To have a chance at staying alcohol-free this Christmas, I must be prepared. To prepare, I need to know what alternatives I can have that will a) taste good and b) give me the feeling that I am not missing out. So, I’ve done my research. I have tasted a variety of alcohol-free drinks to come up with booze-free alternatives to my Christmas favourites.

This Christmas, I will be switching to 8 alcohol-free drinks.

Christmas Day Morning

• Swap this – Bucks Fizz
• Sparkling Mead

The Christmas morning ritual in our home is as follows: While we enjoy a cup coffee, the kids open their stockings in our room. We eat a few chocolate coins while finishing our coffee, and then go downstairs to unwrap the big presents. We usually drink our first alcohol during this time, because it’s Christmas, right? There are no rules. Bucks Fuzz with chocolate brioche is the perfect way to start your day. We only use the glasses we bought on our honeymoon in Singapore for this tradition. It’s almost ritualistic.

The non alcoholic sparkling mead by Bemuse makes a great alternative to the Buck’s Fizz I usually drink at Christmas. You can choose from Ginger & Cardamom (my favourite), Tarragon & Basil (my second favourite), Wild Raspberry Rose (my third favorite), Original Hops, Original Brut and Wild Raspberry Rose. Or you can mix it with orange juice to make an alcohol-free Buck’s Fizz. Wild Raspberry is my personal favourite, but all the flavours are great. The mead drink is fermented honey, so I was worried that they would be overly sweet. However, you can still taste the honey, and the drinks aren’t at all sweet.

These Bemuse drinks make me feel like I’m still part of the Christmas morning ceremony that I’m so used to. I can drink them straight, make a Bucks Fizz, or even have them in my own special glass. I don’t feel like I am missing out.

Enjoying Family Reunions at Festive Times

• Mulled Wine Swap this
• Mulled Cider – for This

Mulled wine is Christmas in a cup, right? You could certainly heat up alcohol-free red wine and add the spices, but I haven’t found a nonalcoholic wine that has the same flavours as a good mulled red wine. Instead of trying to replicate mulled wines, I suggest you try mulled apple cider.

This is going to be a completely transparent post, but it opens up a can of worms about the non-alcoholic aspect. The cider I used was made by Maiden Mill in Somerset (because, let’s face it, all the best cider is produced there, right?) The cider is a medium dry, medium golden and 0.5% ABV. Here’s what you need to know about alcohol-free products. In the UK, a product must have a 0.05% ABV in order to be classified as such. If the same product is available in Europe and the US, it can be labelled as alcohol-free with a 0.5% ABV. Before Brexit, there would have been no difference between the same product in different countries. You won’t get drunk if you consume something with 0.5% ABV. Some fruit juices, yogurts, and other products contain alcohol that is as high, or even higher, than 0.5% ABV. This helps to put things in perspective. For the sake of clarity, this cider can’t be officially labelled as ‘alcohol-free’.

Let’s get started. The Maiden Mill Cider is tasty on its own, but I associate it with summer drinking. So I will spice things up and turn this into mulled apple cider.

This is the recipe that I use most often:

• Buy 1 bottle of Maiden Mill Cider
• Cloves
• 2 Star Anise
• Nutmeg grated
• 2 Cinnamon Sticks
• 50ml Orange Juice
• 50ml Pomegranate Juice
• Caster Sugar, 1 Teaspoon

Pour all the ingredients into a pan and heat on low heat. When you see steam rising off the cider, it’s ready. Pour into heatproof glassware – I use the butterbeer one I got at Harry Potter Studio Tour – and garnish with a stick of cinnamon to serve as a stirrer.

Winter Walks

• Switch This
• This is alcohol free beer

I love taking a walk on Christmas morning. We have a dog so we always need to go out, but we usually wait for my son to wake up before we drag our daughter out, dressed in festive Santa hats and reindeer antlers. We moved to a new home last year and were incredibly lucky that the house backs onto a forest. This means we can literally take amazing walks from our front door. The Christmas Day walk is my favorite. I enjoy walks all year round, but it’s even better on that day. It’s almost always just us and the world. It is truly magical.

It’s nice after a winter walk to sit outside in our layers in the garden and drink a beer. It’s not often that I drink beer, but this was one of those occasions. It’s important to drink water after a long walk. But I found a beer with other benefits.

