One of my favourite traditions at The Sober School happens every December.
I ask the women I’ve coached throughout the year if they’d be happy to send me a photo of their alcohol-free highlight of the year.
The pictures that come back are incredible. Sometimes it’s a moment they’re grateful they were able to experience, sober. Other times it’s something that would never have happened if they’d still been drinking.
These aren’t stock photos or posed shots – they’re real life glimpses into what a happy, alcohol-free life can look like. I can’t wait to share them with you in today’s video.
What about you?
If you’ve got a favourite alcohol-free highlight that you’d like to share, let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear about it!
If you feel inspired by these photos and you’d like to make a fresh start in 2026, make sure you join my free New Year Masterclass! It starts just after Christmas. Fill out the form below to join.
Not drinking at Christmas?! I know it might sound a bit… boring. Maybe even impossible.
When I was drinking, I couldn’t imagine getting through the festive season without alcohol.
All those parties, family gatherings, shopping, the stress of it – wine just seemed like an unmissable part of things.
But here’s what I’ve discovered since stopping: an alcohol-free Christmas is actually brilliant. Nowadays, you really couldn’t pay me enough to drink at this time of year.
Here are 10 reasons why being sober at Christmas is better than you think…
Key points
1. No embarrassing mistakes
Whether it’s putting the wrong labels on presents, forgetting something really important or doing something at your office party that you later regret… alcohol dramatically increases the chances of you doing something you later cringe at!
2. You have more energy
This is a tiring time of year. There are 101 things to sort out and I bet it’s mainly you who’s responsible for making it all happen, right? Not drinking will give you more energy and headspace for figuring this stuff out.
3. Your money goes further
If finances are tight right now, take a moment to work out how much you normally spend on booze at this time of year. This is a month when most of us go out more than usual. Drinking alcohol is guaranteed to make your bar bill much bigger.
4. Driving yourself home!
I still love being able to jump in my car at the end of a great night and drive myself home. No waiting around for a taxi, trying to flag one down or paying for an expensive Uber. Being able to go out and then leave exactly when you want to feels very freeing.
5. Less drama
Real life isn’t like a Christmas card. Real families argue and things go wrong. However, the chances of you getting into a row, or overreacting to something are massively reduced when you’re sober at Christmas.
6. Guilt-free festive food
A slice of Christmas cake contains at least 200 calories. A large glass of wine also contains around 200 calories. If you aren’t drinking, you’ve got room to indulge a bit more without feeling guilty!
7. Looking better
Alcohol dehydrates the skin, increases redness and can make you look puffy and bloated. It’s not a good look, and makeup can’t always hide it. I ask everyone I work with to take a before and after picture because your appearance will inevitably change.
8. No more acting
Pretending to be hangover-free and bursting with energy is draining. Trying to sneak a few extra drinks here and there without anyone noticing is also hard work… and that’s the last thing any of us needs.
9. More time
Sobriety gives you extra time in the day, which just feels great at this time of year. When you’re drinking, you don’t just lose time being drunk – it’s the sluggishness afterwards, the time lost worrying and the time spent putting things right and beating yourself up.
10. Make memories (instead of forgetting them)
At the end of the day, this is what this crazy time of year is all about, isn’t it? Alcohol robs you of your memories and can leave the most special days blurry and forgettable. Being sober at Christmas gives you those special moments back… and you can’t put a price on that.
Ready to create an alcohol-free life you love? Click here to learn more about my Getting Unstuck course.
Alcohol seems to be everywhere at this time of year.
It’s piled high in the shops on special offer. It’s on the Christmas cards with those “GIN-gle bells” jokes. It’s in every advert on TV and at pretty much every festive gathering.
When alcohol is connected to everything, it’s easy to lose your way or feel as if you’re missing out.
So here are four reminders you just might need to hear right now.
Key points
Alcohol is not magic joy juice.
It’s not fun in a bottle or liquid happiness. How do we know? Because of all those times when you’ve drunk loads and haven’t had a good time. Alcohol doesn’t have the power to transform a boring or bad situation into a good one. Otherwise every single night drinking would be fun. People wouldn’t get into arguments. The reality is that drinking at a bad party just means you’re getting drunk at a bad party.
