Mindful Drinking Strategies For The Holidays

To 'skål' is to be social. To celebrate together. Regardless of the amount of alcohol in our glasses.

- Morten Sørensen, Founder, ISH Spirits, Denmark

The social pressure is all around to imbibe on boozy drinks throughout the holidays. At every turn, there will be another reason to grab a glass of wine or cocktail but sometimes you just don’t feel like drinking. It’s a great time to develop some mindful drinking strategies for this indulgent season. Here are some tips and strategies for surviving the holidays without a hangover!

Before heading out to a gathering or party 

Make a mental list of the people you’re excited to chat and hang out with. Ask yourself whether it’s the drinks or those people that will bring you satisfaction and happiness. Try and hang on to that throughout the day/evening when you’re making decisions about having a drink or not. 

The infamous question: Do you want a drink or what can I get you to drink? 

When you arrive at your destination, no doubt your host or hostess will greet you as if you’re a thirsty traveller. A great response to the eponymous question of “Do you want a drink?” is, “Yes, I’d love [sparkling water/diet coke/water] right now, thanks!” It might throw your hostess for a moment, but eventually no-one will notice what you’re drinking as they’ll be too busy thinking about their own drinks. 

BYOB

Another strong strategy is to bring your own, delicious alcohol-free drinks. There are so many great tasting new alcohol-free ‘ready-to-drink’ options that you can throw in a purse or bag. My recommendations are here! Then when someone asks you what you want to drink, you can deflect with the following:  

“No thanks, I brought my own. I’m really loving this beer right now, so I brought some along with me!”

No need to tell anyone it’s alcohol-free!

Keep a drink in your hand

The fomo will be real and it’s up to you to rethink whether you will still have FOMO tomorrow morning when you wake up feeling great. Regardless, keep something cold in your hand to sip at all times. Whether it’s a non alcoholic beer, a glass of sparkling water, or a mindful cocktail, it helps to ease social anxiety around not drinking. 

If you do feel you need to drink something boozy (it happens!), make it a mindful cocktail by cutting the alcohol in half - have a wine spritzer, or a half strength cocktail with more mixer. 

And finally…

Whatever you choose, don’t forget to enjoy the moment! 

Happy Holidays!