Dear MIRIAM: DRINKING IS SORE POINT.

Byline: Dr MIRIAM STOPPARD

Dear Miriam HOW can I avoid getting a hangover this Christmas? There are lots of parties and once I get started... I want something that will help me work hard and then play hard.

THANK heaven Christmas comes but once a year. Here are a few of my tips:

It's never good to drink on an empty stomach because your liver finds it harder to cope with alcohol when you are hungry.

Food, especially fatty food, also slows down absorption of alcohol into the blood. Drinking milk before going out will therefore help.

Stick to pale drinks as they're likely to contain fewer nasty congeners - natural organic chemicals which give alcohol its taste, colour and smell but which, in excess, can knock you sideways next day. So vodka and gin are safer bets than whisky or brandy, and white wine is better than red.

Treat champagne with care. Fizzy wines are absorbed quickly so you get more intoxicated and suffer the after-effects more acutely.

If you do overdo it, drink a few glasses of water before bed to stave off dehydration. In the morning, try sweet tea or orange juice. Avoid coffee - as a diuretic it will make your dehydration worse.

A bowl of porridge should help correct your blood sugar levels, and that, in turn, will ease the headache.