If you want the festive season to be memorable, you’ve got to be sober for it.
Everyone talks about creating special Christmas memories, yet alcohol literally deletes your ability to remember things. When you look back on previous years – honestly – what was the true cost of drinking? I remember Christmas Days, forgotten presents, nearly-burnt dinners, and hours spent feeling dreadful wishing the day would end.
Sobriety is worth the awkwardness!
Yes, it can feel uncomfortable to turn down the offer of an alcoholic drink or have people asking questions. But that discomfort is relatively short-lived. It’s nothing compared to the weeks of discomfort that you’ll go through if you drink and break a promise to yourself.
Alcohol doesn’t fix your problems – it keeps you stuck with them.
Christmas can highlight what’s missing or not working in your life. It’s tempting to drink to avoid thinking about absent people, difficult relationships, or unmet expectations. Whilst it’s tempting to paper over the cracks with alcohol, that’s also a trap because drinking means you’re less likely to take action and more likely to decide you’re unable to change.
Ready to create an alcohol-free life you love? Click here to learn more about my Getting Unstuck course.
You’re at a family gathering and notice that your cousin leaves without finishing their glass.
Then go to your work Christmas party and you’re sure that one of your colleagues has nursed the same drink all evening (and seems perfectly content).
Meanwhile, you’re on your third glass and counting down until you can leave, go home and drink properly.
So why can other people take it or leave it when you can’t? Let’s talk about it.
Key points
You’re not broken or lacking willpower
First things first: other people aren’t take-it-or-leave-it drinkers because they’re better humans than you. They’re not more disciplined, more controlled or more evolved. You don’t have a disease and you’re not broken or weird. You just have a coping mechanism that’s not working for you anymore. That’s it.
You might be wrong about other people
First things first: are you SURE these other people are take-it-or-leave-it drinkers? I ask because I bet there are people in your life who have no idea how much you drink at home. They’ve seen you drinking quite moderately in public and have no idea how much you drink at home. Unless you’re with someone all day, it’s hard to know exactly how much other people drink.
Alcohol might not be their thing
A lot of take-it-or-leave-it drinkers don’t get excited about alcohol because they have a different crutch. Maybe it’s food and they struggle with their weight. Maybe it’s gambling, overspending, overworking. I bet there’s something you know other people struggle with that you don’t, because that thing isn’t your thing.
Take-it-or-leave-it drinkers often dislike being drunk
What if the thing you thought was so great about drinking is the thing they hate? Some people don’t like the weird, dizzy sensation. They don’t like losing control. This means that the very thing you’re looking for at the bottom of a bottle is the thing they’re trying to avoid at all costs. Not wanting to be drunk is, obviously, a strong deterrent to drinking more!
They might be comfortable feeling their feelings
Consider for a moment how often you drink because you’re trying to escape something – stress, sadness, loneliness, frustration, resentment. What if you’d learned how to be okay with those big feelings and didn’t need something outside yourself to manage them? That would really reduce your desire to drink – right? Most of us haven’t been taught how to manage our feelings, but some take-it-or-leave-it drinkers do know this.
Stop comparing and focus on you
I hope this post has provided some answers. But to be honest – there comes a point in all this when you’ve got to stop comparing yourself to other people and focus on what’s right for you. What if it’s okay that other people drink and do their thing, because that’s the right choice for them? And what if the right choice for you is taking a break from drinking? You might not be thrilled about the idea, but I promise – it could be the best thing you ever do.
Ready to create an alcohol-free life you love? Click here to learn more about my Getting Unstuck course.
The invitations are starting to roll in: Christmas parties, family gatherings, work dos, dinners with friends, Thanksgiving…
And you just know that whenever there’s something to celebrate, alcohol is going to be involved.
If you’re newly sober (or trying to be), how on earth do you handle this? How do you tell people that (gasp!) you’re not drinking this festive season?
Maybe you’re still drinking right now because the thought of explaining why you’re not drinking just feels like too much.
