Sober Christmas 2024

I completed my first sober Christmas in many years and had so much fun. More fun than I thought I would.

To be honest, I was anticipating that this holiday would be triggering, hard, and downright not fun. I was scared of having FOMO. I was scared that people would judge me. Blah blah blah.

BUT- none of that happened and I actually enjoyed myself quite a lot.

So to start, my fiancé and I actually ended up hosting Christmas for the first time in our new home. So naturally, that comes with a lot of preparation and stress. To add to it, we had family in town that were staying with us. I am picturing National Lampoons Christmas Vacation... if you get my vibe.

In the past, anxiety and stress were the two largest reasons I drank. Celebrating was the third largest reason I drank.

That means that during this holiday- I faced three of my largest triggers. I am proud to say I learned a lot from it, and had fun doing it.

Things I learned:

• Observing other drunk people really made me feel a lot better about being sober.

• I had more energy for longer amounts of time than in the past.

• My anxiety around cleaning, prepping, and staging the house was almost non-existent.

• As long as I had something yummy to sip on, I forgot I wasn't drinking and was fully present in the moment.

• I enjoyed the food more!

Drinking at holiday events is a huge part of our family dynamic. It just always has been. This year, I saw things much differently than I have in the past. I put on my observation hat and really reflected on the things I noticed.

To elaborate- I watched how people became increasingly more drunk, and either got crabby or super tired. By the end of the night they were wiped out and ready to go home and sleep it off. For me though- I had so much energy I was able to pick up the house a bit after people left, watch a feel good movie, and then go to sleep and get a great night of sleep.

The best part was that I truly didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. There were a couple times that I looked at the booze bar and thought "hmmm, maybe just one glass of wine" but that thought quickly fizzled when I remembered that if I had one, I would likely all of a sudden want four and then I would feel like shit. So I carried on with my NA white claws.

Lastly, the FOOD! It was so good and I feel that I truly appreciated and enjoyed the food this year.

Overall-it was a great holiday and I hope to carry this energy into the new year!