Consumer Reports suggests drinks that will let you enjoy the season without busting your diet

CLEVELAND - Champagne! Cocktails! Coffee drinks with whipped cream! It can be fun to celebrate the holidays with a festive beverage. But if you don’t watch those liquid calories, you can pack on the pounds.

Having just a couple of holiday drinks can be the calorie equivalent of an entire meal.

§ Bailey’s Irish Cream has more than 300 calories and 13 grams of fat
§ Hot buttered rum has close to 400 calories and almost 30 grams of sugars
§ Starbucks’ Venti Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha has 700 calories, 27 grams of fat, and 95 grams of sugars.

If you just have to have one of those sweet holiday coffee drinks, skip the whipped cream and whole milk. That will save you 100 calories or more, not to mention all the fat and sugars. A good alternative is the Starbucks Grande Skinny Peppermint Mocha. It has just 140 calories and very little fat.

Another way to cut back is to avoid drinks that are creamy or are made with sweet, syrupy mixers. Another trick is simply to add club soda or seltzer to your drinks. A wine spritzer and a martini on the rocks each have zero grams of fat and less than 150 calories.

Eggnog is a holiday tradition that can also be a real diet buster. A smart swap is Silk Nog. That way you can celebrate with less than half the fat!

Another ShopSmart tip for keeping liquid calories under control is to resist refilling your glass before it’s empty. Refilling too soon is a surefire way to lose track of how much you are drinking.

And have a glass of water after any cocktail you have. That will keep you hydrated and help prevent overconsumption of calories and alcohol.