heavencanwait

is another first for me in a very long time. I always planned to drink over Christmas/New Years. That was the time for celebration with family/friends and another reason to drink, right? Well, this year I will celebrate 6 months sober (half a year!) during the holidays! No hangover while cooking the turkey for this girl! No hangover on New Years Day!

How about you all? What plans do you have to make this the best sober Holidays ever?

DreamCatcher17

That sounds like a great plan!!

I'm staying far away from my in laws, my mother and going to just stay home on new years so Im not tempted with anything. It is cheaper anyway, daycare on nye is expensive!!!!
If I stay away from toxic people I'm less likely to misbehave!

heavencanwait

That sounds like a great plan too Dreamcatcher!

hpdw

I will put ALL my attention on my loving family and making some of the best dishes I can muster up . I have a tendency to go that extra mile with my cooking and presentation and this year will be the best ever .

heavencanwait

WOW...Thomas59 sure wish I was there! Sounds like a wonderful holiday plan! That is what the holidays are all about.

Purplrks3647

Great thread topic, HCW.....last year I had an "f-it" moment on Thanksgiving & picked up wine on the way to have dinner w/ my family....turns out I was the only one who drank.....

Christmas Eve will be a tough one, because it's a big "party night" for me & my family....I normally work holidays to keep myself out of trouble, so I plan on playing the tape through & having to be up early as a reason not to drink.

Plus, if anyone is interested ~ the SMART Recovery website ~ they should be having a "New Year's Eve Around The World Party" ~ it's like an all day chatroom that will ring in the new year with each time zone....it helps us stay sober and not feel so "alone" on NYE....I made it through last year and drank chocolate milk!

tekink

Last year was my first sober holiday, although I did fall off for the last time last january. This year will be my second and I'll have 10+ months of sobriety under me. Cristmas wasn't too bad as it was family time at the in-laws and not everyone is a drinker so I was able to hid from it. New Years Eve I work as a DJ at the bar my wife and I own so I was at the front of all the drunk folks, it pretty much sucked but I made it through it. I'm kind of dreading it already but I try not to think about it because I don't need the extra stress.

heavencanwait

Purplrks3647 - Fantastic plans! Sounds like your holidays are set up for success!

heavencanwait

tekink - you can do this! Look how far you have come! Holidays are tough for sure for us....but hang on to your plan....and enjoy a happy, hangover free, sober holiday!

heavencanwait

Also wanted to ad to my thread that another upside to our sobriety is no fear at Checkstops over the holidays! That is such a relief! NO DUI"S!!

heavencanwait

I think I will try and get into the holiday spirit ( as in mood, not drink LOL) next weekend and put up the tree. I adopted a 1 year old ragdoll kitty, (I have owned only dogs, still have my sweet shih-tzu Gizmo), and just hoping that my kitty does not go crazy on the tree. I hear kitty's are inquisitive like that. Yikes...here is hoping.

freeofit

Great topic, Heavencan wait.

heavencanwait

Thanks freeofit! I think sharing our journeys/plans during the holidays is a great support system, and encouraging to hear each others sober plans. Really makes me feel like I am not all alone during this journey.

Purplrks3647

You guys may have seen this already, but it's one of Dee's threads about getting through the holidays.....thought this would be a good place to share

https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...ers-2-0-a.html (Thanksgiving and Xmas Survival Guide vers 2.0)

Dee74

Thanks Purps - and thanks heavencanwait for giving me the motivation to update that thread

D

CansOfOld

I am really oooking forward to the holidays, sober. I’ll be at six months on 12/23.

Sober Thanksgiving, sober Christmas, sober New Years Eve. Ahhhh, that will be so nice.

138 days in and not looking back!

Berrybean

I'll be volunteering at a lunchtime christmas meal at my local cathedral, for people who would otherwise spend christmas alone. I'm expecting that some other AA pals will be helping as well. Then home for my own dinner, chill and relax with a good book.

New Years Eve is Sunday, which hopefully means a home group AA meeting to start the evening off, then either a meal out with Mr BerryBean if he can tear himself away from the pub, or (more likely tbh) drive to an AA New Years Eve party. Although there may be church options as well. I'm not so great at staying up late nowadays though, so wherever I go I'm likely to make my excuses to dissappear early.

BB

August252015

Great post!!

I too, along with my fiance after some big emotional wrangling on my part, decided we would not go to see my parents (step daughter included). Instead, we are going to go out to a favorite nice steak restaurant (both stepkids included) on Thgvg day, and on Wed/Thu we are going to decorate the apt for Christmas (my step daughter and I are SUPER excited about that I feel a new tradition coming on!)

No plans for Christmas yet, but enjoying them as a sober family (my fiance is in recovery too and his younger child lives with us) is definitely the plan.

Hope you all have great todays...and we all keep going with strong holiday plans!

ForestFrenzy

I think back to the last few holidays I celebrated sober; they were quiet, quaint, intimate, warm, peaceful and I was sorry when the ended.

My POA is to remember that and let that be reason to look forward to the holidays. I never did much on NYE but I will probably do something very personal and private, like write down what I want to see happen in the NY and doing a little manifestation prayer with candles and peaceful music.

Great post!

Berrybean

I love the new traditions we start up once we're sober as we get more open minded to trying something different and find things that we enjoy.

One of my families nw traditions is my Mum and Stepdad coming over to my city for lunch in my favourite tea rooms, then my OH and stepdad wander off for a couple of drinks while me and mum go for a wander round the shops or somewhere, then we meet up for Carols and the cathedral. This is the day we exchange any Xmas gifts as we don't get to see each other Xmas day.

BB