3 Christmas Mocktails You Need to Make Your Holiday Party a Hit

Holiday parties are the best way to keep the season joyful and festive. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know how much I enjoy a good cocktail. However, sometimes the gathering calls for an all-ages drink, or something that all can enjoy without guilt. Mocktails have exploded in popularity over the past few years. Christmas mocktails are delicious, visually stunning, and fill up a rocks glass just as nicely as your favorite cocktail.

Kids, non-drinkers, designated drivers, folks in recovery – everyone deserves a fancy Christmas party drink! It’s bad luck to raise a toast with water, so all your party guests require something special. We’ve found three delicious mocktails, and to keep things simple they can all be easily turned into a cocktail for those of you who wish to imbibe.

Holiday Party Set Up

Send out your invitations. Hang your decorations. Get the food ready. Spin a good holiday playlist on the sound system. Mix up your drinks and set out your glassware—coffee mugs, rocks glasses, and champagne flutes—because we’ve got Christmas mocktails for all tastes and styles.

Festive Wassail

Here We Come A’ Wassailing. Holiday busking. The original carolers. To be honest, no one has ever knocked on my door and burst into song, and I’d probably be a bit weirded out if actually happened. However, it seems to be an understood tradition. This song has an unknown origin, but by the mid-Victorian era it was well known as a caroling standard. A merry group of folks would mix up a pitcher of wassail and go door to door, sharing song and drink in exchange for gifts and snacks.

There are as many different variations of wassail as there are Christmas carols, so it’s really just a matter of finding a recipe that looks good to you. A few years back a good friend took me to a Madrigal Christmas dinner and performance. Everything there was fabulous, and I tried my best to recreate the wassail from that night.

1. Keep two of your lemons separate for garnish, and then put everything else in a large pot on low heat. Bring it to a slow simmer and then cover. Cook until all spices and flavors are infused, about an hour or so.
2. Strain all the solids from the wassail. This is a warming drink, so at the party keep it in a slow-cooker on warm or low. Ladle it into a coffee mug and garnish with a slice of lemon.

If you want to kick yours up a notch, add a shot of bourbon or brandy to your mug before sipping.

Santa’s Sunburn Sipper

The Big Guy has a good bit of downtime, but once he clocks in he puts in some absolutely grueling shifts. With a magical night of global deliveries that makes even Amazon’s logistical supervisors tremble with admiration, he earns that downtime year after year.

I have it on good authority that once Santa returns to HQ full of cookies and milk, he gives his elves a great bonus, sends his reindeer into untouched coniferous wilderness, gives Mrs. Claus her gift, and then jets off for a well-deserved tropical vacation. And he has a favorite Christmas mocktail at his favorite Tiki Hut.

Santa’s Sunburn Sipper (serves 6)

Ingredients:

1 cup finely chopped peeled ginger

1/2 cup sugar

1 liter club soda

12 lime wedges

1. Make ginger syrup by bringing ginger, sugar, and 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and cover. Let it rest for up to an hour. Strain the syrup into a pitcher or mixing glass. Cover and refrigerate until cold.
2. Saddle up to the drink table with a rocks glass full of ice. Pour in a quarter cup of the ginger syrup and a half cup of club soda. Squeeze one lime wedge into the glass and stir. Garnish with another lime wedge and start sipping like Santa.

This can be mixed ahead of time and served from a punch bowl, but the club soda will start to lose its fizz in 2 hours or so, so plan and serve however will work best for your party.

Maybe you earned this vacation as well. In that case, toss a shot of either white rum or gin into your glass and enjoy.

Cran-Orange Cider Mimosa

There was a time when I viewed mimosas as something to balance out my coffee while crushing some crab cakes eggs benedict, huevos rancheros, or a salmon platter at a hip brunch spot. But here’s the thing about brunch: it’s a wonderful feeling of relaxation, luxury, and overindulgence. A Christmas party should feel the same way!

Instead of the tried and true, textbook mimosa, why not serve your party guests something unique, crisp, and bursting with seasonal flavors?

Cran-Orange Cider Mimosa (serves 24)

Ingredients:

3 cups orange juice

6 cups sweetened cranberry juice

6 cups sparkling apple cider

Fresh cranberries

Cinnamon sticks

Rosemary sprigs

This should be served as icy as Christmas morning, so keep the ingredients cold. Grab a champagne flute; pour in an ounce of orange juice, 2 ounces of cranberry juice, and 2 ounces of sparkling apple cider. Garnish with 2 or 3 fresh cranberries, a cinnamon stick, and a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Kids will love this one. It’s refreshing and it will make them feel sophisticated, like they’re full participants in the holiday festivities. But if you’d like to make an adult version it’s no problem at all. You could go traditional, and use champagne or prosecco instead of the sparkling cider, but I recommend sticking with the theme and using a hard cider.

Wrapping Up

A Christmas party is easily the best way to pack joy and holiday spirit into one memorable night. The most important part is always the gathering of friends, family, and loved ones, but a spread of great food and drink is the best way to make sure everyone leaves with a heart and belly full of cheer. Christmas Mocktails are a deliciously wonderful way to make sure all your guests get a taste of holiday joy.

Do you have a favorite holiday cocktail or mocktail? Drop it in the comments below. In the meantime, we wish you a wonderful season! Raise a toast of your choice and celebrate the best time of year!

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