There are so many ways to feel festive without alcohol at Christmas. The trick is to listen to your body and your soul, what do you really want? How do you really want to feel and what will help you to achieve it.
Often the ritual of pouring something sparkly and grown up is all we need to kick start those magical, festive vibes. It is just a question of getting creative and with a little thought and planning you will see that you really don’t need to drink to get into the Christmas spirit, despite what other people might tell you.
Let’s look at some other fun, indulgent and gorgeous ways to feel festive without alcohol at Christmas.
Embrace your inner child
Children love Christmas just because it’s Christmas, you don’t need anything else except that feeling of awe and wonder, so tap into that and see how good it feels.
Wear a Christmas jumper
Nothing says Christmas quite like a crazy, silly, sparkly jumper!
Put up the tree
This year people are putting up their trees earlier than usual to try and bring on a bit of early magic and cheer. Why wait, put up that tree and wait for the feelings of Christmas to come flooding in.
Write your Christmas cards
Grab a cuppa, get comfy and write out your cards. With so much Zooming and Skyping going on, it makes such a nice change to sit and put pen to paper, let the love for others flow onto the cards and feel that little warm glow appear.
Write a ‘dream Christmas list’ of all the gorgeous things you would love to have or do
Sobriety really is the best gift you can give yourself but what about actual presents?! This is my favourite thing to help get me feeling all Christmas-y. Forget about the restrictions, the money or other restraints and go a little bit wild, allow yourself to dream and imagine. Create a vision board of your ideal festive season. What does your perfect Christmas look like?
Put on some Christmas music and have a dance
Get your body moving and those happy hormones flowing with some good old dance moves to your favourite Christmas songs. There’s nothing like a bit of Mariah to lift you up and get you in the mood.
Declutter your physical and digital space to make room for all the lovely things you want to invite into your life
Letting go of the past, having a bit of a tidy, and removing all those emails you will never open yet make you feel bad for not doing so is so liberating and freeing. Clear it all out so have space for the new, the nice and the lovely. This is a great craving busting activity too.
Go for a walk even better if you can crunch through leaves or snow
This is my favourite time of year for wrapping up and getting out in nature. Jump in piles of leaves, walk on fresh snow, collect pinecones or leaves and notice the nature around you. Use all your senses and really connect. If the weather is bad, go out anyway, you will feel so invigorated and energized when you get back inside.
Eat some chestnuts or a mince pie
There are so many foods associated with this time of year, so go in indulge a little and try out the traditional eats to put you right in that magical festive moment.
Bake Christmas biscuits
Or mince pies or whatever else you fancy that brings back those cozy memories of Christmas as a child, if you have kids bake something with them too, make something new and start to create your own new memories and traditions that are not associated with the Christmases past of drinking away all the joy.
Drink gorgeously indulgent hot chocolate
Hot chocolate has healing properties, it really does. When it’s cold and dark outside there is something lovely about curling up with a delicious cup of hot chocolate. Marshmallows are advised but optional.
Light a scented candle, diffuse some festive oils or burn incense
Scents can invoke such wonderful memories and feelings of Christmas so make your home smell like Christmas! Lovely scents such as frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, orange or clove will make your home smell lovely and festive and you will too.
Mix a mocktail with festive ingredients
Thankfully, there are loads of great alcohol free drinks available to choose from and amazing recipes to make your own alcohol free festive cocktails. Experiment, explore you are bound to find something that oozes Christmas in a glass so you can have all the taste, all the fun with none of the nasty side effects of alcohol. Check out the Christmas Sobriety Planner for a selection of gorgeous alcohol free drinks recipes.
Watch a Christmas movie
An old favourite of everybody which will get you feeling festive in no time. Watch your favourite, watch them all, and be transported into the world of Christmas and wonder.
I hope you feel inspired by some of these ideas on ways to feel festive without alcohol this Christmas. All you really need to do is to be kind, be loving, be indulgent and ramp up those treats. Have fun, get creative and connect to the feelings of what Christmas is really about. This inspiring interview with a lovely lady shows that you can still have fun at Christmas time without alcohol because drinking does not make for a magical Christmas, you do.
What is your favourite way to feel festive without alcohol at Christmas? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
I really loved this blog post, thank you. Being in New Zealand we have a summer Xmas and I feel it’s making it extra hard not to drink – the long, hot summer evenings AND the silly season all at once… tough! This post has helped a lot x