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Home » Drinks » Christmas Punch

November 4, 2019 By Sara 68 Comments

Christmas Punch

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This Christmas punch is a blend of pomegranate, lime and cranberry, all mixed together into a fizzy beverage that’s perfect for any holiday party. A festive and refreshing drink that can easily be turned into a cocktail for the adults!

I like to serve some fun drinks when I entertaining during the holidays – for a hot drink, I opt for slow cooker apple cider or homemade hot chocolate. For a cold drink, I serve this easy Christmas punch, and it always gets rave reviews.

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Christmas punch in a pitcher garnished with fresh cranberries, limes and mint.

Every holiday party could benefit from some seasonal drink offerings! This super simple Christmas punch is cheery, refreshing and the perfect balance of sweet and tart. It takes about 5 minutes to put together and looks so pretty on your buffet table.

How do you make Christmas punch?

This recipe starts with a can of frozen limeade concentrate. The limeade is blended with pomegranate-cranberry juice and finished off with sparkling water. Add some fun garnishes like fresh cranberries, lime slices and mint, and your punch is ready to serve.

A pitcher with pomegranate-cranberry juice and limeade concentrate.

Tips for Christmas Punch

  • I use a pomegranate-cranberry juice blend by Ocean Spray. This drink contains sugar and other fruit juices which makes it sweet and pleasant to drink. Do not try to use plain unsweetened cranberry or pomegranate juices, they’ll be much too tart.
  • Can’t find a pomegranate-cranberry juice blend? Try a cranberry juice cocktail instead.
  • I use a lime flavored sparkling water with no added sugar. You can also use plain sparkling water, or the lemon or orange flavors. My store even has a seasonal cranberry orange flavor which would be delicious!
  • You can serve this drink either in a pitcher, drink dispenser or a punch bowl, whichever is more convenient.
  • Freeze your cranberries before you add them to the drink and they will serve as ice cubes – the drink will stay cold but won’t get watered down! You can also make ice cubes with cranberries or lime wedges in them, or even a festive ice ring if you’re using a punch bowl.
  • Fresh pomegranate seeds also make a nice garnish if cranberries aren’t available.

Sparkling water being poured into a pitcher of pomegranate and cranberry juice.

Can you make Christmas punch in advance?

This drink is best served right after it’s made, as the carbonated water will start to go flat within a few hours of being added to the punch. Luckily this punch takes just minutes to make, so it’s easy to whip up at the last second. If you’re really pressed for time, you can mix the pomegranate-cranberry juice and limeade together up to 8 hours in advance. Store the mixture in the fridge, and add the sparkling water at the last minute.

A pitcher of Christmas punch made with pomegranate, lime and cranberry juices.

Alcoholic Christmas Punch

This Christmas punch can easily be made into an alcoholic beverage with the addition of any of the following

  • Champagne
  • Prosecco
  • Rum
  • Vodka

Simply add the alcohol to the original recipe in your desired amount, then serve and enjoy.

Glasses of Christmas punch garnished with fresh cranberries, mint sprigs and lime wedges.

I make Christmas punch for every winter gathering, and I always make a big pitcher of it on Christmas Day for everyone to enjoy while we’re relaxing around the house. It’s pleasantly sweet, but not overly so, and you can never go wrong with a little bit of fizz!

More holiday entertaining recipes

  • Cheese Ball Bites
  • Christmas Wreath Cookies
  • Reindeer Chow
  • Winter Fruit Salad
  • Stained Glass Cookies

Christmas Punch Video

Christmas punch in a pitcher garnished with fresh cranberries, limes and mint.
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5 from 20 votes

Christmas Punch

This Christmas punch is a blend of pomegranate, lime and cranberry, all mixed together into a fizzy beverage that's perfect for any holiday party. A festive and refreshing drink that can easily be turned into a cocktail for the adults!
Course Drink
Cuisine American
Keyword Christmas punch
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Total Time 6 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 169kcal
Author Sara Welch

Ingredients

  • 6 cups pomegranate-cranberry juice such as Ocean Spray
  • 1 can frozen limeade concentrate
  • 6 cups lime flavored sparkling water
  • 2 cups fresh cranberries
  • 2 limes sliced
  • 4 sprigs mint
  • Optional addition: rum, champagne or vodka in quantity of your choice.

Instructions

  • Place the pomegranate-cranberry juice and limeade concentrate in a pitcher. Stir until combined.
  • Add the sparkling water and stir until well combined.
  • Garnish with cranberries, limes and mint, then serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 108mg | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 15.6mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.4mg

This post was originally published on November 15, 2018 and was updated on November 4, 2019 with new content.

Filed Under: Drinks Tagged With: Cranberries, Lime, Pomegranate

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Comments

  1. Mel says

    December 28, 2020 at 8:59 pm

    5 stars
    This was delicious and easy! Made this for Xmas Eve but added 2 cups of vodka and it came out great. My in-laws even loved it and they are quite picky. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Kleiner-Goudey Sara says

    December 20, 2020 at 12:45 pm

    Do you thaw the limeade before mixing it?

