The holidays are a great time for gathering friends together for food, fun, and drinks. When we looked up ideas for unique drink concoctions, most of the lists included 20 or more recipes. In an attempt to provide some helpful input for our friends and community members throughout South Hill, Washington, and beyond, we decided to share three fun drink recipes we are trying for this year's holiday gatherings.
Fun drink ideas for Friendsgiving
For our local Friendsgiving celebration we wanted to try a new drink recipe. We searched for something that was a bit out of our comfort zone but easy to make. After reviewing several options online we landed on the Sparkling Apple Cider Sangria. We used a core recipe from 2 Cooking Mamas but customized it some, mainly to simplify it.
We used the following ingredients:
Sparkling apple cider
Champagne
Vanilla vodka
Granny smith apples cut into cubes
Cinnamon sticks
While the components don’t sound like they would be a great taste fit, everyone loved the drinks and it was difficult to keep it mixed for the many guests. It’s tasty and sweet, but not overpoweringly sweet. You can remix certain elements to your taste preference. What have been some of your favorite Friendsgiving traditions?
Fun drink ideas for Christmas
For our customer appreciation and community partner celebrations, we also wanted some fun drink recipes to tantalize our friends. For these visits, we tried a variation on Jingle Juice from Delish. The name rolls off of the tongue and the drink has a festive appearance.
We modified a few items in the Jingle Juice recipe:
Cran-Pomegranate Juice
Red Moscato
Prosecco
Vanilla vodka
Frozen mixed berries
Sliced limes
By changing a few of the ingredients we made this drink our own special mix and it was enjoyed by all, even those who aren’t typically fans of wine-based drinks.
Fun drink ideas for New Years
New Year is a time to celebrate. A time to be thankful for the close of one year and to look forward to the challenges of the upcoming one. While our drink choices for Friendsgiving and Christmas were wine-based, New Year is going to be something vibrant. We chose the Jack Frost from Delish. This year has been colder than usual, much earlier than usual, so this ice-blended drink should be the right vibe for this year's celebration.
Other than possibly flavoring the vodka, we likely will stick to the plan for this one. The recipe calls for a simple process, “In a blender, combine vodka, Prosecco, blue curaçao, lemonade, and ice. Blend until combined.”
Have fun and if your celebration includes alcohol, please consume responsibly. We wish you and yours good tidings and a happy New Year!
