Cocktails with kids

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We celebrated over the holidays with our kids - all adults now, if you consider 18 actually an adult. Bloodies and mimosas on Christmas morning, and other celebrations throughout New Years. It's a strange thing when you finally can enjoy a cocktail with your kids. You shift from the disciplinarian to the drinking buddy, which does bring some challenges and fuzzy guidelines/house rules. 

Enjoying the Christmas spirit(s)

I remember well making that transition with my parents - my Dad, in particular. Dad took his cocktails seriously. He mixed them purely (only homemade simple syrup and freshly squeezed juices) and quite strong. He said "If you don't like the taste of liquor, you shouldn't drink." Some of my most cherished mementos of Dad's are his daiquiri shaker, his cocktail recipe book, and an amazing retro traveling bar (to be highlighted in another blog another day).

The problem with enjoying a few drinks with your kids is that it portends implicit permission which is mostly okay but also a bit of a concern for those technically underage - read: college. But let's not pretend that college kids aren't imbibing. 

When you shift from locking up the liquor cabinet and not allowing them to swipe your beers from the beverage fridge to teaching them moderation, you've reached another phase of parenting. Further, it's difficult to teach moderation when you're not modeling it yourself - thank you, Covid. (This too is another blog for another day.)

At the end of the day, one doesn't need alcohol to have fun, but I like to think that enjoying a cocktail with one of my daughters or sons is, in some twisted way, an homage to my Dad.