If I have learnt one thing from my first term at university, it is that alcohol (along with a healthy dose of coffee) makes the world go round. For many, it is the ideal lubricant for navigating new friendships as well as a welcome amnesiac from yesterday’s supervision and tomorrow’s essay. Controversially, however, if I have learnt two things from university, the second would be that I am a fan of neither coffee nor alcohol. Which is fine.

So, following these revelations, this Christmas will be my first spent completely teetotal – “no, not even a snifter Grandma!”. But, with so much of British life spent in the orbit of pubs, clubs and bars, I am having to work out a few strategies for the retention of an active social life as a self-confessed prohibitionist – not only coping but happily co-existing with the ol’ magic water. After all, if there is one occasion where drinking is even more prominent than at uni, it is at Christmas; with invitations to festive drinks with friends, rafts of boozy Christmas meals with extended family, or raucous New Year’s parties coming thick and fast at this time of the year, it is easy to view the revelry as exclusively alcoholically induced.

“With invitations to festive drinks with friends, rafts of boozy Christmas meals with extended family, or raucous New Year’s parties coming thick and fast at this time of the year, it is easy to view the revelry as exclusively alcoholically induced”

The pressure to join in can be hard to resist as, with festive spirits running high and alcoholic spirits readily on tap, drinking and having a good time can seem interlinked. However, correlation doesn’t necessarily imply causation and I believe that it is a misconception that the sole recipe for a good time is via a drink (or six). Whilst there is by no means anything wrong with this for the majority, for others alcohol is only a recipe for disaster of one sort or another.

Don’t worry about fitting in

Fortunately, although they may not know it, many people are already blessed with an inherently drunkard personality even before they start drinking. It is perfectly possible to laugh your head off like an idiot and have a good night out without being under the influence. Remember when you gave that brash friend non-alcoholic beer all night and they went ahead and got smashed anyway? Exactly. This is a placebo of untapped possibility.

While it is true that Christmas is undoubtedly a time to forget academic worries and embrace our tipsy sides, it is possible for those with an aversion to alcohol to do this without having to contend with the taste of beer or, worse, the dreaded hangover of the morning after the night before. The key – though easy to say and harder to do – is to avoid any worries about not fitting in with the squad or missing out on that bonds that can be forged only over a glass of Merlot. Don’t buckle under the pressure to join in but switch on that slightly unhinged part of your personality that doesn’t care what people think and will most likely fool people into believing that you are healthily inebriated anyway!

“If you are looking for a buzz but drinking is not your gig, the sugar rush is no joke”

Find a replacement drink

Still, a pint here, a pint there, a pint everywhere can seem an inescapable ritual throughout the year, let alone at Christmas when ’tis the season to be jolly (aka drunk). And, therefore, it can also be helpful to have your own drink of choice to clutch when at a social event – even if it is just an innocent lemonade or a modest Coke. People with kind intentions will be less likely to buy you a drink that becomes hard to refuse and as an added bonus your hydration levels will be through the roof (which is definitely not the case with alcohol, may I add). It provides entertainment for restless fingers and will mean that your empty-handed abstinence is less likely to stand out. My personal non-alcy drink of preference is ginger beer, because it sounds like adult beer and is sweet and spicy and delicious. Which leads nicely on to the topic of sugar and spice; sweet things are, really, the undisputed second pillar of the season after alcohol, with mince pies, chocolate, Christmas pudding and more chocolate the lifeblood of a truly Merry Christmas; a freshly opened box of Quality Street has the potential to monopolise the life of any party, over and above the mulled wine. If you are looking for a buzz but drinking is not your gig, the sugar rush is no joke, kids.

Remember the positives of not drinking

Although it can be occasionally challenging, there are many paths to a rewarding sober life, even at Christmas. In a society tailored to the drinker, every teetotaller must uncover what works best for them. It is also worth remembering the positives of avoiding regular carousal: binge on the crisp feeling of waking up ripe and ready for the day without a headache; spend the money you have saved from forbearing alcohol on a present for a loved one or an expensive day out with somebody special; indulge in a bacchanal of productivity while many are in bed fighting a hangover.

Above all, Christmas is about spending time with the people you love - or at least people you like - and I will be trying my hardest to recognise what a gift it is to enjoy spending time with others, or myself, without needing a liquid catalyst. So, cheers to a Christmas filled with festive cheer and wild times, but equally a Christmas that can be remembered on Boxing Day