Sobering thoughts: How to stay off the booze at Christmas

January 2015 will mark Suzanne Harrington's ninth year off the booze. Here she offers up advice for ex-drinkers and their families at one of the most alcohol-drenched times of the year.

Tis the season to be jolly. Merry, boozy, drinky. Even non-drinkers drink at Christmas. Sticky liqueurs, weirdy egg nog, disproportionate amounts of sherry — and that’s before you ever consider the bubbly, the wines, the cocktails, the spirits.

But what if you don’t drink? What do non-drinkers do at Christmas? By non-drinkers, I mean the kind who used to drink like it was Christmas every day. You know, a problem drinker who has since realised it’s a problem and stopped drinking. How do you now navigate the booziest time of the year, in a country where saying ‘I don’t drink’ is like saying ‘I am part lizard’? Where every major sporting event is sponsored by drinks companies? Where drinking seems to be imprinted in our DNA?