Going out clubbing with friends is almost always a fun way to spend your Friday or Saturday night, but it might be unfamiliar territory for you now that you’ve decided to skip the alcohol. Can you even have fun at the club if you don’t drink? The answer is a resounding yes. But if you’re still not convinced how to pull it off, here are a few tips to help you get through the night without being bored spitless.
Be Confident and Stick to Your Guns
First, understand that your friends and most of the other people in the club might ask you why you aren’t drinking. It’s understandable, but it’s not something to fear. Just stand up for yourself and confidently give a brief explanation why you are skipping the booze. Try working your response down to a sentence or two and practice it a few times. Chances are that nobody is really going to care, so try not to make it a bigger deal than it really is. Once you get it off your chest, you’ll feel better and will be ready to have some fun.
Volunteer to Be the Designated Driver (DD)
If it’s your first time, and you still don’t have a lot of self-confidence yet, try volunteering to be the designated driver. Nobody will push for any explanation beyond that, since the concept is pretty well understood and accepted. Some clubs will actually reward designated drivers with free non-alcoholic drinks, so inquire about the club’s policy when you get a chance. They’ll probably give you a nifty wristband or something like that, and as a DD you won’t need to have a drunk driving lawyer such as The Law Offices of Schiro and Zarzynski on speed-dial. It’s a total win!
Don’t Lecture Your Drinking Buddies
If anyone’s going to ruin the fun, there’s a good chance it will be you — if you decide to preach the virtues of sobriety to your group all night long. So skip the lectures, loosen up a bit and just have fun with your friends. There are a million things to talk about that have nothing to do with your decision not to drink. If someone wants to go down that path and talk about it, then that’s fine. But if not, then just keep yourself in check and talk about something else.
Fake It
If you’re still feeling a little anxious about the whole sobriety thing, then you can probably keep the questions at bay by appearing to drink. Always have a drink in your hand or nearby, but just make sure it’s non-alcoholic. Most clubs serve non-alcoholic beers that look, smell and taste like the real thing. Or you can order a Shirley Temple or a virgin rum and Coke.
Seriously, most people aren’t going to care. If they liked you enough to ask you to join them in the first place, then they’ll still like you regardless of what you have in your glass. They might be curious and ask about it at first, but once you confidently give your rehearsed one-liner they’ll probably respect that and just talk about something else.
You can still have a lot of fun at the club without drinking. You’ll have some entertaining conversations. You’ll have fun out on the dance floor. You’ll probably make a new friend or two. And you’ll be the only one who remembers all the weird stuff everybody did that night come Monday morning. In any event, the first time might seem awkward, but by following these tips you’ll quickly get past that and see that clubbing is just as fun without drinking as it was before you chose sobriety.
