It's not easy. I visited a dear friend the other day who is from another culture and who I would always have a glass of wine with (yes! just one! my alcoholism included many weeks of not drinking a drop and many instances of being good & having one or two drinks which is why I find it hard to identify at times). She does not understand why I'm not drinking and even said 'but dar-link, the red wine..it's so good for your blood! surely one is ok?' No, sweet friend, it is not! If I have it today (which I really could have) I can do it next Friday when 1 or 2 leads to 13 or 14. So...tell them in a firm, no-questions-allowed-tone-of-voice you are not drinking. If you are already a bit of a health nut, you can use the calorie and health aspect. You can also say you're doing the 30 day experiment..no alcohol for 30 days as part of new year experiment (then after the 30 days say you didn't miss it and you enjoyed the experiment!). Hope this helps..it's not easy. I have a few big tests coming up myself this month and my stomach is already in knots.