Parties and family gatherings should be planned around enjoyable activities, good food, and good conversation rather than the liquor. Serve a variety of beverages at social functions. Whether at home or at the worksite, nonalcoholic alternatives should be available for abstainers and safe drinkers alike. Drinkers can enjoy an alcoholic drink for sociability and for its mellowing effect, then switch to something nonalcoholic for the rest of the evening. Set comfortable drinking patterns.
Some experts suggest avoiding a habitual pattern of drinking.
By varying the drink, the time, even the place, the drinker avoids making alcohol an ingrained habit that is intimately associated with a certain time of day or a certain way of drinking. For example, if drinkers find themselves trapped by the after- work ritual of cocktails, they can substitute some other activity for it on occasion. Instead of having a martini, they can try a hot bath or a cool shower, play music, talk to a friend on the phone, or move meal time up 1 hour earlier. Recognize that it's all right to say no. You should never have to explain why you're not drinking at any particular time.