How do I host people who are not drinking?

People do not drink for many reasons, most of which are nobody's business. Good hosting means having a real option available and offering it the same way you offer anything else, rather than making it a subject.

What you'll need

• A prepared non-alcoholic option (optional)
• The same glassware (optional)

Step by step

1. Have something prepared rather than improvised.A batched non-alcoholic drink, a good soft option, or a decent alcohol-free beer or wine. Offering tap water as the only alternative is not hosting.
2. Serve it in the same glassware.It matters more than it sounds. A soft drink in a tumbler while everyone else has a wine glass marks the person out.
3. Offer without asking why.Reasons are private and can include health, medication, pregnancy, recovery and simple preference. Offer the option and move on.
4. Do not press anyone who declines alcohol.Repeatedly offering, joking about it or asking why is the single most common way hosts make people uncomfortable.
5. Make the non-alcoholic option interesting.Bitterness, acidity, aromatics and good ice. A well-made non-alcoholic drink is genuinely enjoyable rather than a consolation.
6. Batch it so it is as easy as pouring wine.A jug in the fridge means the non-alcoholic option is as effortless to serve as anything else, which is what makes it get offered.
7. Include it in the main offer.'There's wine, beer, and I've made a ginger and lime thing' rather than asking separately. It makes it a choice rather than an accommodation.
8. Have plenty of it.Non-drinkers drink at least as much liquid as anyone else over an evening. One bottle of something soft is not enough.

Tips

• Alcohol-free beer and wine have improved substantially. Having a decent one in the fridge is the easiest possible provision.
• A good non-alcoholic option is usually appreciated by drinkers too, particularly earlier in the evening or when driving.
• If someone is driving, offering a genuinely good soft drink makes it far easier for them to be the one who does.

Common mistakes

• Asking why someone is not drinking — The reasons are private and can include medication, health, pregnancy or recovery. Offer the alternative and leave it there.
• Offering only tap water or a fizzy drink — It marks the person out and it is poor hosting. A prepared option served properly costs very little.
• Serving it in different glassware — It visibly separates the person from everyone else, which is exactly the awkwardness worth avoiding.

Questions people ask