ERDINGER Alkoholfrei would be another product that I have on my list which is officially labelled as “low alcohol” in the UK. Although it contains less than 0.5% of alcohol, as we’ve seen above, that doesn’t mean that the product is ‘alcohol-free’. We know what the deal is. This beer is produced since 2001, which makes it a much older product than most other non-alcoholic beers. In addition to attracting non-drinkers, ERDINGER Alkoholfrei also targets athletes and sportspeople. It’s low alcohol content makes it healthier than regular beers. But it also has isotonic qualities, because it contains vitamins B9, B12 and helps quench thirst. It’s not that my Christmas morning walks will be strenuous. Far from it. But it’s nice to know that I can put something healthy into my body and it also tastes like beer.

It tastes like a malty, slightly spicy beer, and is also light and refreshing. I don’t drink beer very often, so this was a great find for me. The best part is that there’s no chemical taste aftertaste, as you sometimes get with low or alcohol-free beer. This is a tasty, thirst-quenching weissbeer that’s perfect for drinking after a walk.

Drinks with Friends

• Swap this G&T
• This is alcohol free gin

I love gin, so finding an alternative that is also tasty is important to me. It doesn’t matter if it’s ginger ale with rhubarb, a gin-and-tonic or a gin drink. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without gin. This year, however, as I don’t drink alcohol, I have been on a quest to find an authentic and delicious alcohol-free gin that will make me feel like I am not missing out. And I found one!

Clean Co’s gin, which is alcohol-free, is made from a blend of aromatic botanicals and juniper. It’s important to pack in the flavours so you get a drink as close as possible to the real deal, but without the harsh alcohol taste. Clean Co has done exactly that with Clean G. It is crisp, dry and makes for a better G&T in my opinion than the alcoholic version. When you stop drinking alcohol, your taste buds will change. You will no longer be tempted by alcohol, and your taste buds will change.

Clean Co makes Clean G Rhubarb as well as Clean G. This is a great alternative to the rhubarb ginger ale and gin that I love. This was the one drink I knew I would miss after I stopped drinking alcohol. But thanks to Clean Co, I don’t have to completely give up this drink. This non-alcoholic Gin has the same taste and style as the alcoholic version (just look at that gorgeous bottle!). It is also free of a hangover. I will be drinking it all through Christmas and beyond.

Christmas Hot Tub Dip

• Switch This Beer
• This – Alcohol-Free IPA

It’s always a treat to jump into the hot tub on Christmas Day, especially when it’s cold outside or it’s raining. A Christmas hot tub soak wouldn’t be complete without a Santa Hat on my head, and a can of cold drink in my hands. As I don’t drink alcohol, this year I will replace my usual cans of pre-mixed gin with a can Big Drop Brewing Co Poolside IPA. It’s a light, refreshing alcohol-free IPA that has a nice citrus zing. Truthfully, the name was what attracted me to this beer. It’s a summery IPA, but I liked it anyway. If I want to drink in the hot-tub, then something like Poolside is perfect.

Big Drop has a variety of beers to choose from if you want something different. There is a beer for everyone, from milk stout to pale ale and craft lager, and even IPAs. Big Drop’s beers are made with a unique blend of barley, wheat, rye and oats. It’s important to note that alcohol-free drinks have to be a bit more creative than alcoholic beverages because they need to taste great. Most people don’t buy them to get drunk, and they lack the brand loyalty and well-established reputation of the alcohol brands. Taste is important. It must not only taste good but also special and better than the alcohol versions. Big Drop has succeeded in a challenging task. When alcohol-free beer tastes so good, I think I could even convince my husband to swap out his usual lager for one of these non alcoholic versions.

After dinner drinks

• Swap this – Irish Coffee
• This is a rum-free hot toddy

This was something I had never heard of before. I knew about alcohol-free wine, beer and even gin. But this was new to me. Clean R is rum that is alcohol-free. I love it!

It is a great rum substitute. The flavours are warm golden caramel spices, with a hint cayenne pepper for a kick at the finish. It shouldn’t, but it works. It’s a very versatile drink. It can be mixed into cocktails, drank straight with cola or, as I prefer, poured into coffee for a hot toddy.

