Holiday Drinks To Warm Your Spirits

When it comes to serving up drinks with a festive holiday feast, I think there are two times to focus on- before the meal and after. While enjoying the tasty spread before us (and I can't wait to see all the new recipes getting served up this week!), we tend to drink simple ice water. We like to let the food shine while we sit at the table!

It's fun to have a "signature" before-dinner drink and something to warm you up after the meal, though. Here at the Parenting Miracles house, we like to serve these up to chase away the chill and add some sparkle to our festivities!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To start off the celebrating, how about a Cranberry Sparkler?

The first step is to make a cranberry syrup. To do this, add the following to a small saucepan:

• 1 c cranberry juice
• 1/2 c fresh cranberries
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2 c water

Bring to a rolling boil over med-high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Boil gently, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. Scoop out the "chunky stuff", cover, and chill to cool completely. This can be used as a base for drinks (as it is here) or as an ice cream or pancake topper.

Start with a small, clean, clear glass. I like a small champagne flute or a simple cordial glass, as shown here:


Dampen the rim of the glass. Simplest way to get it even? Invert the glass on a clean, damp paper towel:


Set the damp rim on a small plate of white sugar:


Isn't that starting to look a little more special already?


Add 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of your cranberry syrup to the bottom of the glass:


Fill glass with champagne, sparkling juice, ginger ale, or even seltzer:


Garnish with a toothpick speared through three cranberries.



Let's toast a beautiful Advent season!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once you've filled your belly with delicious holiday fare, it's time to relax, listen to some Christmas carols, and enjoy your family!

What to serve? How about a homemade "latte" whipped up without fuss or fancy equipment?

Start with a half-cup of hot, strong coffee...

Find a small, pretty cup or mug...


Add 1 generous tablespoon flavored creamer or heavy cream to the bottom of your cup...


Pour in hot coffee...


Looks pretty already!


Top with whipped cream- I like to whip mine fresh and sweeten very lightly but if you spray it from a can, I'll never know...

My cream was pretty "stiff", but it melted down into frothy yumminess. Top with a pinch of cocoa powder or cinnamon...
Voila! Snuggle in and enjoy the season!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now it's your turn. What festive beverages do you like to serve up? Post about it on your blog and leave your link in the Mr. Linky below. Please be sure to link back to this post so your readers can enjoy many more delicious drink recipes! No blog? Feel free to share in the comments.

***Please don't forget to click on the green Mr. Linky icon below to see all the additional delicious beverages other bloggers have contributed to our collection- from eggnog to wassail to cocoa concoctions, there's something there to tickle your festive tastebuds!***

Please visit again tomorrow when Jen serves up Appetizers over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

We'll be putting together a whole delicious dinner over the course of the week. Click on the button at the top of this post to see the schedule. Join us each day for the next course!