Hi there! So how is your sober December going so far? Have you been following any of the hints and tips from my last post How To Have A Sober Christmas To Remember!and have they helped at all?
There has been so many social media soberistas posting all over Instagram about surviving the Christmas festivities without the alcohol that seems to be everywhere at this time of year! As always I highly recommend Claire Pooley aka Sober Mummy and also Jade @soberlivinguk if your looking for further help.
It is SO weird to think that there are all these people out there who don’t want to drink at Christmas. For years I just thought everyone was like how I used to be and saw Christmas as an opportunity to down wine most nights and feel crappy most days – who knew that there is a whole new world of people who celebrate it sober. I love it!!
I have had a lot of messages asking for sober help for people going away on holiday at Christmas time. I did a whole post on this over the summer that covers beach holidays and you can find this at Happy, Healthy Holidays!
Now if your looking at heading off for a winter ski holiday, I can only offer a sober perspective because my first skiing holiday was in Dec 2016 when I had just stopped drinking. Personally I have found learning to ski pretty difficult and I have no idea how people manage it after a few drinks!
So are you off to the slopes this Christmas? Are you worrying about the Après Ski and all the mulled wine or baileys hot chocolates that are served everywhere? I can see how skiing can be a very boozy holiday for some, its all about the après ski and cosying up in a bar by the log fire with a drink to “warm you through” after all you DESERVE a drink after all that skiing right? I can certainly see how people tell themselves that.
Skiing is the most exhilarating kind of holiday I have ever been on. The cold crisp air, the early mornings being the first people up the mountain, the adrenaline rush from pushing yourself, new challenges everyday. Alcohol would completely take that away, it would blur that natural high that you get just from being in such a beautiful place and taking part in such an amazing sport that takes your breath away (literally)!
Now on both of my ski holidays I have had a couple of accidents (not my fault – honest!) The first was just a small crash with another skier, and to be honest my pride was hurt more than anything. But it was a holiday full of challenges, anxiety and with that crash happening too and only a few weeks of sobriety under my belt I did feel like I could have easily hit the wine.
When I went away last Christmas you could say my accident was a bit more serious and after suffering a bad fall I had to have an emergency skidoo take me off the mountain after twisting my knee. Lets just say the pain was up there with labour but the worst was being told I couldn’t ski for the rest of the holiday. I was absolutely gutted and had to really dig deep to try to put a brave face on for my girls. The old me would have definitely hit the hotel bar to drown my sorrows. Instead I found comfort in reading the sober books I had brought and having lots of full cream cappuccino’s with a bag of peanut M&M’s on the side (never underestimate the healing power of good coffee and chocolate!) If only my blog and Instagram pages were set up then I could have turned to you guys for support.
Now although I wasn’t drinking on either of these holidays I was certainly the old drinking me when I learnt to ski at the Chill Factor Manchester. The lessons were spread over a few weekends so that I could learn with the kids and yes some mornings I had a hangover from hell (even being sick in the toilets one Sunday, nothing to be proud of I know!) I just can’t get my head around the thought of skiing and drinking, I mean I am clumsy and fall over without the booze so I would probably need to carry a health warning to ski after a few drinks!
A sober skiing holiday has so much to offer:
- Hangover free mornings – nothing beats getting on the slopes first thing whilst the masses lay hungover in bed plus you can’t help but feel fresh and alive with the beautiful crisp air!
- Delicious food – skiing burns off a record number of calorie’s so enjoy the delicious food on offer and the fresh cream coffees and hot chocolates – it’s Christmas too so enjoy!
- You are physically exhausted by the evening so snuggle up with a DVD and chill, it certainly beats being freezing cold and stumbling from bar to bar in the snow at midnight!
- Feel proud of yourself – skiing is difficult and no matter what level you are at it is certainly an achievement in itself!
- Make precious memories of your holiday, you cant take a bad picture on a skiing holiday because the scenery is just awesome everywhere you look! Take lots of photos and videos, the sober and hangover free you will have much more patience to stop and take it all in.
In general I think skiing shares a lot of similarities to getting sober. It’s not at all easy, you have to want to do it and sometimes you just really want to give up. However, after all the blood, sweat and tears the actual feeling of doing it and the benefits are so unbelievable and you get a real sense of achievement! It is just so worth it!
I hope this helps anyone planning their first sober winter holiday. Have any of you got any sober holiday tips, or any stories or advice to share?
If you are looking for daily sober inspiration then please find me on Instagram @liftingweightsnotwine
I hope you have a fabulous, sparkly and sober week and don’t forget lets make this a December to remember!
Angie xx
Find Your Sober Glow! 