The parties are dying down now. But, here's a tip for next year, or at least for the next time you want to celebrate. We can't always enjoy a glass of champagne or even just some wine of our choice when we are partying.

For example, last Sunday I had to work at my icky library job. Yup, we were there on New Year's Eve! So, to cheer things up a little, I stopped by the store and picked up some munchies and a few bottles of non-alcoholic sparkling cider. It was a hit with the crew, and we didn't feel so left out as we had our own little party behind the desk.

Other reasons for no alcohol party situations maybe that a guest or two is pregnant or maybe someone is going to be driving others home.

No fear, you can make your own sparkling non-alcoholic drinks with this recipe from BabyCenter:

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
1 cup grapefruit juice
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons grenadine syrup
28 ounces chilled ginger ale (about 2 1/3 soda cans' worth)

Preparation:
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil and boil ten minutes. Cool. Add sugar syrup to grapefruit and orange juices. Chill thoroughly. Add grenadine and ginger ale just before serving. Makes about 1½ quarts.

You can find more pregnancy safe drinks on their site: Babycenter