🎄Holiday Sobriety Resource Guide🎄
Practical Tools & Encouragement
for Staying Sober This Season🎄
The holidays can bring joy, but they can also bring stress, grief, expectations, family dynamics, travel, and emotional triggers.
This guide pulls together simple, effective tools to help you stay grounded, connected, and sober through the season.
Save it, share it, print it, revisit it, and reach out if you need support.
1. Daily Grounding Practices
✓ 5-Minute Morning Check-In
How do I feel physically?
How do I feel emotionally?
What do I need today?
What’s one thing I can do to support my recovery?
✓ 4-7-8 Breathing 🧘🏻🧘♀️
A fast reset for anxiety, cravings, or overwhelm.
✓ “Name 5” Mindfulness Scan
Name “5” things you can see🤓; “4” you can touch🙌🏻, “3” you can hear👂, “2” you can smell👃, “1” you can taste👅.
2. Relapse Prevention Tools 🧰
✓ The HALT Check (every 3–4 hours):
Hungry – Angry – Lonely – Tired, Most relapses begin here. Fix the need, not the feeling.
✓ Create a Holiday Safety📝 Plan:
Who will I call if I feel triggered?
What are my “non-negotiables”?
What events or people do I need limits around?
What is my exit plan if I get uncomfortable?
✓ Daily Accountability Text 📲💬
Choose one person you update daily: how your day went, where the triggers were, and what your plan is for tomorrow.
Examples of “your person”
Peer in Recovery; Sober Coach; Sponsor; Someone in your “Safety Net”.
3. Healthy Boundaries
✓ Boundary Scripts 📝
You Can Say:
“I’m not drinking tonight, but I’d love a sparkling water.”
“I need to step outside for a moment to regroup.”
“Thank you for the invite — I’ll need to pass this year.”
”I am not discussing that topic today.”
✓ Emotional Boundaries:
You DO NOT🚫 have to absorb other people’s stress, disappointment, or expectations.
✓ Time Boundaries:⏰
Give yourself permission to leave early. Staying sober matters more than staying present.
4. Craving-Management Techniques
✓ Ride the 🌊wave(Urge Surfing)
Cravings rise and fall like waves. Breathe. Don’t fight it — let it pass.
✓ Distraction Menu:
Pick what works for you!
Go for a walk 🚶🚶♀️
Call☎️ someone
Journal 📝 10 minutes
Cold water 💦 on wrists
Listen 🎧to worship music or meditation
Do something with your hands 🙌🏻 (puzzle, dishes, folding clothes)
Delay the Decision (15 minutes)⏱️(set the stopwatch)
Tell yourself:
“If I still want to use in15 minutes, I’ll re-evaluate.” Cravings rarely last the full time.
5. Connection & Support
✓ Attend Extra Meetings (Online or In-Person)
Look for holiday marathons, meetings on Zoom, or local 12-step events.
✓ Create a “Holiday Sober Buddy”
Someone who knows the plan, checks in on you, and you can call anytime.
✓ Reach Out Early — Not After
If you’re struggling, text/call before you walk in the room or before the craving gets too loud.
6. Faith-Based Encouragement
(Optional for Clients Who Use Spiritual 😇Tools)
✓ Quick Prayer/Mantra Options:
“God, guide my next right step.”
”Peace 💙🩵over pressure.”
”I am not doing this alone❣️.”
”Lord, protect my sobriety today.”🙏🏻
✓ Scripture Reminders:
“My grace 💜is sufficient for you.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9
“When I am weak, then I am strong.” 💛— 2 Corinthians 12:10
“Create in me a clean 🤍heart.” — Psalm 51:10
7. Emotional Wellness💟 Tools
✓ Holiday Journaling Prompts:
What am I grieving about this season?
What do I want to feel more of?
What boundaries do I need to put in place?
What does “safe” look like for me right now?
✓ Gratitude Reframe:
Name “5 Great things” daily big or small that Recovery has given you.
✓ Limit Overwhelm:
Say “no” 🚫when you need to:
Leave early.
Simplify plans.
Protect💙🩵peace.
8. Practical Self-Care
✓ Sleep routine (same time every night)
✓ Stay hydrated 💧
✓ Eat regularly 🍽️(don’t skip meals)
✓ Limit holiday sugar/alcohol exposure triggers
✓ Move your body every day even 10 minutes helps.🚴🏃🏻♀️🏄♀️
9. Emergency 🆘 Plan
If you feel unsafe in your sobriety:
Call ☎️ someone immediately (sponsor, counselor, sober friend).
Leave the situation — you owe no explanations.
Get to a meeting (Zoom or in-person).
Breathe🧘🏻 — the moment will pass.
Include Crisis Resources as needed for your practice location:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Local crisis hotline /911
Local detox/urgent recovery centers
10. A Gentle Reminder
You don’t have to do the holidays 🎁perfectly.
You just have to do them sober❣️
One day at a time.💟
One moment at a time.💟
And you don’t have to do any of it alone.💟 - Amy C.
