5 Tips if You’re Trying to Drink Less Alcohol This Year

Charlie Was a Sinner is one place to go for booze-free cocktails if you’re trying to drink less alcohol this year. | Facebook

South Philly’s Better Without Booze blogger, Joy Manning, weighs in on how you can join the “sober-curious” trend.

Shift your mind-set (and your social media).

Truth bomb: Not everyone drinks, and alcohol isn’t essential to having fun. Keep that top of mind with IG accounts (@holly, @tellbetterstoriesmedia) and podcasts (Take a Break from Drinking with Rachel Hart) that celebrate living alcohol-free.

Joy Manning. Photograph by Courtney Apple

Give #DryJanuary a go.

Approach a dry month with intention — take careful notice of how it alters your mood and health, but don’t go and radically change your day-to-day. “Commit to not hiding from the world,” Manning says. “Go to restaurants, go to parties, and see what it’s like to not drink at them.”

Know you don’t have to make an announcement.

If someone offers you a drink, say no thank you, or ask to start with water. More often than not, it won’t come up again.

Plan for times you’ll be pressured to imbibe.

If friends do push you on the decision, ward them off by sipping on seltzer and lime in a rocks glass. No one has to know it’s not a G&T.

Hang at spots that support your lifestyle change.

Spice Finch, Vedge, Laurel, Royal Boucherie, Charlie Was a Sinner and Zahav all have alcohol-free options listed right on the menu, so you won’t stand out while ordering.

Published as a part of the “Jump-Start Your New Year” article in the January 2020 issue of Philadelphia magazine.