Keep Guests from Drinking and Driving
Many upcoming holidays involve adult parties. At many of these there will be alcoholic beverages served or available. If you plan on hosting your own Christmas, New Year's, Valentines, or St. Patrick's Day parties be sure that you have a plan in place to assure that all of your guests get home safely.
Each year there are numerous accidents and fatalities caused by drunk drivers. The holiday season is filled with various alcoholic beverages at parties across the country. Now, some suggestions for making sure that your guests don't drink and drive away from your holiday get together.
When making your guest list you will most likely come across a few family members, friends, or co-workers on your list that you already know will probably be unable to drive home. If you have room, you can place air mattresses on the floor if you don't mind a few of your guests staying over.
One thing to do as you invite people for your get together is tell them that if they plan on drinking they need to arrange for transportation home. One way to get more people to do this is let them know that they will have to surrender their keys when they arrive for the party. You will also need a sober designated adult to be responsible for deciding who gets their keys back at the end of the night, and who needs alternate transportation.
If you serve alcohol at your party be sure there is also plenty of non-alcoholic drinks available for your designated drivers and non drinking guests. It is best when alcohol is being consumed, not to do so on an empty stomach. Be sure to provide plenty of snacks and finger foods to help guests from drinking on an empty stomach.
Have a sober and responsible adult act as a bartender, do not allow guests to mix their own drinks, some may tend to overindulge. It is easier to keep up with the amount of alcohol people are drinking if you have one person mixing drinks.
Limit your own drinking. It is hard to keep other people under control if you don't keep yourself under control. If you prepare punch type drinks with alcohol, make sure the base is non carbonated. Carbonated drinks carry alcohol to the bloodstream quicker than non carbonated drinks.
Stop serving all alcohol at least 90 minutes before the party is scheduled to end. High protein foods can be served to help absorb some of the alcohol consumed. Don't serve a lot of salty foods as these tend to make people thirstier, thus wanting to drink more.
If you feel that any of your guests have had too much to drink, do not give them their car keys. Offer to call them a cab or a friend to drive them home. If possible you could offer to drive them yourself. If for any reason they can't get a ride home, and have been drinking, allow them to stay until they sober up.
