Easy, fun and fruity, this Christmas Punch recipe is a holiday drink flavored with cranberry, orange, lime, and my secret ingredient, almond extract! Add rum for a festive spiked cocktail.
Whether you’re hosting a holiday party or just a small group of family and friends, our champagne cocktail is also a fantastic treat. Serve them up with some linzer cookies for a complete holiday spread.
Why You’ll Love This Punch
Every holiday party I host, I try to serve one signature cocktail.
In past years we’ve enjoyed this super fun and fruity Grinch Cocktail. If you haven’t tried it yet, you totally should! But after several years, I wanted to mix things up.
Today’s Christmas Punch recipe is super versatile, but so flavorful and delicious as written. Based off my Cranberry Ginger Ale Punch recipe, I think you will love this one!
Here’s what makes it perfect for your holiday parties:
- I’ve kept this Christmas punch without alcohol so everyone can enjoy it! Just set the alcohol on the side so guests can add as much or as little as they choose.
- It’s not only delicious, it’s also beautiful! The fresh cranberries, sprigs of mint, and deep red color make it look a little bit like a holiday version of sangria.
- You can make Christmas punch in advance before your party, which means you don’t have to spend all night playing bartender for your guests. More time to mix and mingle—and eat appetizers like Artichoke Jalapeno Dip!
Important Ingredient Notes
- Cranberry juice – Tart cranberry juice is festive for the holidays, and its flavor also balances the sweetness of the other ingredients.
- Lemon-lime pop – Like Sprite or 7UP.
- Frozen limeade – The kind that comes in a can! Thaw it before starting the recipe.
- Almond extract – My secret ingredient! Despite its name, almond extract actually has a cherry-like flavor. It adds an unexpected twist to this holiday punch.
- Rum – Or another alcohol. I share some other ideas below!
- Fresh cranberries – If you can’t find fresh, you can thaw frozen cranberries and use those instead.
- Orange and limes – Slice them and remove any seeds.
- Fresh mint – For a festive finishing touch.
How to Make Christmas Punch
- Mix the Liquids: In a large pitcher, stir together the cranberry juice, lemon-lime pop, frozen limeade, and almond extract.
- Add the Rest: Stir the sliced oranges, cranberries, sliced limes, and fresh mint to the pitcher.
- Spike and Serve: To serve, add ice to a glass, add one shot of rum, then fill the glass with punch.
Serving Suggestions
Everyone loves a fruity cocktail, but not everyone loves a strong alcoholic drink.
Here are several different alcohols that I think pair nicely with today’s easy punch recipe. When serving to guests, I place the punch in a self serve pitcher, drink dispenser, or punch bowl, with the alcohol on the side.
This way guests can add as much or as little as they prefer.
My favorite pairings for Christmas punch are:
- Bacardi Rum
- Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum
- Fireball
- Amaretto – My favorite, as it pairs well with the almond extract!
Tips and Tricks
- Be sure to choose a cranberry juice that is 100% juice, not a juice cocktail, which usually only contains 10% juice.
- An optional substitute for the lemon-lime soda would be to use a sparkling water (or a flavored sparkling water). This will give you a less sweet Christmas punch.
- This easy Christmas cocktail makes about 10 cups of punch. You can double the recipe for a large crowd (or even triple it) and you can halve the recipe if you’re making it for a small group.
Recipe FAQs
There are so many different ways to make Christmas punch! My version uses cranberry juice, limeade concentrate, and lemon-lime pop, along with a shot of alcohol, but you can customize the recipe by using ginger ale, sparkling water, Prosecco, and other options.
No, punch can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic—it’s up to you. You can serve this Christmas punch either way!
You can serve punch in a traditional punch bowl with a ladle, but I prefer using a pitcher because I think it’s easier for serving.
More Christmas recipes
- English Toffee
- Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
- Almond Bars
- Grinch Brownies
- Peanut Butter Fudge
- Soft Molasses Cookies
- Divinity Candy
- Christmas Crack
- Sugar Cookies – perfect no-spread cut out cookies
Christmas Punch
Ingredients
- 4 cups Cranberry Juice
- 4 cups lemon-lime pop
- 1 can frozen limeade thawed
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 ½ cups Rum
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 oranges sliced
- 2 limes sliced
- handful of fresh mint
Instructions
- In a large pitcher, combine cranberry juice, lemon-lime pop, frozen limeade (that has been thawed), and the secret ingredient: Almond Extract!
- Add sliced oranges, fresh cranberries, sliced limes, and fresh mint to the pitcher.
- To serve, add ice to a glass, add one shot of rum, then fill glass with punch.
Notes
- My easy Christmas Cocktail makes about 10 cups of punch. You can double the recipe for a large crowd (or even triple) and you can halve the recipe if making for a small group.
Nutrition
Easy, fun and fruity, Christmas Punch recipe. This holiday drink is flavored with cranberry, orange, lime, and my secret ingredient, almond extract! Add rum for a festive spiked cocktail.
Looks wonderful! Will be making this for my party this weekend. We made this for a Christmas party and received many compliments from guests young and old. Thank you for sharing.
Larry Sclafani
http://nextbestreview.com/
Yum! Made this punch non-alcoholic and everyone loved it!
Excellent punch and perfect for the holidays. It’s so festive and yummy.
I really enjoyed this easy punch, so festive and bright!
This punch is awesome! Such a great idea adding the almond extract. 🙂 🙂 Thanks for sharing! Perfect for Christmas.