In this post I’ll be sharing an Easy Christmas Cranberry Punch Recipe.
I love a good holiday party! How about you, Friend? Holiday gatherings are so much fun and festive. A perfect time to catch up with old friends and family and to make new friends along the way.
Whether attending holiday festivities, a shower or other special occasion, there is bound to be some type of party punch beverage on hand for guests. They are so good too!
This cranberry holiday punch that I am sharing is an old fashioned recipe that has been around for ages. It is the perfect holiday drink for your Christmas dinner, family gatherings or your annual Christmas party if you hold one.
My whole family and friends love this festive drink and there is not a drop of alcohol in it (except that one year my cousin spiked it and got in so much trouble), so it is family friendly so that everybody can enjoy this simple sparkling cranberry punch.
Easy Christmas Punch
Doesn’t that look amazing my friend? I just adore a beautiful classic large punch bowl for Christmas parties and holiday meals. You could also serve this cranberry punch in a drink dispenser if you prefer.
The punch bowl just seems to add that beautiful classy touch to the holiday table and I like to add in a few frozen fresh cranberries and fresh orange slices to the punch for a touch of color and garnish.
This party punch would also be a great addition to your Christmas morning breakfast or brunch menu.
Cranberry Punch
Since you are the host or hostess for your gathering, it is up to you if you want to have your Christmas punch non-alcoholic or to serve Christmas punch with alcohol.
The original recipe doesn’t call for alcohol but you could easily add some if it suits your gathering. There is no denying that Christmas cocktails are also fun during the holiday season.
Festive Holiday Punch
What to serve with Christmas punch? Whether you are hosting happy hour or Christmas celebrations with family and friends, it depends on the time of day and the style of the gathering to determine what you’ll serve with your punch.
If it is a simple gathering in the afternoon or evening, then spread a bit of holiday cheer with appetizers and simple finger foods for guests to enjoy. A holiday cheese ball with crackers, a simple meat and cheese platter would be perfect for your holiday festivities.
A sit down holiday dinner might include prime rib, which is a classic for Christmas dinners, or a baked glazed ham along with your favorite holiday sides.
Breakfast or brunch gatherings are a great time to serve fresh fruit along with a Christmas breakfast casserole.
Entertaining never has to be complicated and this delicious cranberry holiday punch will make a great addition to your menu.
What is Christmas Punch Made of?
This holiday punch recipe is very simple and uses ingredients that are not hard to find at your local Wal-Mart or grocery store. Here’s what you’ll need…
- Cranberry Juice Cocktail – the main base for this holiday punch or you can just use regular cranberry juice if you prefer it over the cocktail version.
- Pineapple Juice – adds wonderful fruit flavor to the drink.
- Granulated Sugar – I recommend the superfine sugar or you can prepare a simple syrup with some of the juice and regular sugar to add in when needed.
- Almond Extract – adds flavoring and is a classic during the holidays for drinks and baked goods.
- Ginger Ale – another flavor addition and helps turn this into a slightly fizzy beverage.
For garnish, which is optional, I mentioned that I like to use fresh cranberries that I keep frozen instead of ice cubes. The punch is already cold anyways. The fresh orange slices also look so pretty floating around in the punch.
Off to the side where the crystal punch glasses sit, I like to use a couple of pretty glasses and fill them with more of the frozen cranberries and a few rosemary sprigs. It looks so pretty for the festive season.
Other options: If you do not like or want to use pineapple juice then use orange juice. It’s delicious and adds great flavor to easy recipes for party punch.
Lime slices could also be used for garnish if preferred. In place of the ginger ale, which I happen to love, or you could use a lemon-lime soda like Sprite.
Cranberry Christmas Punch
Now, let’s put it all together. Use a large pitcher to mix the base of your punch. I like to do this step either the day before, or several hours before serving, so that I can allow it to get perfectly chilled in the refrigerator.
The base will be a mix of the fruit juices, sugar and almond extract stirred together until well combined. Once you have this part mixed up, just place the lid on the pitcher and place it in the fridge to get nice and cold.
If you want to use ice, a festive ice ring placed in the punch bowl is a nice touch or ice frozen into fun holiday shapes add an extra fun touch. Are there even molds for holiday ice cubes? I’ll have to check into that.
Easy Christmas Punch Recipe
This punch recipe is wonderful for Christmas parties but is also great any time of year for other gatherings too. It can be put together last minute if needed and always gets rave reviews.
Easy Christmas Cranberry Punch Recipe
Below you will find the printable recipe card for making this easy Christmas Cranberry Punch Recipe for your next get-together.
Easy Christmas Cranberry Punch Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups Cranberry Cocktail Juice or cranberry juice
- 2 cups Pineapple Juice
- 1 cup Granulated White Sugar recommend superfine crystals
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 2 Liter Ginger Ale chilled (about 2 quarts)
- Fresh frozen cranberries and fresh orange slices for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Mix together the cranberry juice, pineapple juice, sugar and almond extract in a large gallon sized pitcher. Refrigerate to chill until ready to serve.
- Next, when ready to serve; combine the punch mixture with the ginger ale then transfer to a punch bowl or beverage dispenser for serving.
- Garnish the holiday punch with frozen cranberries and orange slices, if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Thank you so much for stopping by! I am so glad that you did. I know that you will love this easy Christmas cranberry punch recipe just as much as I do. Your guests will love it too!
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Until next time, Friend, have a safe and merry Christmas! Love and happy Cooking!
About Julia
Hey Y’all! I’m Julia, the cook and writer behind the recipes here at Julia’s Simply Southern. I began my website so that I could share easy to follow recipes that anyone can use to put a home cooked meal on the dinner table. Thanks so much for stopping by!
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