26 Christmas Punch Recipes That Help You Celebrate the Season
Punch up holiday happy hour with our festive recipes!
Christopher Testani
Let’s be honest, no holiday party is complete without a big bowl of colorful punch. This collection of Christmas cocktail recipes includes proper punches, big-batch cocktails, and single-serve drinks that can easily be made into a punch by upscaling the recipe. Pick several to delight guests throughout the holiday season and beyond.
Holiday Punch
This Caribbean-inspired punch features sweet pineapple juice, tart lime juice, and three kinds of alcohol: dark rum, Campari, and Prosecco. Add some whimsy to your punch bowl by making an ice ring in your Bundt pan and placing it in the bowl just before serving.
White Grapefruit-Ginger Spritz Punch
Christopher Testani
This pretty holiday punch boasts a gingery simple syrup paired with unsweetened white grapefruit juice. Add a bottle of chilled Prosecco and you have a crowd-pleasing drink that's a little sweet, a little tart, and satisfyingly effervescent. Garnish the punch bowl with pink slices of Ruby Red grapefruit and sprigs of thyme for a memorable touch.
Bourbon-Campari Punch
Christopher Testani
Punches can be pretty retro, and this one leans into those retro vibes courtesy of an ice ring studded with pomegranate arils that floats in the bowl. This ruby red punch features warming bourbon, bitter Campari, and bright citrus juice to balance everything out. To cut down on prep time during the busy holidays, shop for ready-to-use pomegranate arils.
White Negroni Punch
This bright yellow punch is basically a twist on the ever-popular negroni. It swaps a yellow-hued French herbal liqueur, Suze—in place of the traditional, ruby red Campari—but still maintains the cocktail’s signature well-balanced bitterness. If Suze is hard to find, go to other fortified aperitifs like Cocchi Americano or Lillet Blanc, though you'll get slightly sweeter results.
Minty Moscow Mule Punch
This party-sized version of a Moscow Mule adds one upgrade: a subtle, cool, and inviting note of mint. The resulting cocktail is every bit as smooth and refreshing as the classic vodka drink that inspired it, but the mint adds a festive freshness that makes this libation holiday-worthy. The spicier your ginger beer, the more fire and bite it gives your punch, so choose accordingly.
Golden Ginger-Lemon Vodka Punch
This punch packs, well, a punch thanks to an entire bottle of vodka. It gets its bright yellow hue from a clever ginger-turmeric syrup that also lends its spicy, earthy flavors to vodka. While you can certainly serve this punch in a bowl, we like it in a glass pitcher starring as the centerpiece of the holiday bar.
Gin-Cider Punch
Christopher Testani
Apple cider, gin, and elderflower liqueur join forces to create a refreshing, flavorful holiday punch that’s light and crisp. For even more glam, add thinly sliced lemon rounds to the pretty apple garnish. To make a non-alcoholic option, simply up the tonic water and skip the gin and liqueur.
Rum and Pineapple Punch
The apple cider base in this punch delivers the crisp flavors you're craving, while pineapple pieces, orange juice, brandy, and rum help lighten the taste for a subtly sweet, refreshing fall or winter drink. For best results, chill this bright punch for at least 4 hours before serving.
Sparkling Lemonade Punch
Sparkling lemonade—bubbly, citrus-forward, and a little sweet—is a great punch base no matter what season it is. This three-in-one recipe pairs the effervescent lemonade with wine, beer, or pomegranate juice, which is our preference for a holiday drink. Add ice cubes, lemon slices, and even pomegranate seeds for a festive touch.
Cider Bellini
This recipe only yields one drink, but go ahead and quadruple or quintuple it to serve as a punch. All you need is Champagne, apple cider, a bowl or pitcher, fluted glasses, and party guests. Add several sprigs of fresh rosemary to your big batch for a cheery touch.
Chambord Lemonade Punch
While this grownup take on pink lemonade makes for a great summer cocktail, there’s no rule that says you can’t serve it at Christmas. In this single-cocktail recipe, which you can easily make in bulk, the lemonade gets a boozy upgrade courtesy of vodka and Chambord. If you like your cocktails fizzy, swap standard lemonade for a carbonated French version.
Fall Cider Sangria
Sangria is a great all-season drink, but this version is perfect for fall and winter gatherings thanks to apple brandy, white wine, and apple cider. If you’re hosting this holiday season, prep this punch ahead of time so you can focus on other hosting responsibilities on the day of.
