The festive period is always a boozy time of the year, and for many of us, it can leave us feeling a bit stale as we hit January and head back to work.
From the start of December, we face party after party and then the nights at home, fire on and a nice glass of red wine to see us through the evening. Which, of course, is not exactly good for our health.
The Christmas period can be really difficult for people managing their alcohol intake, and for many, it can fuel the likes of addiction, too. At Primrose Lodge, an alcohol rehab in Surrey, the festive period is one of the biggest periods in which they see former patients relapse. As well as January, people recognise they may have a problem.
Whatever one’s relationship with alcohol, though, it’s always important to monitor your consumption carefully to ensure you have a happy and safe time, particularly if you are going to be driving, with December the second worst month for drink driving.
There are some tips and tricks you can use to limit your alcohol intake through this Christmas and still have the magical time we all want around the period. So, here are a few hacks for doing so…
Log your intake and set limits
A good place to start is by actually logging your intake. While it’s not necessarily a fun thing to do, it can help you develop your understanding of your relationship with alcohol and seeing how much you are drinking may give you further encouragement to limit it at points throughout the festive period.
It may be worth setting a weekly limit of the number of drinks or units you can have and then planning those a little more carefully, predominantly to ensure you have a good time when you are socialising and so on, but not unnecessarily drinking on a cold Tuesday night when you’ve nothing on, for example.
Offer to be on driving duty
Offering to be the designated driver again will limit how much you drink and provide you with a responsibility that will prevent you from getting carried away with the booze.
Moreover, you’ll have more control over when you arrive and leave on certain social occasions, giving you plenty of power. It’s in your hands!
Book in some non-drinking activities
Not every social occasion needs to revolve around the pub or bottles of wine, yet so many of our plans end up that way over Christmas. Think about mixing it up with some other activities with friends.
Consider your interests and book things like a winter walk, bowling, or even arts and crafts classes, which provide you with that social element and tons of fun but will give you the afternoon or evening off the booze.
It’s another simple step, but often a step that we don’t consider. This is a shame, as such experiences can be much more wholesome and provide a much better time!