Christmas Cocktails to Make at Home: A Festive Drinks Menu

Christmas is the one time of year the drinks matter as much as the food. It's also the point when the host has a bird in the oven and no hands free, which is why so many people default to warm prosecco and a bottle of Baileys nobody finishes.

A short festive menu, batched ahead and poured by guests, fixes it. Here's what to make and what to set up.

Honest note: we design and print our cards, badges, prints, candles and party decorations in the UK. The drinks cabinet and the cocktail machine are recommendations from elsewhere.

Five drinks worth making

• Espresso martini. The one everybody asks for from about 8pm onwards.
• Cranberry and orange spritz. Festive, low strength, looks the part.
• Spiced old fashioned with a cinnamon syrup and an orange twist.
• Mulled wine, on the hob, topped up rather than made twice.
• A proper no-alcohol option: spiced apple, lemon and soda, served long with ice.

Batch it before the day

• Anything without fizz can be pre-mixed in a bottle and kept in the fridge.
• Make the cinnamon or spiced syrup a week ahead. It keeps for a month.
• Cut citrus twists in the morning and cover them.
• Pre-batched means measured, which means nobody makes a triple by accident.
• Then let people pour their own. An automatic cocktail making machine measures and mixes a drink at the push of a button, so guests serve themselves and the host isn't stuck behind a table with a jigger all night.

Setting up a Christmas bar

• Give it a fixed spot away from the kitchen. A drinks cabinet with doors and drawers is what turns a collection of bottles into a bar: bottles stay upright and out of the light, the tools hide in the drawers, and the top gives you a surface at the right height to build a drink on.
• A tray, an ice bucket, the glasses and the batched bottles. Nothing else.
• A printed menu card so nobody asks the host what's available.
• Candles and greenery on the bar rather than tinsel - Shop the range
• A print or a sign above it as a focal point - Shop the range

What to serve when

• Something sparkling on arrival, always. It sets the tone in one glass.
• Keep the strong ones back until after the food.
• Espresso martinis from 8pm, never before, or the evening peaks too early.
• Mulled wine for anyone arriving cold from outside.
• Water on the table, visibly, from the start.

Glassware and garnish on a budget

• Three glass types get you through: coupe, rocks, highball.
• Big ice cubes in the short drinks. It's the cheapest way to look like you know what you're doing.
• One orange, one lemon, a bag of cranberries and a cinnamon stick covers every garnish here.
• Borrow glasses rather than buying. Supermarkets loan them free.
• Rosemary sprigs from the garden do more than any bought decoration.

Cocktail kit as a Christmas gift

• A cocktail machine suits the person who hosts every year and never sits down.
• A drinks cabinet is the joint gift for a new home or a big birthday.
• A shaker, jigger and a bottle of bitters makes a proper small gift.
• Add a card and a candle to finish it - Shop the range
• Christmas drinks party ideas - Read the guide

Shop Christmas cards

How to write it so it lands

• Batch everything without fizz.
• Espresso martinis from 8pm, not before.
• Big ice, one orange, one lemon.

Where to shop next

• Party items
• Greetings cards
• Scented soy candles
• Funny wall art
• Pin badges
• Luxury dinner party ideas at home
• How to host a cocktail party at home
• Living room home bar ideas
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• New Year's Eve cocktail party at home
• Party essentials: drinks kit, masks and candles
• How to make the perfect home bar
• Garden bar ideas for a British shed
• Christmas drinks party ideas
• Summer garden party ideas
• Dinner party games for adults
• 40th birthday party ideas at home
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are the best Christmas cocktails to make at home?

An espresso martini, a cranberry and orange spritz, a spiced old fashioned, mulled wine and one good no-alcohol long drink. Five is plenty: any more and you're buying bottles you'll use once.

Can you make cocktails in advance for a party?

Yes, for anything without fizz. Mix the spirits, syrups and juices in a bottle, keep it in the fridge, and add the sparkling element or the ice at the moment of pouring. Batching also keeps the measures honest.

How do you set up a Christmas drinks station?

Pick a spot away from the kitchen, put out a tray, an ice bucket, three glass types and the pre-batched bottles, and add a printed menu card. Keep the bottles and tools in a cabinet so the surface stays clear enough to actually make a drink on.

What's a good no-alcohol Christmas drink?

Spiced apple with lemon and soda over plenty of ice, with an orange twist and a cinnamon stick. Serve it in the same glassware as everything else - that's what makes it feel like a drink rather than a consolation.

Do you sell the drinks cabinet or the cocktail machine?

No. We design and print greetings cards, enamel pin badges, prints, candles and party decorations in the UK. The cabinet and the automatic cocktail maker are recommendations from elsewhere - only the things linked to our own shop are ours.