11 Easy Holiday Cocktail Recipes That’ll Make You Feel Merry & Bright

If you’ve never put Bailey’s in your eggnog, now’s the time. Averie Cooks’ recipe for Santa’s magic potion will help you get the ratio just right, and hit it with a little cinnamon and nutmeg for that perfect holiday flavor.

Mimosas are a crowd-pleasing cocktail, so why not just put a holiday spin on them for your winter party? Damn Delicious’ cranberry mimosas blend orange, pineapple, and cranberry juice with sparkling white wine. Just top with a sprig of rosemary and a couple cranberries and serve.

A Cookie Named Desire’s spiked hot chocolate is probably the most work of any recipe in this list, simply because it does involve melting some semi-sweet chocolate — but I promise that’s the extent of it. And let’s be real, the results look absolutely worth that effort.

If you’re not a bourbon fan, might I recommend Princess Pinky Girl’s drunken Rudolph, a hot chocolate cocktail spiked, instead, with Fireball. This recipe is even less work and is sort of the everyman’s version, if you will.

Family Fresh Meals’ starry night punch recipe is nonalcoholic, but obviously you can just swap the sparkling grape juice for the real thing. It will yield a classic Christmas red sangria, which you can top with star-shaped apple cutouts for the perfect finishing touch.

If you like a true classic cocktail, maybe A Cookie Named Desire’s maple old-fashioned is as festive as you want to get — and that’s OK. This blend of bourbon, cherry liqueur, maple syrup, and toasted pecan bitters has all the seasonal flavor you need without veering too far.

If you want a cocktail that absolutely screams Christmas, then Dude That Cookz’ peppermint cream martini is the drink for you. It’s a delicious mix of peppermint schnapps, white cream liqueur, and vanilla vodka, with the cutest crushed-candy-cane rim.

Why haven’t I thought of apple cider sangria before? Averie Cooks explains everything you’ll need and how to get the perfect balance of flavors. Then just load ‘er up with apples, cinnamon sticks, oranges, pomegranate, and whatever else your holiday heart desires.

Personally, I swore off blue drinks after one particularly rough hangover in college, but Princess Pinky Girl’s Jack Frost cocktail is admittedly very fun-looking. Just blend your ingredients together, rim your glass, and clink it with a friend’s.

What if you took ye olde egg cream, which is kind of like an ice cream float, and made it with eggnog and champagne? It certainly doesn’t look half bad. A Cookie Named Desire’s recipe explains how (it’s super easy), and there’s a bonus holiday mimosa recipe higher up in the post, too.

One last mimosa idea before you go, courtesy of Budget Bytes: simply swap out orange juice for apple cider, pour it into your champagne flute until the color is just right, and bada bing bada boom. It doesn’t get any easier than that, and you know it’s going to be delish.