25 Christmas Punch Recipes to Celebrate the Holiday Season
Pass the (holiday) punch!
Christopher Testani
Let’s be honest, no holiday party or festive gathering of any kind is complete without a big bowl of colorful punch. The best punches, which typically contain alcohol but are also easy to make without booze, feature fruits or fruit juice. Some of our favorite punch recipes pair fruits and other ingredients like pineapple and lime, grapefruit juice and ginger, and apple cider and elderflower liqueur.
This collection of Christmas punch recipes includes proper punches as well as cocktails that can easily be made into a punch by doubling or tripling the recipe. Serve ‘em throughout the holiday season (and beyond) to delight your guests.
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Holiday Punch
This Caribbean-inspired punch features sweet pineapple juice, tart lime juice, and three kinds of alcohol. You’ve got dark rum, which plays off the simple syrup, Campari, which adds a bitter touch for balance, and Prosecco, which supplies a fun fizz. To add some whimsy to your punch bowl, consider making an ice ring in your Bundt pan and placing it in the bowl before serving.
White Grapefruit-Ginger Spritz Punch
Christopher Testani
This pretty holiday punch boasts a ginger simple syrup base that’s surprisingly easy to make. It’s paired with unsweetened white grapefruit juice and a bottle of chilled Prosecco to yield a crowd-pleasing drink that is 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. The ruby red punch also includes warming bourbon, bitter Campari, and bright citrus juice that manages to balance everything out. To cut down on prep time during the busy holiday season, shop for containers of 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 in your area, other fortified aperitifs like Cocchi Americano or Lillet Blanc can be used in its place, though with 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 really makes this libation holiday-worthy. The spicier your ginger beer, the more fire and bite your punch will have—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 and earthy flavors to vodka. While you can certainly serve this punch in a bowl, we like to pour it in a glass pitcher so it can be the centerpiece of the holiday bar.
Gin-Cider Punch
Christopher Testani
Apple cider, gin, and elderflower liqueur join forces to create a refreshing and flavorful holiday punch that’s light and crisp. Opt for the freshest apple cider you can find for the best results. For a non-alcoholic option, simply up the tonic water and skip the gin and liqueur. Add thinly sliced lemon rounds to the pretty apple garnish for even more glam.
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 the best results, make sure you chill this bright punch for at least four hours prior to serving it.
Sparkling Lemonade Punch
Sparkling lemonade, which is bubbly, citrus-forward, and a little sweet all in one, acts as a great punch base no matter what season it is. While effervescent lemonade pairs well with both wine and beer, we like coupling it with pomegranate juice 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 make a big batch that you can serve just like a punch—all you need is Champagne and apple cider! Add several sprigs of fresh rosemary to your batch of cocktails 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 your holiday party. In this drink, 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 any fall or winter gatherings thanks to apple brandy, white wine, and apple cider. And if you’re hosting this holiday season, feel free to prep this punch ahead of time so you can focus on other hosting responsibilities on the big day.
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Molasses-Spiced Spiked Cider
While cider is typically a fall drink, it’s also great to sip on in the winter, especially if you add some hearty molasses to the mix. With this drink, molasses adds dark-sweet undertones to apple cider, and fresh ginger adds a spicy heat. Additionally, rum is a perfect pairing since it’s made from sugarcane—just like molasses. Adding the rum at the end ensures the alcohol doesn’t burn off during the cooking process.
Ponche Crema
If you haven’t heard of ponche crema, it’s a Christmas cocktail from Venezuela that’s known for being sweet, spiced, and incredibly creamy, not unlike eggnog. It’s made with ingredients like sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and dark rum, and gets a bright burst from some fresh lime zest. Since this recipe makes 10 drinks, it’s easy to serve to a large crowd.
Sweet-and-Spicy Mulled Wine
Think of mulled wine as a warm punch that’s perfect for the winter months. And 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 that your revelers will love.
Holiday Negroni
Negroni sbagliatos may be having a moment thanks to TikTok, but this holiday negroni recipe is probably a better fit for your Christmas party guests. As it turns out, a negroni makes for a perfect holiday drink when it’s infused with warm flavors like star anise, cinnamon, and cloves overnight. This recipe makes eight drinks, so feel free to serve it as a punch with a strip of orange zest and whole star anise as a garnish for each individual glass.
Boozy Apple Cider Slushie
Bring the flavors of fall to your winter soiree with this fun slushie. You’ll start by making a boozy granita using a mixture of bourbon, apple cider, and a super-easy spiced brown-sugar syrup. Then, you’ll freeze and scrape, freeze and scrape until you reach "slushie" texture. We recommend making a batch of these slushie cocktails and pouring them in individual glasses garnished with an apple slice for the prettiest result.
White Sangria
For an easy punch-like libation, buy a bottle of white wine, (we like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc) white grape juice, and club soda, and fruits like nectarines, tangerines, and white grapes. After combining all of these ingredients with some simple syrup, you’ll 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 cocktail, which is a fizzy, flavorful drink. If you can’t find blood oranges, go ahead and substitute freshly-squeezed orange juice or grapefruit juice. What we love about this recipe is that it makes four drinks, and can easily be transformed into a punch with some simple multiplication.
Pomegranate Royale Champagne Cocktail
Make a batch of this festive-hued Champagne cocktail with either elderflower liqueur or Chambord, depending on what you have on hand. This drink 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 an herby depth of flavor fit for a holiday party.
Spiced Apple Kombucha Cocktail
Spiced rum is the secret to this delicious drink because it adds depth and flavor with just one ingredient. And even though it might sound tricky to make, rum infused with warm spices, like cloves, cinnamon sticks, and allspice berries, is easy to whip up. The 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’ve got a spare bottle of light- to medium-bodied red wine, use it to make this festive sangria. You’ll 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.
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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.
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