'I'm celebrating Christmas sober - I won't be missing out because of this festive mocktail'
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In the summer, I reached one year sober - quite the milestone and I was very proud of myself. Like many people, over the years, I’d become more and more curious about sober living. The anxiety that plagued me after even a few drinks became so crippling, the slight buzz of a cocktail or glass of cider in the sunshine just wasn’t worth it anymore.
That being said, Christmas and, let’s face it, the whole of December, seems centred around having a few festive fizzes, cocktails, and alcoholic winter warmers like mulled wine and Baileys hot chocolate - and I don’t want to miss out. My fiancé and I alternate whose family we spend Christmas with. Last year, we were with my parents and my first sober Christmas was a relative breeze. My dad, a typical Yorkshire man through and through, was completely baffled by my decision to forgo alcohol but he’s very accepting and after getting over the initial shock, it wasn’t brought up again.
READ MORE: 'I'm an American living in UK – what Brits do on Christmas blew my mind'. This year, we’ll be with my partner’s family and every Christmas we’ve spent with them over our 13 year relationship has involved me and my future mother-in-law enjoying a retro, though no less delicious, Snowball cocktail.
A standard Snowball, perfectly demonstrated here on TikTok, is made with Advocaat, lemonade, a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a maraschino cherry garnish. I love them - they’re sweet, creamy, and wonderfully festive. This year, though, I will be forgoing a Snowball and not wanting to miss out on the tradition, I’ve found an alcohol-free version. This is achieved by combining a recipe for homemade ‘eggnog’, which is similar to the consistency of Advocaat minus the booze, with the rest of the alcohol free elements of the original cocktail.