Here’s how to navigate those conversations with confidence.
Key points
Get your own head straight first
Before you worry about what to say to anyone else, you need to believe – in your bones – that what you’re doing is completely fine. Because it is! You’re just choosing to put a different liquid in your glass. I know that statement massively simplifies all of this, but it’s true.
The liquid you were drinking before wasn’t making you feel great, so now you’re choosing something different. You’re allowed to do that. Remind that worried part of your brain that what you’re doing really isn’t radical or unreasonable. You’ve got nothing to apologise for.
Have a simple line ready
Although no one is owed a blow-by-blow account of why you’ve stopped drinking, it makes sense that some people will ask about it, if they’re used to seeing you drink. Don’t misinterpret their questions as an attack – often people are just curious. Or nosy. Or not really thinking!
So you need a simple explanation that feels good to say but is also firm, confident and clear. Something like:
– “I’m taking a complete break from alcohol because my hangovers are so much worse in perimenopause. It’s just not worth it for me and I’m enjoying not drinking.”
– “Even half a glass messes up my sleep these days. So I thought I’d see what’d happen if I took a complete break for a while and so far, I’m noticing a big improvement. I’m curious to see if things continue to improve.”
– “Alcohol makes my anxiety so much worse the next day. My doctor recommended I take a complete break from drinking for a while, so that’s what I’m doing. I’ve been surprised by how little I’ve missed drinking.”
Notice how these answers aren’t dramatic. They don’t over explain. They also include something positive, which helps to position this as a decision that’s going well for you and isn’t up for negotiation.
Communicate in advance if you can
If possible, let people know before the event. Then you don’t have to think on your feet because it’s already been said. You’re managing expectations and building in some accountability for yourself because you’ve told people what to expect.
The other advantage to having these conversations in advance is that if you’re going to someone’s home, you can plan what you want to drink instead. You don’t want to be left with nothing but water because the host was surprised and didn’t cater for you. You could offer to bring an alcohol-free punch that others can enjoy too.
Remember, most people will be fine about it
When you tell people you’re not drinking, I think you’ll be surprised how many don’t care! When alcohol has been a big deal to you for a long time, it’s easy to assume everyone feels the same way. But for many others, what you do and don’t drink isn’t that interesting.
Besides, other people change too. Even old drinking buddies – who you were certain would be outraged if you didn’t join them for a drink – might surprise you with their open mindedness or willingness to do something different!
If someone just won’t let it drop…
This is annoying, I know. Remind yourself that you’re not responsible for their happiness. Because honestly, If they need you to drink the same liquid as them so they can feel okay about their own choices… that’s their problem.
A question I love to use here is: “Why is it important to you that I drink?” Their answer to this often reveals something useful. Sometimes people are just convinced you’re not having a good time, sober, and that’s why they keep pushing. Once you know that, you can reassure them you’re having a good time, alcohol-free.
Ready to create an alcohol-free life you love? Click here to learn more about my Getting Unstuck course.
I used to try really hard to ‘be good’ and stay sober from Monday to Thursday.
(I could get my head around staying alcohol free during the working week. But a sober Friday, Saturday and Sunday? That didn’t seem possible.)
Because I wasn’t ready to quit completely, being good during the week seemed like the next best thing.
But what I didn’t realise is that there’s a huge problem with Monday to Thursday sobriety – and that’s what I’m talking about in this video.
Key points
You’re repeating the hardest part over and over
The early days of not drinking are some of the toughest. When you only stop for four days at a time, you force yourself to experience them again and again and again. In a four-day window of sobriety, you barely get alcohol out of your system. And because it’s such a short window, you don’t get enough time to form new habits or have any breakthroughs.
Without realising it, you only ever experience the difficult bit and never reach the good days, because you don’t stick with it long enough. When I look back on my own struggle with alcohol, I can see what an unhelpful pattern I was in. No wonder sobriety felt miserable and unsustainable!
You’re teaching your brain that sobriety only works on “boring” days
If you’re only ever sober during the working week, you subconsciously teach yourself that alcohol-free living is only possible when you’re in a routine, at work and not doing anything fun. You’re treating sobriety like a strict diet – i.e. deprive yourself for a few days, then have a blowout at the weekend.
