The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?
The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?
Of all the days in December and the festive season, Christmas Day is probably the scariest or most overwhelming for those who have chosen to go alcohol-free. If you’re used to cracking on with it quite early in the day and keeping it up until bedtime, then Christmas can suddenly seem a bit pointless, joyless and empty. Will you ever enjoy Christmas again? Won’t the whole thing just totally suck? Well, it will be different to start with but it totally won’t suck…just take a different approach to the day.
Trust me, I once chose to stay in London all by myself for Christmas Day to walk through London, take loads of photos, eat whatever the hell I like and watch horror movies – and it was AWESOME. So besides making sure you have all of your favourite booze-less drinks on hand, here are 5 things you can do on Christmas Day to switch it up a bit and enjoy yourself:
“What?!” I hear you say. Well, many of us won’t ever think to take some time out for ourselves on Christmas Day. It’s perfectly reasonable to go and take an hour to do something calming by yourself. Whether it’s meditating, yoga, reading a book, having a nap, or just reading a magazine on the loo for a really long time – you do you. It’s a great way to refresh and recalibrate for the rest of the day.
Christmas Day is the perfect time to do a little exploring on foot. Live in a city? Then get out there and explore the empty, public transport-less streets – take some photos of the busiest tourist spots which now look like a scene from a zombie apocalypse, and use the quiet to slow down and look at things properly – you’ll be shocked at how much beautiful architecture or subtle street art you haven’t noticed before. Live in the suburbs/countryside/middle of nowhere? Then get out there and go for a hike with nature! If there’s a spare dog around, then take that with you. You can snuggle up with a well-earned hot chocolate when you get home.
Driving or cycling on Christmas Day feels kinda magical – plus this one comes with the added bonus of being something that you may not have been physically/legally capable of in previous years! Just make sure you’re doing this one for you, being roped into taxi’ing people around doesn’t count.
If there are kids around, this is a great way of interacting with them whilst giving you something to focus on and your hands something to do. Making origami, drawing, painting, building something out of Lego, etc etc are all good examples of ways to be creative which can also involve others. Or you can ignore everyone and make this your chill out time, find a quiet spot and create whatever you like – because it’s your Christmas Day too.
Sounds obvious right? Well it is but, whatever. If you’re hosting, make sure you include lots of your favourite things on the menu, get crafty with your recipes and make something a little different. If you’re a guest this year, then try getting creative and making something that you love, which can be taken along as a gesture for everyone to share. If you’re not a fan of cooking or baking, just make sure you have your favourite snacks to hand. Don’t forget, you’re saving loaaaaads of calories that would have usually been consumed via booze – empty ones too – so don’t be afraid to get fully stuck in. And who knows, maybe you’ll even feel like exercising the next day when you wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed?!
If you found this useful and would like even more tips on sober Christmas survival, head to the ‘Articles‘ section of our website for heaps ‘n’ heaps of sound advice.
“Merry Christmas ya filthy animals. And a Happy New Year.”
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