Having Some Fun with Dry January

 To be honest, since my husband and I both caught the terrible flu that was going across the nation around Christmas and that we are still not totally ourselves yet, worrying about new diets and what we can drink in January has not yet entered our minds.   However, in thinking about what I might write about in the New Year I did come up with an idea to make January more enjoyable and easier to get through, if you find yourself in a rut of any sort.

The idea actually originally came from my daughter, Amanda, about a year and a half ago, when we were planning a sprinkle for my other daughter, Brittany, as she was expecting her second child in June 2024.  A friend of Amanda’s had shared the idea of using rosette molds to make pretty ice cubes.  Amanda thought it would make the sprinkle more festive as we served our non-alcoholic drinks at the party.  Amanda was right!  The rosette ice cubes were a hit and added a touch of glam to the sprinkle.

Fast forward to today and I thought this novel idea could bring a little fun to what some people might consider a chore when it comes to dry January.  I am not a proponent or opponent of the dry January concept in any case.  To each his own, is my moto, but if you are doing Dry January and want to add a little merriment to an average drink this month, here goes!

So, first I ordered these rosette molds from Amazon.  To be honest, I think I may have ordered them before but was unable to find them. Haha! They were pretty inexpensive anyway. You can find the link here if you would like to purchase them. 

I decided to make the “ice cubes” out of the liquid I was planning on drinking.  I liked the idea of having the color of the liquid match the color of the ice cubes.  The drinks would dilute less this way also. So, I made pink lemonade “ice cubes" and ginger ale ones in this experiment.

As I worked with the mold, I realized there was more to this than I was planning on.  The mold is so flexible you need to put it on a flat surface in order to fill the molds with the liquid.  I found it to be impossible to move the molds to the freezer after filling without placing them on a cookie sheet.  The liquid goes all over the place. This is not the prettiest presentation but, it worked!

I placed the mold in the freezer and waited for the rosettes to freeze.  At this point I set out to find pretty glasses to add to the pleasure and fun of it all.  

For the ginger ale fun, I found some fancy champagne glasses my mom had given me for my wedding.

I thought they were perfect.  Thank you, Mom!

I placed the ginger ale "ice cubes" in the champagne glasses and then filled them with ginger 

ale.  I think it looks just like champagne and you can stay true to Dry January while drinking it.

See how lovely the glasses look.  Very fancy and festive!  And not taking

anything away from the dryness of January.

So, here is how you can make average ginger ale look and feel a bit more fun during

Dry January.  It is fairly easy, too.

Now let's look at what you can do with pink lemonade :).

I found these sparkling martini glasses in my stash.  They are more dazzling looking in person.  They shimmer.  I thought they were the perfect choice for the lemonade, something you don't use every day.

The lemonade "ice cubes" matched the lemonade drink exactly and when they started to melt, they did not dilute the drink.  It was a win, win!

We do not do it as often as we should but, relaxing in the sitting room at the end of the day can be

very enjoyable.  Sitting here with our fancy drinks eating a few cashews is a good way to 

pass the later part of the afternoon in January.

It is a very cozy room~

I do have one more dry January beverage idea for you. I have been making up this concoction and have been enjoying it.  No pictures and no real recipe.  It is kind of a freewheeling thing.

I take a 12-ounce glass and fill it halfway with ice cubes.  Then I add about 5-6-ounces of water to the glass.  You can use seltzer if you want it fizzy.  Then I add a heavy splash of cranberry juice and top it off with the lemonade you see above.  The lemonade is diet, but the cranberry juice is not.  It is almost a diet drink but not quite :).

Other dry January drinks to consider are fruit juices, iced tea, sodas, seltzers and water.

We are almost halfway through January, so you'll be able to make it one way or another!

***Please note:  No compensation was given for writing this post.