Molasses-Spiced Spiked Cider
While cider is typically a fall drink, it’s also great to sip in winter, especially if you add some hearty molasses for dark-sweet undertones and fresh ginger for spicy heat. Adding rum just before serving ensures the alcohol doesn’t burn off during the cooking process.
Ponche Crema
If you haven’t heard, ponche crema is a Christmas cocktail from Venezuela that’s known for being sweet, spiced, and incredibly creamy, similar to eggnog. It’s made with sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and dark rum, and gets a bright burst from fresh lime zest. This recipe makes 10 drinks, so it’s easy to serve to a crowd.
Sweet-and-Spicy Mulled Wine
Think of mulled wine as a warm punch that’s perfect for winter. While some mulled wines can be sticky-sweet, this recipe—which makes eight drinks—calls for a hearty dose of black peppercorns and spicy fresh ginger. The result is a balanced and unique cocktail your revelers will love.
Holiday Negroni
Negroni sbagliatos may be the new cocktail on the block, but this holiday negroni recipe suits a Christmas party because it’s infused with warm flavors like star anise, cinnamon, and cloves overnight. Serve this eight-serving recipe as a punch, and garnish each glass with a strip of orange zest and whole star anise.
Boozy Apple Cider Slushie
Bring the flavors of fall to your winter soiree with this fun slushie. Start by making a boozy granita with bourbon, apple cider, and a super-easy spiced brown sugar syrup. Next, freeze and scrape, freeze and scrape until you reach a slushie texture. We recommend making a batch of these and pouring them into individual glasses garnished with an apple slice.
White Sangria
For an easy punch-like libation, buy a bottle of white wine—we like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc—white grape juice, club soda, and fruit like nectarines, tangerines, and white grapes. Combined with a simple syrup, you have a refreshing drink that gets sweeter with time and is perfect for holiday parties.
Kombucha-Blood Orange Mule
If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you add kombucha to a standard Moscow Mule, you’re going to want to make this fizzy, flavorful cocktail. What we love about this recipe is that it makes four drinks, and can easily be transformed into a punch with some simple multiplication. (If you can’t find blood oranges, substitute freshly squeezed orange juice or grapefruit juice.)
Pomegranate Royale Champagne Cocktail
Make a batch of this holiday-hued Champagne cocktail with elderflower liqueur or Chambord, whichever you have on hand. This cocktail recipe also calls for pomegranate juice, vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup. It takes just 10 minutes or so to make, and can easily be transformed into a batch drink.
Tarragon French 75 Cocktail
This twist on a classic French 75 takes the sparkling wine and lemon drink and replaces the third component—gin—with warming cognac for a more wintry take. Additionally, this recipe, which makes eight drinks, calls for licorice-scented tarragon that delivers a herby depth of flavor fit for a holiday party.
Spiced Apple Kombucha Cocktail
Spiced rum is the star of this cocktail. It might sound tricky to make, but rum infused with warm spices—like cloves, cinnamon sticks, and allspice berries—is easy to whip up. Spiced rum is then joined by apple cider, lemon juice, and apple kombucha to create a cozy cocktail your guests will approve of.
El Versalles Passion Fruit Cocktail
Champagne adds a festive fizz to this raspberry-and-passion fruit cocktail that gets its holiday-worthy color from a combination of raspberry and passion fruit puree. On the booze front, you’ll also find rum and triple sec. To transform this drink into a punch, do some simple multiplication and garnish the punch bowl with fresh raspberries.
Red Sangria With Blackberries
If you have a spare bottle of light- to medium-bodied red wine, use it to make this festive sangria. You also need a hint of brandy, sugar, plenty of fresh fruit, and club soda. For a wintry take, we suggest using fruits like pomegranate seeds, apple slices, and blackberries.
Paloma
Take this standard paloma recipe and transform it into a punch by adding some limeade and plenty of sliced citrus fruits to garnish the punch bowl. It’s simple, colorful, and guaranteed to impress your holiday party guests.
Easy Blender Eggnog
What's a Christmas cocktail list without eggnog? This easy recipe uses your blender to whirl four servings at a time. For a bigger batch, serve chilled in a punch bowl, or consider using your slow cooker on its WARM setting and allow your guests to self-serve.
Related: How to Incorporate Fresh Garden Herbs Into Cocktails
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