It's no secret that over the festive season, we mingled. We met friends, family and yes, some love interests.

The festive season is a great backdrop for romance, with all the festivities in the air. So it's only inevitable that you met a certain special person at a social gathering or during an outing with friends.

But with the braai-stands dusted and cleaned, and the festivities over, is your love interest a keeper?

Was a festive season love interest meant to cross over with you? How can you tell if you were just a holiday fling, or if you are onto something? What happens now?

Relationship counsellor Lethabo Ntsasa tackles all these questions.

Ntsasa says that how and where you met your love interest is the first clue.

"There is no question that some people indulge a bit of alcohol over the festive season. With all the parties going on, it can really be difficult to tell if someone you got along with like a house on fire is going to only be a one night of drunken passionate fling, or if anything solid can come from that.

"My take is that any person you meet under the influence is probably less likely to be a permanent partner, and there are several reasons for that," Ntsasa says.

"Some people, while under the influence of alcohol, do not mean anything that they say. Some become overly friendly and yearn for sexual healing after drinking."

So, how can you tell if someone really likes you, even though you guys were drinking?

"A person who will not want to discuss anything love or sex related with you while you are both inebriated, but will instead take your number, and call you the following day to arrange a proper, sober meeting - is genuinely interested.

"So, if you spent a night with someone after indulging a bit over the festive season, and you are now stewing over why they have not called or if they actually meant the wonderful things they said that day, I'm afraid the writing is on the wall." Ntsasa says.

According to Ntsasa, another factor to consider is the place you met your potential love interest.

"If you were visiting your hometown over the holidays and you happened to meet a love interest, chances are they are not a keeper.

"Long-distance relationships seldom work out, and if they do, usually it's when both partners were invested in the relationship first, long before the one partner had to depart to a different town," he says.

"If you met your love interest far away from where you live and work, chances are when the festivities end and everyone gets back to reality, it's the end of that chapter."

How much you know about your love interest can also give you a clue, according to Ntsasa.

He cites that most people do not show who they really are during the festivities of the festive season, instead they put on a façade.

"Most of the time you find that the person is totally different from the chirpy, cheerful person you met over the festive season.

"The switch of personality once the festive season is over may be a huge factor that deters the relationship from succeeding."

More on the positive side, Ntsasa says, it is possible to start a lifelong relationship with a person you just met at a party.

"The trick is how you both conduct yourselves after the fact.

"If you both have a mutual respect and understanding of where you want your relationship to go, and both are willing to put in the work, there is no reason you should not turn into spouses.

"Sometimes true love can be found in the strangest of places, provided that there really is something there to work with," says Ntsasa.