Holiday Reminder, Texans: You Can’t Buy Liquor on Christmas Day

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With all the posadas and holiday parties flowing it's not surprising to want to have some spirits flowing. If spiking your eggnog is going to be a staple at your holiday party then you're going to want to make sure you have your liquor BEFORE Christmas day! As a lifelong Texan, you may already know, but if you're not aware or are new to the Lone Star State then it's important to know: you CANNOT buy liquor on Christmas day or New Year's day!

Aside from the usual "no-liquor-sales-on-Sunday" rule, we have here in Texas, our state also bans liquor sales on Thanksgiving day, Christmas day and New Year's Day. If Christmas Day or New Year's day happens to land on a Sunday, liquor sales are also banned on the following Monday! There are certain time you buy alcohol depending on the establishment, below I have a full list:

ON-PREMISE LICENSE OR PERMIT (E.G. BAR OR RESTAURANT)

• Monday-Friday: 7 a.m.-midnight
• Saturday: 7 a.m.-1 a.m. (Sunday morning)
• Sunday: Noon to midnight. (10 a.m.-noon only in conjunction with the service of food)
• If the establishment is in a city or county legal for late hours, and they have a late hours permit, they can sell alcohol for on-premise consumption until 2 a.m. any night of the week.

OFF-PREMISE BEER/WINE LICENSE OR PERMIT (E.G. CONVENIENCE STORE OR GROCERY STORE)

• Monday-Friday: 7 a.m.-midnight
• Saturday: 7 a.m.-1 a.m. (Sunday morning)
• Sunday: noon to midnight
• A wine-only package store that holds a beer license may not sell wine containing more than 17 percent alcohol by volume on a Sunday or after 10 p.m. on any day.
• A wine-only package store that does NOT hold a beer license must have the same hours of sale as a package store.

PACKAGE STORE / LIQUOR STORE

• Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
• Closed on Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day.
• If Christmas Day or New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, closed the following Monday. (That's right, liquor stores have to be closed on a day that isn't even a holiday if Christmas Day or New Year's Day fall on a Sunday.)

Or you can just give up the liqor and start learning to brew your own beer:

Happy holidays!