It’s that time of year again as Halloween kicks the official 2020 holiday season. However, some of us in recovery (particularly if you’re new) are faced with imagining how to spend the holidays sober while enjoying friends and family. In fact, reveling in the season without drugs and alcohol can improve your experience, rather than make you feel like not in the same “mood” as everyone else. Here are 4 tips to get your holiday season off to a great start with a fantastic sober Halloween!
1. Make Your Home Spooktacular
Try to be the spookiest home in your neighborhood. You have plenty of time to go all out! Decorations don’t cost very much in the age of the Dollar Tree. It’s easy to get creative on a small budget that will impress everyone. Get some competition going with your friends and neighbors that everyone will be chatting about until Christmas! Besides, everyone wants to be the “go-to” house for candy.
2. Have Your Own Sober Party
Having your own sober Halloween party allows you to control the environment and the libations served. Let’s face it, the minute we invite temptation to the party, someone will be dancing with him sooner or later. Besides, you can dress-up foods you like in orange and brown with matching fun “mock-tails” to drink. You alone define who to invite to keep your Halloween fun and safe.
3. Host a Scary Movie Night
If parties or crowds aren’t your thing, then hold host a sober Halloween movie festival with your closest friends. There are several ways to go with this one – you can opt for a night of cliché classics like Poltergeist, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, and Friday the 13th. To increase the fun, ask your friends to dress-up and play a game of Halloween movie trivia during intermission breaks.
4. Volunteer
In an age of Covid-19, this may not be as easy as it used to be, but it’s doable! Start with your 12-step support group. Sign-up to help with the group’s festivities and merriment. Whether it’s making coffee or designing the best “mask” costume contest, staying busy and helping others will increase your self-esteem and camaraderie in the group. Just because we are social-distanced and wearing masks doesn’t mean we can’t have fun doing it.
Whatever you decide to do this holiday season, remember to stay active and close to your peer supports. Isolation and self-victimization are the biggest challenges for the newly sober at this time of year. Holidays can produce cravings and it often takes a little bit (or a lot) of extra effort to resist compulsion, especially when you are early in recovery. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do it – it just means you need to consider some planning that will safeguard your recovery, while still having fun this holiday season.
Simple Path Recovery is a beach side, boutique addiction treatment center located in Pompano Beach, FL. Recognized as an intimate Florida Drug & Alcohol Rehab, Simple Path is committed to individualized care, 12-step integration, and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). Their addiction helpline is available 24/7 at 855-467-3625.
About the Author
Matthew Koenig is the principal of Last Call Marketing, which devotes their efforts to Digital Marketing, Content Marketing, Website Design and SEO, primarily in healthcare and tourism concerns. Mr. Koenig is based out of South Florida. His sober date is June 10, 2013.
