Drinking Holidays vs Family Holidays

As St. Patrick’s Day approaches it gets me to thinking about different holidays throughout the year and how I classify them as drinking holiday or a family holiday.  This is by no means a complete list but it is a good sampling for 2012. I have broken down each holiday by whether it is known mostly as a family holiday a drinking holiday or both.

In my experience most of the ones I have flagged as both tend to depend on your family situation.

As the years have gone on, my St. Patrick’s Day feast has shifted from a beer and whiskey fueled binge, towards a family gathering with as many as 10-12 kids running around. Usually by the time the table is cleared and the food is all put away I’m too tired to do much partying.

Fathers day landed as a both for me, I celebrate Fathers Day by spending the day away from my family, preferably drinking and playing golf.

Many Fathers I know spend the day celebrating fatherhood, as if that isn’t the silliest idea ever.

Memorial Day and Labor Day have changed drastically since I had kids, it’s tough to get loaded when you have to spend the afternoon cutting up hot dogs and making sure your kids don’t drown in the kiddie pool.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are another pair that have morphed numerous times over the years. They went from staunchly family as a kid, to sneaky drinking as a teen, outright drinking in my 20’s and on into more of a family holiday since kids came into the picture. Though I must admit I have grown to enjoy the challenge of assembling the kids toys while imbibing heavily after they have gone to bed.

Which leads up to the holiday that defines a drinking holiday. Considering the big moment of the holiday doesn’t even arrive until after kids should be in bed, it is easy to see why New Years is the heavy hitter of drinking holidays.

So what about you? Which holidays are all about the booze, or all about time with family and friends?