I am not teetotal, but I don’t tend to drink much alcohol.  It’s mostly because I’m usually driving, but also because if I buy a bottle I’d have to drink it all – and drinking alone isn’t a great experience – so, I’ve just tended to never have alcohol on my radar.  I certainly don’t equate it with “having a good time” or “having a fun night out”.  I’d rather keep a clear head and remember a night out, knowing I didn’t make a fool of myself or get a free bed and breakfast at the local nick, before having to explain why I needed a traffic cone!

Christmas is a time when many people think about alcohol – and then, suddenly have a thought of “what about non alcoholic drinks?” for those people in their circle who are unwilling or unable to drink, or for just “knocking back a cold long drink” without having to worry about alcohol units and health.

£5 Non Alcoholic Drinks Budget

All the drinks below can be obtained with change from a £5 note!  For those who love their alcohol I find they often begrudge spending money on non alcoholic drinks; I’ve been told in pubs when I’ve asked for a Diet Coke “if you’re not having a proper drink I’m not buying you one at all” … no pressure then you old soak! 🙂 so the list below means they’re not “wasting” much money on “not proper drinks”.

I don’t need vast quantities of drinks, but I do like to “feel it’s Christmas” to feel I’m doing something a little unusual, but I also like to have my regular favourites, so here’s my list of 5 great non alcoholic drinks that I’ll have in the house for Christmas 2017:

1. Schloer Rose – I bought this as a random purchase last year, I didn’t expect great things of it as I’ve had standard Schloer way back in the early 1970s and it was “nice enough, but it’s just apples isn’t it”.  I was really pleased with this sparkling rose though!  Costing just £1.10 for a 750ml bottle, I made sure I spotted and bought a bottle early this year.
2. Lidl Rose Grape Juice – this was a random purchase earlier this month, based purely on the fact that the Schloer Rose was so great. I thought I’d give this a whirl, so I can’t tell you yet how great it is, or not, as I’ve not opened it.  Costing just 89p for a bottle it’s probably worth considering.
3. Lidl Sugar Free Ginger Beer – I LOVE ginger beer, or I used to love it.  Over the years I’d become disappointed with a lot of ginger beers and “accidentally” bought a bottle of this when I had some men in to fit a new fence and gate and it was a scorcher of a day so I popped to Lidl to grab some cold drinks … but by the time I got back they’d finished the job and were packed up and waiting to be paid.  So I was left with three 2 litre bottles of “random fizzy drinks” I’d bought.  I sighed as I opened this, then spotted the “sugar free” stamp!  I’d not spotted that before, I’d have not chosen to give builder-types “sugar free”, that’s not their thing, but it IS mine!  I was super-surprised at how tasty this was – and it immediately broke me of my “Pepsi Max” addiction!  I’d been looking to replace Pepsi Max due to availability/cost, and here it was …. Lidl Ginger Beer.  At just 45p for a 2 litre bottle it’s a winner – and when I’ve left it out in the beaker, overnight, and it’s gone flat, it’s STILL very tasty and enjoyable!
4. Cowbelle Lush Chocolate Fudge Flavour Milk – I got this 1 litre carton from Aldi.  I was specifically looking for a milkshake style drink for Christmas. This is just chocolate fudge flavoured low fat milk, with a fridge life of about 6 weeks.  I do know, of old, that if you mix a measure of cheap vodka with this type of drink it’s gorgeous …. just for those who like Mud Shakes as I believe they used to be named.  You can also use it in cooking, instead of milk in a quick chocolate cake. Cost is, from memory, 89p for a 1 litre carton.
5. Pepsi Max – my old favourite.  I’ve been a Pepsi Max addict for years, although I was looking to replace the addiction with a drink more available as I felt I was perpetually chasing it for “the best price”, then going out of my way to drive to the supermarket that had it on offer, stocking up … then, as I had it, I was drinking too much of it – and I was back to square one.  Aim to pay no more than 30p/can – Tesco were selling cases of 24 for £5 the other week, but that’s rare.  I didn’t buy a case of 24, I did last year.  I’ve now replaced my Pepsi Max addiction with Lidl Ginger Beer – but I did buy a pack of 8 Pepsi Max about 2 months ago “to see if I was still addicted” and realised I wasn’t, so I still have four cans in the house!

So that’s it – that’s more than enough non alcoholic drinks in my house for Christmas this year … it’ll take me a month to get through those!

£5 Budget for Christmas Drinks

Coming in at £5, my Christmas drinks range gives me a good mix of flavours, textures, brand names and budget names.   No worries about over spending here then!

No Booze?

Just for the record, I do drink, I just don’t buy alcohol – but if I were to buy alcoholic drinks at Christmas, without thinking about how long it’d take me to get through them I’d choose:

• Advocaat – to make my own Snowballs, with lemonade and a splash of  lime cordial
• Cider – I’d see what’s around and pick one randomly.  In a pub I’ll just ask for “half a cider, any one, the one with the lowest alcohol content”
• Baileys – A budget supermarket Baileys tastealike, either from Aldi or Lidl.  I might be tempted by a mint one.
• Toffee vodka.

Just to “prove” I do like a bit of alcohol…. I just don’t like the thought of a WHOLE bottle cluttering up the house all year as I slowly get through it.