Christmas Alcoholic Drinks for Parties
Drink parties seem like a thing of the past, however, they come back with a vengeance during the festive period. If you’re planning on having family or friends over for a catch-up, why not consider hosting a Christmas drinks party?
An old family tradition of ours used to be visiting the extended family either on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. These gatherings involved copious amounts of food and drink, alongside good chat and that Christmas spirit. Now that we’re older, our Christmas drinks parties involve more drinks than food… but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun!
With fewer office parties happening in the pub this year, and more people opting for either an in-house Christmas drinks party or one over Zoom, planning is key. Especially if you are the sole organizer. So settle back, and prepare yourself for my top tips for hosting a Christmas drinks party! I’ve even added a few of my favorite Christmas cocktails you can try your hands at making for your festive fiestas.
5 Christmas Cocktails for Parties
No Christmas drinks party is complete without a bowl of punch or some seasonal drinks. Here are my top 4 seasonal cocktails perfect for your Christmas drinks party!
1. Red Wine Slushie
While this may sound awful, it’s incredibly good! Perfect if you’re having your party over Zoom. Empty a bottle of red wine into a freezer-suitable container, and allow it to freeze completely (usually 24 hours). You may prefer to split this across multiple contents to make the next step easier. Add your frozen wine to a blender, along with 30ml of sugar syrup, 30ml of lemon juice, and 75ml of Cointreau. Pulse until the mixture is blended, then pour it into your glasses!
2. A Festive Last Word
In a cocktail shaker, combine a measure of gin, a measure of Green Chartreuse, a measure of St-Germain, and a measure of lime juice over ice and shake well. Strain into a coupe glass, and enjoy with a slice of lime. What’s more festive than a green drink to match your Christmas tree?
3. A Sweet Winter’s Day
Grab yourself 1 and a half shots of gold rum, 1 shot of honey syrup (50-50 runny honey and hot water), 1 shot of single cream, and some honeycomb to garnish. Shake all the liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice, before straining it into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a piece of honeycomb, and enjoy this delicate but strong reminder of a walk on a snowy day.
4. Smells Like Christmas Spirit
Another cocktail of “stick it all in a cocktail shaker”, this one gets garnished with a sprinkling of cinnamon for that extra dash of Christmas spirit. This recipe makes 3 drinks, so you can spread that festive joy around. You’ll need 3 measures of cognac, 3 measures of port, 2 measures of apricot brandy, half a measure of simple syrup, lemon zest, and 3 egg yolks. Shake well over ice, and strain into your cocktail glass. If you’ve got stencils, you can get fancy with your cinnamon sprinkling!
Your Christmas drinks party doesn’t need to cause you sleepless nights in the lead-up to it. You can have a good time, and make sure you get a chance to enjoy one or two drinks while planning it! Are you hosting a drinks party this year? Or will you be making any of the above cocktails? Let us know in the comments below, or share a recipe for your favorite cocktail!
Tips for Prepping Your Christmas Drinks Party
1. Order your drinks well in advance!
Many wine warehouses, off-licenses, and supermarkets start their offers in October. If you’re looking to have your drinks delivered to either your house or your office, now’s the perfect time to get ordering and stock up. And don’t forget the soft drinks. These are essential for both mixers and non-drinkers in your circle. The basics for any soft drink shopping list are cola, lemonade, tonic water, soda water, orange, and ginger. There may be others that you like to drink yourself or have been specified in your cocktails list. But get all your drinks on order!
2. Sort your glassware
If you’re having an in-office Christmas drinks party, you may want to think about glassware. Places like your local catering service often have a glass hiring service in place, perfect for large gatherings. On the other hand, you may prefer to use simple glasses purchased from a local discount store that you can then wash and use again. Another option, while not always eco-friendly, is to use disposable cups. These are good if there are a lot of people involved with multiple different types of drinks. If you’re set on disposable cups, why not try these eco-friendly organic disposable cups?
3. Source your ice
No Christmas drinks party is complete without plenty of ice. And supermarkets run out of it ridiculously early in the lead-up to Christmas! If you’re making your own, start as early as possible, and transfer it into ziplock bags for storage. Otherwise, go buy those bags as soon as possible! Similarly, you can buy, slice, and freeze lemons, limes, and any other fruit that you may add to your drinks!
4. Set up a bar area
You don’t want to spend your entire Christmas drinks party running backward and forward to top up everyone’s glasses. So clear space for all your bottles, glasses, and measures, and direct your guests or colleagues and friends to “the bar”! There is some great Christmas bar decorating ideas on Pinterest, and you can fill ice buckets with your ice and soft drinks or beers. My advice is to keep lids on bottles, and napkins on hand for spillages, and place bins close by for the empties.
And what about food?
In my mind, you simply can’t go wrong with traditional crisps and nuts. You may choose to serve up some festive nibbles, or some hot food. In fact, I’ve got a post you may be interested in – snazzy seasonal snacks to make your Christmas drinks party pop! When planning your food, allow approximately 10-12 canapes per person if serving more substantial nibbles. Remember, the duration of the party and plans for after should be factored in when thinking of your portions.
But how many drinks should you have?
Getting the right number of drinks is important for parties of any kind. Especially when providing drinks for multiple people! You want enough that everyone has a good time, but not too much. Unless you’re happy to have someone bringing their drinks back up in your presence. I once heard that the perfect drinks allowance per person is half a bottle of wine. This works out as approximately 3-4 drinks of any other variety. Is it just me or does that seem a little low? For a family party, we factor approximately 5-6 drinks per person over a 3-hour period.