Good Drinks for Bad Days: Holiday Edition

Ho ho . . . oh, no! The holiday season comes festively packaged with a vast assortment of disasters big and small. This time of year is nuttier than a fruitcake: family fights, extra pounds, money woes, end-of-year deadlines, shopping, horrible traffic, and no date for the holiday party. What's a person to drink? That's where this guide to healing elixirs comes in. When your grand holiday light display causes a power outage, fire up an Electric Iced Tea. To remedy that ill-considered reunion with the ex, a Boomerang is a must. This handy guide presents dozens of prickly situations, each with an accompanying cocktail and witty commentary geared to make the holidays more bearable, if a little less remembered.

Kerry Colburn is the coauthor of Good Drinks for Bad Days, So You Want to Be a Canadian?, and other books. She lives in Seattle.