Long-term, successful sobriety happens when you realise you can live a full and happy life without alcohol, no matter what day it is. But in order for that breakthrough to happen, you do have to be willing to practise being alcohol-free at the weekend too.
You don’t get time to do the real work
When I was repeatedly stopping for a few days at a time, I never had time to work on my sobriety. All I could really do is cross my fingers and hope for the best! It was sheer willpower and a sense of “I really should do this” that got me through wine o’clock without drinking.
When you’re in this pattern, you don’t have time to get clear on why you’ve been drinking in the first place. You can’t tackle root causes, find new healthy coping mechanisms, work on your mindset or educate yourself about how alcohol affects your mind and body. There simply isn’t time.
So – is this pattern actually working for you?
When you’re in the thick of it, you don’t always get a moment to step back and ask yourself this question. I invite you to do this today. If you’re genuinely happy “being good” during the week and then drinking through every weekend, no problem. But if you’re not happy, it might be time to change things up by taking a longer break from drinking.
If that’s intimidating right now, it’s ok. But consider this: what if you weren’t doing this alone? What if you had support to handle things sober? This is what I help women with at The Sober School. What if you could actually feel so good on your not-drinking days that you genuinely wanted more of them? I promise this is possible for you – if it wasn’t, no one would choose to stay alcohol free!
Ready to create an alcohol-free life you love? Click here to learn more about my Getting Unstuck course.
“Would I ever be able to control my drinking so it’s just one glass of wine when I go out for dinner?”
Maybe you can get on board with being sober most of the time, but there are a few situations where you just can’t imagine not drinking. A nice meal out. A holiday. A celebration.
In an ideal world, you’d love to be able to drink on those occasions. So can you get there? Let’s talk about it.
Key points
You must begin with a complete break first
If you’re anything like me, you probably won’t want to hear this. But if you’d like to become a take-it-or-leave-it drinker, you do need to practise the “leaving it” part for a good long while first. You need to build up that sober muscle and get used to not drinking. Because if you really want to be that “just one drink on a special occasion” person, then sobriety is going to have to become your norm, most of the time.
Taking a complete break gives you time to work on fixing the things that got you drinking in the first place. More often than not, your drinking is filling a gap for something you’re missing or a skill you don’t have yet. So you might need to do some work on creating new coping mechanisms and handling life a bit differently. This is the work we do inside my Getting Unstuck coaching programme.
After doing the work, the question changes
If you take a proper break from drinking (anything from 6 weeks to 100 days) and do it right, you’ll come out the other side feeling great physically and mentally. If you do your myth busting work and find new coping mechanisms and let new habits form, you will feel very different about alcohol. You’ll be much less impressed and drawn to it. You might actually feel free from it.
So then the question shifts. It stops being “Can I have one glass of wine with dinner” and becomes “Why would I want one glass of wine with dinner? What would be the point?” That’s the place I’m at these days and this is what I want for you too. This position puts you in control again. When I was drinking, I never thought I’d stop loving wine, but now I don’t even like the smell of it!
What’s realistic here?
Let’s say you stop for a while but you don’t do the mindset work or get coached through this, and at the end you still miss wine. Could you go back to drinking occasionally? It’s not impossible, but it’s not likely. Just think about what you’d say to a smoker, who took a break from smoking and then planned to only light up on “special occasions”. It’s risky, right?
I often work with women who’ve stopped for a while and then gone back to drinking “a bit,” only for it to slowly increase again. Sometimes the effort of trying to stop after just one glass of wine takes up so much mental energy, it’s not worth it. There’s nothing shameful about this. I think going back to drinking can be part of the journey and help you figure out what you really want.
The good news…
The main thing I want you to understand here is that there is a way out of this that feels genuinely good. Your choice isn’t between “drink and be miserable” or “stay sober and be miserable.” There’s a way of doing this that leaves you feeling so good, you don’t even want that glass of wine with dinner anymore. This is something I can support you with inside my Getting Unstuck coaching programme.
