The holidays ask a lot of everyone. If you’re in recovery, they ask even more. Office parties, family dinners, and New Year’s toasts are built around drinking, and the season runs for weeks. For a lot of people, it’s the hardest time of the year to stay sober.
Skyline Recovery Center asked 520 adults in recovery from alcohol or drugs how they get through it. They told us which days are hardest, what tends to trigger a setback, the strategies that actually help, and what they wish the people around them understood.
Clinically reviewed by Sheldon Cohen, LMFT, Clinical Director | Updated on: 08-10-2026
1 in 4 people in recovery (25%) say Christmas is the hardest holiday to stay sober.
About 1 in 5 people in recovery (22%) have relapsed around Christmas.
The typical person in recovery who experienced a setback over the holidays took 1 to 3 months to get back on track.
76% of people 5 or more years into recovery say the holidays have gotten easier.
Being around alcohol or drugs is the No. 1 holiday trigger for people in recovery (41%). Family tension ranks 5th (29%).
3 in 5 (60%) have left a holiday party early to protect their sobriety.
91% of people in recovery say that something about the holidays is better sober, with the top reason being fully present with family and friends (57%).
We asked people in recovery which part of the season tested them most, what made it hard, and how long it took to feel steady again after a setback.
For many people, the problem isn’t one day. It’s the whole season. One-third (33%) said every part felt about equally hard when trying to stay sober, and 1 in 4 (25%) pointed to Christmas as the single hardest stretch. Gen Z feels like Christmas is the toughest holiday (32% vs. 23% of millennials and Gen X).
What makes the season difficult is often about what’s in the room and stressful feelings. The top holiday triggers for people in recovery are:
Nearly 3 in 5 people in recovery (59%) have had a holiday setback at some point and gone back to drinking or using. Christmas was the most common time for a relapse, named by nearly 1 in 4 of everyone surveyed (22%) and by 38% of those who’ve had a holiday setback.
Among Gen Z, 71% have experienced a holiday setback, and they were most likely to relapse at New Year’s (21%). Friends’ parties also hit Gen Z the hardest. Nearly half (46%) called them very challenging, compared with 30% of Gen X.
Gen X names loneliness (47%) and grief (43%) more than any other age group, but many people in recovery reported struggling with being on their own during the holiday season. Spending time alone was the single hardest moment of all, called very challenging by nearly half of people in recovery (46%) and by 56% of Gen Z.
