Reasons to take a break from alcohol this November

Why not support dryvember and have a go at giving up alcohol in the run up to Christmas? We’ve put together a few reasons why it’s not a bad thing to have a break from drinking from time to time.

You don’t have to give up for a whole month (half of us who have tried this fail!), so we suggest a marathon of 26 days (giving you 4 days off for birthdays and celebrations) a half marathon (13 days) or giving up during Alcohol Awareness Week between the 17th and 23rd November. There will be prizes for the funniest alcofreeselfies that are posted during the month, including a day at a 5 star health spa.

6 reasons to have a go at the dryvember Christmas pretox challenge

1 Save money

Christmas is an expensive time, so you can help save up for extra presents or those nights on the town by swapping to soft drinks in November. Add up the cost of a couple of bottles of wine a week, a few beers, that trip to the pub? we bet it’s at least £20 or £30 a week? why not donate the cost of your favourite tipple each week to The Alcohol Education Trust and save the rest for Christmas?

2 Lose weight

tighten a notch on your belt or slip into that cocktail dress a little easier this Christmas by having a break from alcohol. Although alcohol is fat free it’s very high in calories – 100 in glass of dry wine or a half pint. Be careful not to substitute with sugary drinks and juices though as these can be high in calories too! Dryvember are posting mocktail recipes and non alcoholic drink ideas throughout the month to stop you getting bored, take a look via: www.dryvember.com

3 Having a bit of time off the booze stops you slipping into bad habits

Although there’s no reason to give up alcohol if you drink sensibly, having a break from the booze gives you a chance to see if you’re slipping into bad habits – sinking onto the sofa as soon as you’re home from work or when you’ve put the kids to bed with a large glass of something? you then find the whole evening’s gone?

4 An excuse to try something new

You might find you want to be distracted or have more energy in the evening, so you could go to an exercise class, go swimming or join a gym for a month instead? Dryvember have posted lots of ideas such as having a book swap evening or a vintage tea party instead of a few drinks.

5 Make yourself very popular with your partner or mates

No need for taxis or an argument over whose driving home if you’re not drinking! Earn lots of brownie points in time for the festive season, when it will be someone else’s turn to drive!

6 Help raise money for a really good cause

Any money you donate will help The Alcohol Education Trust make a real difference in schools across Britain – we train teachers, reach out to parents and support pupils aged 11–18 with the talkaboutalcohol programme.

Talkaboutalcohol is proven to delay the uptake of drinking among our kids – that means better GCSE results, less smoking and experimenting with other things too.