How to dodge Festive Fizz Frazzle

Are you a member of the “Can’t remember much of December” club?

I used to be a member and I call it this for two reasons. Sometimes it was because I’d had too much to drink and I physically couldn’t remember much of my evening and the other reason was because I was so busy rushing from one thing to the next that it all went past in a bit of a blur without many stand out moments, more just a general feel good factor for the month.

It’s that time of year when we’re all rushing about trying to fit everything in, not upset anyone and be everything to everyone all the time.  We always seem to spend this time of year putting everyone before ourselves, making sure the children have everything they need for school and all the extra extra curricular activities they do; as well as present buying, present wrapping and making sure they all get posted to the right countries by the deadlines. Then there’s food and guests and parties and party outfits….the list goes on and on.  When do we get to stop and breathe, to think of ourselves?  

Unfortunately the tendency is to just keep going and our rush momentum spills over into our social life. When we should be slowing down and enjoying ourselves we find it hard to chill out and end up drinking those first few drinks a little quickly.  I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said “ohhh, that one’s gone straight to my head!” and immediately filled up again. As we talk, laugh and socialise it’s easy to drink more than we intended as we lose count of how many we’ve had, especially if there’s a conscientious host going round topping you up, which always seems so lovely at the time but not quite so lovely the next morning when you feel rotten and have no idea how much you actually drank! 
It’s situations like these that leave you vulnerable the next day when you get in your car to drive somewhere, not knowing if you really are back under the legal limit! Or you send the day with 'hangxiety' worrying what you said to your boss or if you made a fool of yourself falling out of the door and into a cab as you left the office party!

It’s so easy to get lost in a whirlwind of events through December that leave you feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by the time we get to January. You know you had a good time but it all seems like a bit of a blur and you’re kinda glad it’s over so you can put your mind to recovering in peace and quiet!

Here are 5 things you can do to help avoid what I am affectionately calling Festive Booze Frazzle or Festive Fizz Frazzle depending on your tipple!

1 Planning. 

If you make a rough plan through December of how many events you are going to, a kind of overview for both work and pleasure you can decide which ones are events you absolutely can’t miss and you want to drink at but you can also see where there are events that don’t mean as much to you so you can decide to not drink alcohol and give your body a break that day. Maybe commit to a certain number of AF days for the month to give you a little bit of an incentive to challenge yourself instead of drink out of habit.

2. Know Before You Go:

 If you know where you are going you can look up if they have an alcohol free menu on line and choose something in advance so you know what you’re asking for before you get there, that way there will be no wobbles at the bar so you just ask for what you usually ask for.. 

3. Be demanding, don’t be afraid to ask.

If you don’t have time to plan in advance it’s not a problem.  We all panic a bit when we get to the bar and we don’t know what we want, we feel pressured into making a decision when we’re asked the “What can I get you?” question, especially when it’s busy and there’s a queue...it’s a Brit thang!!! DON’T rush, take the time to look in the fridge at the alternatives, engage the bar staff in conversation, ask them  “I usually drink vodka and coke but tonight I’m driving, what would you recommend?”. Offer your favorite flavours and ask them to make up an alcohol free Mocktail - I love pineapple,Surprise me...usually bar staff love the opportunity to show off their skills and make something more interesting than just pouring a pint! The chances are that far from being annoyed at you for not knowing what you want, they’ll be grateful for a short breather and a moment to chat while you discuss how they can make you something special too. It’s a win win, they get a breather, you get a gorgeous non alcoholic drink that no-one will question!

4. Have a budget.

If you have a budget with a set number of drinks in mind you can stick to your goal of say 2 glasses of wine and then a couple of  posh tonics. I find budgets are always super stretched at this time of year so keeping account of your finances isn’t a bad thing and it will naturally help you slow down.

5. Slow down and enjoy the moments.

It’s the festive season, we’re all rushing around here there and everywhere.  We’re trying to cram in work, school activities, kids social life, our social life, present buying and wrapping, an emergency dash to the shop because we forgot we needed something red for the school tombola etc etc  and we can become a bit frazzled trying to be everything to everyone and it’s tempting to keep up that rush momentum when we go out and knock back our drinks all too quickly. Just take a moment to pause, breathe a sigh of relief, you made it to this moment, your entitled to relax and enjoy it, sip your drink and take in your surroundings, talk to the people that make you laugh and enjoy the company you have around you.  There’s no rush, you’ve got all night so take it easy and make some precious memories!

As we head into the start of a new decade, I think it’s important to stop and take stock of what we have achieved over the last decade. Take December to stop and remember some of the good times, to reaffirm them in your memory.  Think about how you could slow down to appreciate the finer moments with your family as we head into the new year, Do you want to arrive at January the 1st feeling exhausted and overwhelmed or would you rather put your efforts to some mindful drinking and sail on into 2020 remembering all the precious memories you made KNOWING you had a fantastic time?

Need some help?

Head on over to our Facebook group Mindful Sips to follow what we’re up to and join in the discussion. If you’d like some drinks alternatives we’re doing an Alcohol Free Advent every day over on our Instagram page and drinks reviews here on our Alcohol advent page.

Check out our Beat Festive Booze Frazzle course here.