Fun Ways to Spend Your New Years Sober
New Year’s is traditionally a night when champagne is consumed like water and party-goers are encouraged to let loose while ushering in the new year. For some, it is a favorite holiday. For those who are recovering addicts or who are on their own path to sobriety, it is a holiday they would love to avoid. It can be difficult enough to remain true to your sober self without a party full of people encouraging you to forget it all for just this one toast. New Years can be stressful and anxiety filled, but it does not have to be. There are a variety of ways in which one can spend their New Years sober while having the most incredible night welcoming in the New Year. Before you decide to stay in this December 31st, take a moment to look over some sober New Year’s ideas. You may just find yourself having the best night of your life.
Mocktail Bash
What makes a party is the people you surround yourself with and the fun that you have. Try hosting a Mocktail Bash. Invite all of your close friends and challenge them to create and bring the best mocktail they can conceive. Set up stations around your home where each mocktail can live and allow each guest to explain to the party what their mocktail is and how they came up with their recipe. Then turn up the music, encourage everyone to try all the drinks, and notice as the ball drops that everyone is having a great time. If you put a group of friends in a room together on New Years, they will discover very quickly that it is not alcohol or substance that makes a party great, it’s the company. And at the end of the night, you will sleep better knowing your friends will get home safely.
New Years, New Place
Maybe you do not feel up to hosting a party this year, but you still want to create memories that you will never forget. New Years is a great time to leave your zip code and discover somewhere new. This allows you to choose how you will spend your New Year’s evening while exploring a territory that is new to you. Taking a few days for yourself (or with a friend) and boarding a plane or zipping up the freeway in your car and exploring a new city or campground is surely a time you will always remember. And there is nothing better than politely declining a party invitation because you will be too busy traversing the globe.
Host a Game Night
Whether people want to admit it or not, everyone loves board games. Host a potluck game night with your sober friends playing your crowd favorites. Competitive juices will get flowing, the laughter will become contagious, and memories will be made. Hosting a potluck game night allows you to eliminate the fear of going out, and lets everyone contribute to the party with their favorite dish of food. Not only are these nights truly enjoyable, but it gives you an opportunity to get to know your sober friends even better.
Dance Party!
If you are a music lover who likes to move, ring in your new year by hosting or attending a dance party. There is no amount of people too big or too small to make a dance party successful. All you need is a playlist of music you enjoy and a space to dance. Whether it is with a loved one or a group of friends or strangers, dancing gets your heart-rate up and will make the night fly by. By the time the clock strikes midnight, you will likely find yourself so tired all you will want is to put your head on your pillow and sleep the night away.
Prepare for Brunch
For those that are not a fan of New Years because of the stresses it can bring, but also because they are not night owls, then spend your evening relaxing while preparing for your New Year’s Day. As a majority of the population sleeps in, most towns and cities become quiet sanctuaries on New Year’s morning. Take advantage of this by tucking yourself in early and rising even earlier. Find a park or area you enjoy and go for a morning walk, stretch and/or read the paper. Then treat yourself to a brunch while you document your resolutions for the year. It is a morning like this that you will truly appreciate how good a sober life, and a sober New Year is.
If you find yourself stressing out that New Years is rapidly approaching and you need to spend your evening sober, fret no more. There are countless ways to make this the greatest, most memorable New Years of your life without a single threat to your sobriety or recovery. All it takes is a little outside-the-box thinking and a willingness to have a lot of fun.
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