Hi Doug,
For me, I really had to stay away from people and places that triggered my cravings in the early days. It wasn’t easy at all. Sometimes it still isn’t easy!
My first advice is, if you can, skip the holiday.
If you really have to go (and mind you, there are very few things in life that we absolutely have to attend), have a solid plan. Tell your friends you’re not drinking. Rehearse what you’ll say when they insist. Have a plan to remove yourself from the situation and go to bed early if it gets to be too much. Have something that YOU will enjoy that does not involve drinks. For me a walk or a workout always helped. Check in here. Find a meeting where you’re going. Make that plan and stick to it. No matter what, you don’t drink for those 24 hours. And then for the next 24.
I’ll share a bit of my struggles and thoughts on these links, in case any of it helps you:
Keep us posted. You can do this!