Do you feel guilty because you were going to drink there Dona? it's good that you and your other friend can support each other sober on Saturday. Maybe next time you either cry off or just tell your friends you don't drink now. The sort of social situation where you feel sucked into drinking again is a really bad thing for people like you or me. Lovely to see you back on the thread, by the way! And yes, aren't the holidays difficult!
Boodles - regarding self-calming, well part of it is just acknowledging that I am worried about something and thinking about how much of the anxiety is realistic, and what I can do to minimise it. An example is flying, which I have mentioned before, maybe on the last thread. My old method was to get so drunk that it is a wonder they let me on the plane. 
. Current method is to recognise that I worry about the journey to the airport, about being late, and about all the security aspects. It isn't the flying per se, it's all the leadup to it. So now I overplan my journey allowing loads of time, I eat comfort food little and often, I take a few Kalms (valerian herbal thingies).
It's like peeling an onion, coming to terms with the person I really am without the blanket of booze. Anybody else relate to that?