Ideas For A Tiny Taper In December To Ease Dry Jan

A festive little vial of a potent blend of ginger and 11 other plants in this delicious Elixir of Paris, a product I discovered at an outdoor holiday market.

Ever felt like Dry January seemed way too daunting and that you almost wished you had a training program to get ready for it?!

Here are a few ideas to help you shrink the drink…just a tad…in December in a way that it might not even feel noticeable and will almost certainly result in a more meaningful, festive season.

As the French say all the time in English, Lez Go!

Take charge of your holiday schedule! Don’t just let the dates fill up with the invitations/needs/preferences of others. What do YOU want to do this holiday season? Plan at least one thing. Do you want to go snow shoeing, attend a service or concert, ice skate, see a matinee of a fave holiday movie, learn to make a buche de noel or holiday tamales, visit a museum, do a volunteer shift, take a day trip, cut down your own Christmas tree, invite some friends to do a holiday fun-run?? Plan something that you want to do that doesn’t revolve around alcohol and just do it!

Think mug not stemmed glass! Buy some rocking great tea or hot chocolate or functional elixirs of your choice and switch over to that ritual immediately after meals.

Soak in it! Buy some fab or retro bath beads or bombs and make this season insanely soapy and silky.

Zebra-stripe! That’s when you go back and forth between alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks. Buy a great non-alcoholic alternative. A few really versatile ones would be Ghia, Figlia, Three Spirit Livener or Rose City Fizz, because all can be consumed on their own or made into a very chic spritz (or made into cocktails with alcohol).

BYOB! Bring your own NA, and you’ll probably want to bring enough to share because more and more people are cutting back. Check my resources page for suggestions.

Up the ice game! Make festive cubes and add them to your drinks including wine to add flair and to dilute.

Spritz it! Add a splash of non-alcoholic sparkling wine to your wine glass.

Eat first! Knock back cravings with a daily late-afternoon snack of high-protein and good fat foods like olives, nuts, cheese, hummus, guacamole, or peanut butter that will keep blood sugar balanced.

Do new! Novelty gives the brain a giant boost. Explore, try or do something new.

Try at least one fun food indulgence…gourmet take out? an upscale market? a decadent delivery service? a fruit or vegetable you’ve never tried before? one new recipe?

Hydrate! Drink a big glass of water just before wine o’clock.

Delay! Go for a 20 minute walk with a podcast at normal wine-o’clock.

Keep your hands busy! Lots of people can delay drinking or shrink the drink session by knitting or coloring. Maybe you want to write out some holiday cards, with actual written messages to a few key friends.

Buddy system! Find someone else who wants to shrink the drink just a tad in December and text each other inspirational messages and photos of your halfsies or NA drink, etc.

Early bird! Make early morning plans to see friends for an invigorating walk and coffee klatch as a way to motivate to get to bed earlier.

Night owl! Notice if you actually have MORE energy to stay out later and be more social when you drink less?!

Please share your tips below! And email me with any questions or consider joining in for my Dry January program called Luscious 30!!