The festive season is all about spending time with friends and family and it’s never too early to start planning your drinks menu – after all, some consider it the most important part of a party!
We’ve put together a list of the very best Christmas cocktail recipes that you can easily make at home, and our delicious ideas are bound to impress. Start planning now with a little help from us, and you can create a menu of Christmas cocktails that rivals even the fanciest of bars.
ALSO SEE: 5 Reasons Why Hendrick’s Gin Should Be Your Drink Of Choice This Festive Season
1. G and Tea
Be on trend with this G and Tea cocktail at your Christmas party, made with gin and green tea syrup. And as a bonus, you can keep it in your fridge for up to a month! Make up a good batch so you’ve got a delicious drink to serve in the early evening with a few Christmas canapés.
2. Watermelon Mojito
Watermelon and rum go together beautifully in this lovely pink cocktail! It’s just perfect for hot, summer days by the pool, so we recommend making a large batch because everyone will want some.
ALSO SEE: 10 Of Our Favourite Recipes For Summer
3. Saint Lucia Rum Punch Cocktail
Whip up a big batch of this crowd-pleasing rum punch for your next festive get-together. As you can make it in bulk, you don’t have to worry about taking lots of time (and creating lots of mess) to make everyone individual cocktails. Serve it in a large mason jar if you have one, as it will look fabulous and stop any spillages, too.
4. Christmas Wahine Cocktail
Amaretto, cassis, lemon juice and fresh strawberry purée combine to make a gorgeously refreshing cocktail that is perfect for cutting through rich party food. Wahine is a popular cocktail recipe in Hawaii, plus the word “wahine” means “woman” in Hawaiian and Maori, which makes this the perfect drink for a girls’ night.
ALSO SEE: How To Plan The Perfect Party For The Festive Season
5. Frosted Berry Cocktail
Black pepper and agave nectar lift the natural character of tequila in this Frosted Berry cocktail. We like using large cubes of ice to keep it cold and to minimise diluting the mixture. Approach with caution: these beauties are pretty strong, but they’re a fun way to kick off a New Year party or big festive bash.
6. Midnight Kiss
This Champagne cocktail aptly named Midnight Kiss, makes a perfect toast for New Year’s Eve. The recipe shows you how to make your own strawberry and basil purée which is delicious and will keep for weeks in the fridge – perfect for last minute festivities. Once you’ve mastered one cocktail syrup you’ll be able to make any flavour you fancy, so it’s a skill worth learning.
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7. Christmas Cooler
Give your guests a refreshing watermelon and rum cocktail with this Christmas Cooler. It’s quite sweet so serve it towards the end of the evening as a kind of a liquid dessert.
8. Virgin Bubbly
The Duchess Non-Alcoholic Gin & Tonic Bubbly, R99 for 750ml, Yuppiechef
Though not strictly a cocktail, this is a great option to have in the fridge for guests that can’t or don’t drink. It tastes like gin and looks like a festive bottle of bubbly, so serve it with a garnish of seasonal berries or with some fresh grapefruit juice for the perfect Pink Mimosa. Cheers!
Compiled by Food and Decor Editor Claire Badenhorst
*This article originally appeared on womanandhome.com
As the food and decor editor of Woman&Home, Claire enjoys nothing more than eating great food in beautiful locations. In a perfect world, she would travel for a living and have a Lord of the Rings marathon every weekend.