their eyes off your grazing table. You can also cook delicious meals for them to pig out on. If you don’t know much about cooking, you can try your hand at some easy recipes or just hire a caterer.

6. Try to think of a theme.

A fun party theme is a sure way to spice up any celebration, including your sober birthday! You can ask your guests to dress up accordingly. People are likely to take more photos and have fun, driving attention away from the lack of alcoholic beverages at your party.

7. Tell your guests about sober birthday gift ideas.

Your friends might insist on bringing you something for your sobriety birthday. You can provide them with choices or a list of sober birthday gift ideas so they will have an idea. If people don’t know that you’re sober, they might bring wine as a gift which is something that you wouldn’t want to happen.

8. You can skip the party.

If you don’t feel comfortable throwing a birthday party just yet, you can totally opt not do it. Planning for a sober birthday can stress you out and you don’t want that. You can opt for lowkey activities like a spa day to celebrate. There are a lot of activities that you can do alone including going to the movies, going to your favorite restaurant, going to a concert, shopping, and many others.

You can still celebrate a fun sober birthday. You won’t have to worry about risking your sobriety if the people around you know and are supportive. Now that you know how to throw a sober birthday, you will definitely have a grand time. But don’t pressure yourself; too much anxiety may result in relapse. If you or someone you know wants to start their journey to sobriety, you can contact us at Haven House, a recovery center near Nashville. Our staff is more than willing to assist you through our 12-step, Christ-based program. We look forward to helping you celebrate a sobriety birthday! Contact us now!