You can use alcohol-free rum in a variety of ways.

1. Mincepies – Making your own mincemeat to fill your mince pies. Add some Clean Co rum to the mincemeat mix for a richer flavour.
2. Eggnog For a classic Christmas treat, whisk together 2 yolks of eggs and 3 tablespoons sugar until fluffy. Pour in 100ml milk, 100ml cream and 100ml alcohol-free rum. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold them into the rum mix. Pour into glasses, and sprinkle with grated nutmeg.
3. Hot Buttered rum – In a large bowl, combine 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1 tablespoon soft light brown sugar. Pour 100ml non-alcoholic rum into a bowl and add 2 tablespoons melted unsalted Butter. Pour into two heatproof glasses, mugs or cups and top each one with 100ml boiling water. Stir with a cinnamonstick. This will warm you up right away!
4. Rum cream — Looking for a brandy butter alternative to serve with your Christmas pudding. Whip some Clean R with sugar and double cream to make a delicious dessert accompaniment.

Christmas Dinner

• Swap this Prosecco
• Sparkling Tea

When a friend first told me about this tea, I was not entirely convinced. Real Drinks makes non alcoholic sparkling teas. Yep, that’s right, tea. As a non-tea drank, I wasn’t too enthused. But I’m now a convert. Real offers four different kinds of sparkling tea: Peony Blossom, Dry Dragon, Tiger Hill and Royal Flush, which I tried. These drinks are created by fermenting teas such as Darjeeling or Longjing, along with other ingredients.

It’s not trying too hard to be anything else. Many alcohol-free drinks attempt to mimic their alcoholic equivalents. It can work sometimes, but it also fails miserably. This is especially noticeable in the alcohol-free wine market. You may find that many wines and sparkling wine taste overly sweet. They can make you feel like drinking a cheap, nasty bottle of plonk. Royal Flush has a fruity flavour with rhubarb, white peach and a hint of honey. It is easy to drink and tastes like an alcoholic beverage. You’re being criticized for not drinking. (Believe me, there’s a lot of prejudice against people who don’t drink. Everyone has an opinion.) This can be easily mistaken for prosecco.

Prosecco and gin are usually my drinks of choice. You can find alcohol-free proseccos, but they are not the same. You will still get a delicious sparkling beverage that is fresh and fruity. This drink is a must-have at Christmas dinner. It’s also a great choice for the Christmas party. Prosecco is so last year. It doesn’t really matter that it’s not. You won’t regret trying this out if you are a sober curious person, a designated driver, or pregnant.

New Year’s Eve

• Swap this Champagne
• Wild Idol – for This

It’s a difficult night to stay alcohol-free. I don’t recall a time when I did not drink on New Year’s Eve. The society expects that you will drink this night. You’re expected to drink this night by your friends. People will think you’re a bad person if you don’t consume alcohol on this particular night. The pressure is real. It doesn’t have to be less fun because you don’t drink alcohol. The best option is to find an alternative… preferably one that looks and tastes just like the real thing!

Wild Idol, a premium brand of non-alcoholic beverages that looks like champagne, is actually a non-alcoholic beverage. Packaging is luxurious, with vibrant bubbles, zesty fruity notes, and vibrant bubbles. Wild Idol is not dealcoholized, which means that the alcohol has been removed. This is because it was never alcohol-free to begin with. This is a dry, slightly spicy drink that has a sharp aftertaste. This is not the sweet, sickly grape juice you’re used to!

It’s your secret weapon for New Year’s Eve. It’s best to save it for midnight celebrations when everyone is toasting the new year and clinking their glasses. It’s available from Wild Idol and costs just under $30 a bottle. This is a bit more expensive than you would expect to pay for a non-alcoholic drink. However, if you want something special, it’s definitely worth it.

Final Thoughts

It will be difficult to not drink this Christmas. It is difficult to break the habit of drinking alcohol, especially at Christmas. It’s not a big deal anymore. I feel positive and no longer think that it is. I am still the same, I don’t drink alcohol anymore. Simple.

By replacing my usual festive drinks with alternatives I hope that I won’t feel like I’m missing out on anything and that Christmas will be just as enjoyable without alcohol. You’ll have a lot more fun if you don’t get hungover!