There are few traditions that are as widely practiced as New Year’s resolutions. And while most fail to achieve their self-proclaimed goals, it does expose the most popular areas people want to improve. From weight loss to financial health, there are some common themes and one of those is consuming less alcohol. Every January, many will declare they are reducing their consumption or even taking a month off from drinking alcohol mainly because they drank too much during the Holidays. Which leads me to believe that avoiding excessive drinking during the Holidays is the real solution to this problem.
While I love craft beer, it’s always a good idea to be proactive and control your intake of alcohol. This is even more important during the Holidays when there’s lots of celebrations and opportunities to drink. This makes it even more difficult to avoid or reduce how much you consume.
I’m not a doctor or professional so these tips are merely my suggestions. If you need help, there are lots of online resources to help you get assistance and support.
Why Avoiding Excessive Drinking During The Holidays Is Important
Let’s review why to reduce drinking as a means of encouragement. Side note; these are in no particular order and are just a few of the many reasons why avoiding excessive drinking during the holidays is important.
Health & Wellness
From you mind to your body, alcohol impacts you in a number of ways and over consumption isn’t good for you.
The Holidays are stressful which means that drinking and eating are often used as stress relief. Christmas cookies and a nice scotch ale sound quite tempting to me.
But alcohol can increase depressing thoughts and cause weight gain. Both are the opposite of stress relief. Which means it can make this time of year less joyous than it should be.
Making The Right Memories
If you are like most people, the Holidays are full of parties. From family to friends to co-workers, these social events are often the highlight of the season.
But these celebrations can turn bad quickly when there is too much alcohol involved. Whether it is embarrassing yourself in front of your boss or the aunt you only see once a year, you are bound to regret getting drunk.
Responsible drinking will allow for great memories to be made, friendships to be made strong, and families to stay connected.
How To Avoid Excessive Drinking During The Holidays
While You’re reading this on a craft beer website, these ideas easily apply to other types of alcohol as well.
Sharing Is Caring
While this way of drinking won’t be ideal in every situation, you can also share a drink with your date or spouse as a means of reducing your intake.
Plan Your Drinking
If you are going to make it through the Holidays, you’re going to need a plan. With the number of events to attend, you’ll need to think ahead to ensure you don’t miss out. You’ll probably also have a plan to get all or your Christmas shopping completed. So why not have a plan for your drinking too. Consider each event carefully and determine how much you will drink in advance. Setting a limit can be an easy way to say no when offered another drink. This is even more powerful when you share your limit with a trusted friend.
Find Non-Alcoholic Drinks That You Love
There are so many great recipes to enjoy during the Holidays and many of these are for drinks. But these don’t have to be alcoholic. Most of the time, people don’t want to be the only one drinking a non-alcoholic drink like water. So if you are hosting a party, offer a themed drink that is alcohol free. This allows everyone to enjoy a fun beverage while avoiding alcohol. A classic for me is plain, store bought egg nog. It’s a clear reminder of the season for me.
Move To Low ABV Beers
I really love big, strong beers like Stouts and Belgian Quads but these aren’t the best when you are consuming during a long Holiday party. So consider selecting a low ABV beer that is your go-to for Holiday parties. This should be at or below 5%. Luckily the increase in craft beer has given us plenty of options that are low in alcohol but still big in flavor.
Avoid Drinking Before And After Big Events
Find Ways To Relieve Stress
Many people drink at family events because it can be a stressful time of year. While there’s lots to love about the Holidays, our schedules are full and our wallets are empty. Add in the tension of more time with family and it may seem like a great idea to have a few extra drinks to take off the edge. But instead, it would be much better to reduce your stress in other ways. For some that may mean attending fewer Holiday parties. Or maybe cutting back on Christmas gift spending. And for others it might involve exercise or re-connecting with the reason that we celebrate these Holidays in the first place.
Don’t Drink At All
Some save this for January but what about making December your month to cut out all alcohol. It won’t be easy if your friends and family enjoy drinking. But avoiding excessive drinking during the Holidays won’t be a concern if you aren’t drinking at all. And since most of us are consuming a ton of extra calories, this is a great way to attempt to balance out our over eating.
I’d love to hear your tips to avoid excessive drinking during the Holidays; comment at the end of this article or send me a message.
Final Thoughts
Personally, alcohol was never a part of my Holidays until recently – I can thank discovering craft beer for that. And in many ways, beer has created a new ways to connect and celebrate with friends and family. But it’s important to ensure that this one aspect doesn’t ruin the other great parts of this season.
Do you ever think about how alcohol consumption impacts other aspects of your life? Hopefully controlling consumption isn’t something you struggle with but it is still worthwhile to consider how craft beer and other drinks will be included as a part of your Holiday celebrations.