If you’re heading into your first holiday season as a newly minted Sober Hero and are apprehensive, know that you can definitely have your alcohol-free eggnog and enjoy it, too. Four years ago, I discovered to my astonishment that Christmas without booze is surprisingly fulfilling. Here are my top 5 reasons why Sober Holidays rock:

#1. You will remember all the fun you had. It’s true. The last Christmas of my drinking “career” is a blur. I woke up the next day not remembering what gifts I had received, much less from whom. I thanked my sister-in-law for the lovely wallet, and she looked at me blankly and said: “That wasn’t me.” I had no idea what she had gifted me. Oh, umm… “It was the spa certificate” Oh, yes! Thank you so much! Mortifiying, you say?

#2. You will be more present, for your loved ones, but also yourself. If you’ve been sober for any amount of time, or even just experienced one sober outing, you’ve noticed that people start acting differently after a couple of glasses of whatever. They become louder; they talk more and listen less; they stop picking up on social cues.

My first sober holidays were a revelation! I found myself enjoying the small things, instead of constantly wondering what I would drink next. Those gingersnap cookies never tasted so good! And instead of distractedly watching the kids unwrap their presents from the “grownup section,” I gleefully helped them tear into the wrapping in the middle of the living room floor. You will be surprised at how much you missed when you drank, I guarantee it.

#3. You will be less likely to be triggered by the fam and their antics. Without alcohol coursing through your veins, you will be less touchy and more patient. You will thus be less likely to revert to your teenage self in the presence of your family, who always seem to know exactly what buttons to push!

#4. You will sleep like an angel, and wake up fresh as the morning dew. Buh-bye, hangovers! Need I say more?

#5. You will be proud of yourself. This is perhaps the greatest gift of sobriety. This thing that you’re doing is hard. Choosing sobriety in this alcohol-centric world is an act of rebellion, and it takes courage. When you wake up in the morning after an event, hangover-free and feeling proud of yourself instead of ashamed and wondering what’s wrong with you, you will experience something that you may not have in a very long time: hope.