If you’re hosting a Christmas party, you need this easy Christmas punch recipe! Perfect for any holiday party, this big batch holiday drink is refreshing and delicious. A non-alcoholic Christmas punch that can easily become boozy by adding 2 cups of vodka or rum. Ice cubes, orange slices, and fresh cranberries look stunning in the pitcher or punch bowl!

Festive Christmas Punch Recipe

Bust out your favorite punch bowl or drink dispenser, because today, we’re making punch! And not just any punch, but my famous Christmas party punch. Literally, I make this holiday party punch for every-single-holiday-party!

Cranberry juice, orange juice, and apple cider give it the coziest flavor profile. But my “secret” ingredient? Homemade simple syrup featuring rosemary, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon. Right before serving, I top it off with ginger beer (but ginger-ale or lemon lime soda works, too) for the perfect fizz.

Holiday Punch Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions

• Water: Our base for the simple syrup. Don’t sub water with any other liquid.
• Sugar: Brown sugar will work fine as a substitute.
• Herbs & Spices: Star anise pods, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and fresh ginger add festive spice. Rosemary and fresh orange peel add a festive holiday flavor. You may absolutely omit any of these ingredients if you can’t find them or don’t want to use them.
• Vanilla: Adds a rich vanilla flavor and helps enhance the other flavors in the simple syrup.
• Orange Juice: Regular orange juice or blood orange juice work great. I prefer freshly squeezed oj but use whatever variety you enjoy best.
• Cranberry Juice: Use 100% cranberry juice not cranberry juice cocktail, which is loaded with sugar. If you do use cranberry juice cocktail, you’ll want to reduce the amount of simple syrup. You could sub 1/2 of the cranberry juice for pomegranate juice if desired.
• Apple Cider: This is the non-alcoholic variety that’s essentially just thicker apple juice. You could also sub pineapple juice instead.
• Ginger Beer: I love non-alcoholic ginger beer but you can sub ginger ale or any lemon lime soda for this instead.
• Garnish: Frozen Cranberries, orange slices, and rosemary sprigs make a gorgeous garnish. You can add one or all these to your drink dispenser, pitcher, or punch bowl.

Make Easy Christmas Punch for Your Holiday Party

1. Make the Simple Syrup: Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Cool then strain through a fine-mesh strainer. Chill the simple syrup until it’s cool to the touch.
2. Make the Punch: In a large pitcher or punch bowl combine the simple syrup, orange juice, cranberry juice, and apple cider. Top off with the ginger beer and garnish with cranberries and orange slices. 
3. Serve the Punch: You can serve this in paper or plastic cups, wine glasses, or in punch cups. You should serve it with plenty of ice. Add extra cranberries, orange slices, and rosemary sprigs. This will make the drink taste and look better.

Want to Make This in Advance?

• Make the simple syrup up to 2 weeks in advance and store in the fridge until needed. Stir well before use.
• Combine the simple syrup and juices in your pitcher or punch bowl and chill up to 3 to 4 hours before needed. Stir well before adding the ginger beer.
• Add the ginger beer 30 minutes before serving. I don’t suggest adding this earlier because it’ll begin to loose it’s carbonation.
• Add the garnishes 15 minutes before serving. I don’t suggest adding them earlier than this, or they’ll begin to wilt and look sad in the punch bowl.

This is the timeline I use to make this Christmas punch in advance while still making it. This method allows it to taste fresh, bubbly, and delicious. And keeps it looking like the stunning showstopper it is!

How to Make it an Alcoholic Christmas Punch

If you’d like to make this non-alcoholic Christmas punch into a boozy holiday drink, it’s very easy! Simply stir in 1 to 2 cups of your favorite liquor. I find the flavors in this punch go great with bourbon, rum, whiskey, vodka, or tequila and Grand Marnier. I’d stay away from creamier liquors, which won’t pair well with this recipe.

1 cup of alcohol added will yield a very mild (read: weak) drink, while 2 or 2 and 1/2 cups will yield a much boozier drink. But you can use as much or as little as desired, depending on your desired drink strength.

Another idea is to make the Christmas punch as-is (non-alcoholic) and place a few liquor bottles next to it. Let your guests play bartender and add whatever spirit they want to create their perfect holiday drink.

More Christmas Party Drink Recipes

• Cranberry Apple Moscow Mule
• White Christmas Margaritas
• Cranberry Ginger Margaritas
• Peppermint Hot Chocolate
• Mulled Wine Sangria