Dry January?

It’s the start of a new year; maybe you’d like to detox after the season of over indulgence or maybe you want to say no to booze for charity. Either way, you don’t always need alcohol to have fun; there are plenty of things you can do that don’t involve drinking, these are just a few.

Dinner parties

Show off your culinary skills to your housemates and friends by hosting a dinner party. Instead of cocktails or wine, why not make mocktails instead? They’re much cheaper and healthier for you. You could even start a Come Dine With Me style competition, taking it in turns to cook and marking each other in secret.

Take up a new sport

The New Year is a great time to start something new and there are lots of sports you can choose from. You could join a team or go to an event to try it out, some Parklife events are free and most are just £1!

Cheese night

Host a cheese party with crackers, grapes and any other nibbles you fancy. Everyone attending must bring a new, obscure cheese or if you’re more traditional, the old favourites, such as Brie or Cheddar. If you don’t like cheese, choose another food, cake for example, it can be anything you like. Combine with board games like Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly or Scrabble. Bonus: it’s acceptable to take part in your PJs.

Tea and Coffee crawl

One for those of you who love warm, caffeinated beverages. Support local businesses in your area and go on a coffee shop crawl. A great chance to mix with new people and catch up with friends, plus you’ll remember the conversations you had the next day.

See the sights

Have you been to the local attractions in your area? There are plenty of art galleries, museums or theatres, for example, in Hastings, Eastbourne and Brighton.

Start a blog

Blogging is a great way to join in on conversations online or show off your food pics, for instance. Your blog could be about anything; current affairs, comedy, food, beauty products, the list is endless. You could also use it as an online portfolio to display your work from your course. Best of all, blogs are free to start (try WordPress or Blogger) and easy to use.

Get into a new TV series

What better way to spend a cold January evening than with your housemates getting stuck into a TV series!

Karaoke night

This is something that you could host yourself or there are places where you can hire karaoke rooms in Brighton and Eastbourne.

Some of the best events are those where alcohol isn’t included; the key is to remove it as the main focus of an event.