Christmas is tomorrow, with New Year’s Day in a week.

Iowa State Patrol Trooper Shelby McCreedy says that with the holidays, many people celebrate with friends and family,which sometimes includes having alcoholic beverages. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio why extra caution should be exercised this year.

“When you have holidays that fall (in the) middle to end of the week, a lot of times people will take an additional day off, to that way give themselves a long stretch of time off to where they can celebrate, get together, (and) have family events.”

McCreedy mentions that in order to best stay safe when celebrating and having alcoholic drinks, individuals should come up with a plan for what to do once the celebrations are over. She adds that the plan can be having a designated driver, getting an uber or taxi if you live somewhere where they operate, or staying with the host.