☞ Boozy Beverages ☜
These cocktails are enormously popular throughout the holiday season, thanks to their festive colors and seasonal ingredients. To keep things simple, offer 1 or 2 cocktail choices and pre-mix a batch just before your guests arrive.
Cranberry Margarita
This cranberry margarita makes a spiked cocktail for any occasion, whether Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a summer afternoon. The swizzle sticks aren’t essential yet add a little lovely bling.
Christmas Cocktail
This Christmas cocktail is a festive combination of Campari, Prosecco, simple syrup, and fresh lemon and clementine juices. Serve with a twist of orange.
Easy Eggnog
This easy eggnog is made with melted ice cream, bourbon, dark rum, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The ice cream makes it rich and easy to toss together. A Christmas cocktail classic.
Winter Mojito
This winter mojito combines dark rum, a simple syrup infused with herbs, lime, and soda for a twist on the traditional cocktail. We’ll happily raise a glass to drinking this all year long.
☞ Toasty Tipples ☜
Whether you host an outdoor gathering or live in a cold climate, folks love to wrap their hands around a toasty mug of holiday cheer. Make a big batch of spiced cider or mulled wine and keep it warm in your slow cooker all evening. (I’m all about easy at this time of year.)
Swedish Christmas Glögg
Glogg is Scandinavian mulled wine served at Christmas. This version combines port wine, brandy, whiskey, raisins, almonds, orange zest, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Kentucky Coffee
Kentucky coffee is an after-dinner drink made with strongly brewed coffee, cream, sugar, and bourbon. It’s a superb holiday sipper, and so easy to make.
Spiced Cider
There is very little on this earth better on a cold night than combining warm apple cider and bourbon with a blend of exotic spices. The smell fills the room, and more than a couple of these will put you on your butt. Believe me.
☞ Holiday Sippers for Every Age ☜
Even if you don’t have any peewee guests, you’ll likely have friends who are avoiding alcohol or have offered to be designated drivers for the evening. Most of the recipes above can be modified to be alcohol-free, or those below are designed to be booze-free as written. They’re a cup of cheer for anyone, any age.
Homemade Sparkling Juice
This homemade sparkling juice combines a ginger-spiked grape and apple juice syrup with carbonated water or seltzer for an easy and festive non-alcoholic beverage.
Chai Spiced Apple Cider
This chai spiced apple cider calls for nothing more than apple cider, your favorite chai tea, and a cinnamon stick. Quick liquid comfort.
Lime Soda
This lime soda is an easy summer alternative to plain old water made with lime juice, soda water, and a little salt. Natch, there’s always the option of adding a splash of something stronger and turning it into a cocktail.
☞ Snacks and Nibbles ☜
If your guests are drinking, then there’s a good chance they’ll be hungry, too. A spread of easy snacks and handheld bites is the way to go for a cocktail party. Some The One’s my favorites include:
- Nuts: Set out several bowls of sweet and spicy roasted nuts or Ina Garten’s rosemary cashews and watch them vanish.
- Snack mixes: This spicy Chex mix is ideal for holiday parties because it makes a huge batch. (I remember Mama Leite making this every Christmas time.)
- Cheese: Jeepers, where to start? Blue cheese balls, pimento cheese, cheesy gougères . . . you get the idea.
- Charcuterie: Almost anything goes here, but try to offer a selection of cured meats, chicken liver pâté or country pâté, cornichons, crackers or cheese straws, as well as condiments, such as whole-grain mustard.
- Canapés: Offer a selection of bite-size savory scones, mini mac and cheese bites, crunchy cheddar bow ties, crostini, warm olives, and more.
David Leite
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