The holidays are here, and everyone is looking forward to your annual gathering. Every year, you have friends and family come together to enjoy a nice meal, drinks, games, exchange gifts, and other fun activities. While you don’t want to disappoint anyone, your struggle with substance abuse or addiction over the past few months has you worried. Will your party be as memorable now that you’re trying to remain sober? More importantly, will your loved ones understand and support where you are in your journey to recovery?
If you’ve gone to therapy or enrolled in a center for detox in LA to overcome your dependency, abuse, or addiction, then you know that you don’t need drugs or alcohol to have a good time. With a bit of careful planning, you can host a sober holiday party that everyone can appreciate. Continue reading for tips.
Notify Your Guests
One of the first things you want to do is notify your guests that it’s a sober party. Explain why you’ve chosen to go this route and how you expect everyone to follow the rules to show support. If everyone is aware of this upfront, they won’t use substances before or during your party. They also won’t show up with alcohol as gifts or become disappointed when no adult drinks are present at your gathering.
Avoid Inviting People That Trigger You
While you may want everyone you know and care about to be at your holiday party, not everyone is going to be supportive of your recovery efforts. Therefore, you need to exclude anyone who causes emotional triggers or may encourage you to abuse drugs or alcohol. For instance, if your cousin is known as a party animal, they may not be the best company to be around during the holidays.
Make Non-Alcoholic Beverages
You may not be drinking alcohol anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t spice things up for the holidays. There are plenty of non-alcoholic drinks or mocktails that you can make that are a lot better than basic juice or soda but won’t throw you off recovery. Have fun creating mixed drinks that flow with the theme of your holiday event. You can even go as far as putting the drinks in fancy glasses and topping them with sugar, salt, tiny umbrellas, or other decorations.
Focus On Fun Activities
One way to keep your mind (and your guests’ minds) off alcohol or drugs is to occupy your time with fun activities. When planning your holiday gathering this year, ensure that you have enough things going on to keep everyone entertained and happy. Other than sharing a meal together, you can play board, card, or video games, dance, watch movies, or get out of the house and go caroling. Then, when the time is right, you can exchange and open gifts before having dessert and calling it a night.
Take Care Of Yourself
Being the host of a holiday party is already stressful. This year, however, you’re also in the beginning stages of recovery. While that’s a lot of pressure, you mustn’t let it get to you. Therefore, you should practice some self-care techniques before the festivities begin.
The morning before the party, take the time to soak in the bath or take a long shower. Then, do something that makes you feel good, like reading a book, going for a walk, listening to music, meditating, or playing with your kids. Such activities will put you in a good mood and reduce stress, so you don’t feel pressured to cope with unhealthy mechanisms.
You want to be with your family during the holidays, and they’re excited about coming to see you too. While you don’t necessarily have to cancel your annual gathering, you need to make some changes if you’re dealing with substance abuse or recovery. By keeping the above suggestions in mind, you can host the perfect sober holiday party that everyone will appreciate (without putting your sobriety on the line).