    Reply
    • Sara says

      December 20, 2020 at 9:03 pm

      You don’t need to thaw it, it will melt on its own.

      Reply
  3. Carol says

    December 25, 2019 at 9:30 am

    5 stars
    I made this recipe for Christmas Eve and
    followed the recipe, adding a bottle of Prosecco .
    Big hit and definitely a keeper. Thank you! 🎄👍🎄

    Reply
  4. Jaye says

    December 21, 2019 at 3:34 pm

    12 cups of liquid, 12 oz of limeade concentrate, 2 cups of cranberries… this is about a gallon worth of punch. You sure about those measurements for one pitcher? I figured it’s half that, but in the video you used a whole can of limeade. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Sara says

      December 22, 2019 at 7:23 am

      The recipe is correct as written.

      Reply
      • Jaye says

        December 22, 2019 at 9:13 am

        How many ounces is your pitcher?

        Reply
  5. Jul says

    December 20, 2019 at 6:08 pm

    How much vodka would you add?

    Reply
    • Sara says

      December 20, 2019 at 8:01 pm

      I would add 1 cup!

      Reply
  6. Summer Ward says

    December 10, 2019 at 3:09 pm

    For anyone who has added rum/vodka, how much did you add to the recipe to give it the right amount with out overwhelming?

    Reply
  7. Carey DARRAH says

    November 18, 2019 at 3:12 pm

    5 stars
    Is the ocean spray juice frozen or in the juice aisle?

    Reply
    • Sara says

      November 18, 2019 at 8:26 pm

      In the juice aisle in a plastic bottle.

      Reply
    • Trisha says

      November 19, 2019 at 1:09 am

      5 stars
      I made this for a family gathering. One with vodka and one without. It was a big hit!! I used a blended cranberry and pomegranate juice.

      Reply
  8. Lili Kovacevic says

    November 10, 2019 at 2:26 pm

    Where can you buy the limeade concentrate

    Reply
    • Sara says

      November 10, 2019 at 7:02 pm

      It’s in the freezer section of most grocery stores, it comes in a can!

      Reply
  9. Sarah says

    November 7, 2019 at 10:40 pm

    Do you replace the lime sparkling water with alcohol of choice or just add the alcohol with everything else?

    Reply
    • Sara says

      November 8, 2019 at 8:46 am

      Add the alcohol with everything else! Unless you’re using a sparkling drink such as Prosecco, in that case you’d want to omit the sparkling water.

      Reply
  10. Martha says

    November 7, 2019 at 5:24 pm

    Can I use a rum flavoring, instead of real rum, have a couple of recovering alcoholics?

    Martha

    Reply
    • Sara says

      November 8, 2019 at 8:47 am

      You can, just make sure your rum flavoring is free of alcohol, as many extracts do contain it.

      Reply
  11. Gavin says

    November 6, 2019 at 7:35 pm

    5 stars
    This sounds dangerously good. Better keep the vodka locked away when I’m making this one…….!!

    Reply
  12. Erica Schwarz says

    November 6, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    5 stars
    Ohhh this looks so good. Perfect for any holiday party – I’ll use the option to add champagne to mine!

    Reply
  13. Jas says

    November 6, 2019 at 7:23 pm

    5 stars
    This sounds like it’ll be my new favorite festive drink! YUM!

    Reply
  14. Anita says

    November 6, 2019 at 7:23 pm

    5 stars
    Oh my, how lovely is that color? And cranberries and pomegranate just scream festivities and holiday. This is going to be on my Thanksgiving menu for this year. 🙂

    Reply
  15. Adrianne says

    November 6, 2019 at 6:34 pm

    5 stars
    This is a great looking Christmas punch and I am sure it is thirst quenching! I would be having mine with some champagne mixed in, that sounds like a delicious option!

    Reply
  16. Sherrie says

    November 3, 2019 at 8:10 am

    Prep Time 5 minutes
    Cook Time 1 minute
    Total Time 6 minutes
    What am I supposed to cook for 1 minute? Thanks

    Reply
    • Sara says

      November 3, 2019 at 9:06 pm

      No need to cook anything, it’s a default that my recipe card puts in there when there is no cooking time!

      Reply
  17. Patricia says

    October 15, 2019 at 7:17 am

    Hello! This sounds wonderful. What size can of limeade concentrate? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Sara says

      October 15, 2019 at 8:53 am

      12 ounces!

      Reply
  18. Jewelle says

    January 18, 2019 at 7:14 pm

    Hi, Which I do you recommend, Ocean Spray Cran-Pomegranate Juice Drink or OceanSpray 100% Cranberry Pomegranate Juice.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sara says

      January 18, 2019 at 7:38 pm

      I use the juice drink, only because the 100% juice version is quite tart!

      Reply
      • Jewelle says

        January 18, 2019 at 8:15 pm

        Thank you so much! And please forgive my typo 😔

        Reply
  19. Boyd Kobe says

    January 15, 2019 at 6:16 pm

    5 stars
    That sounds like a delicious drink! Definitely, want to give this a try.

    Reply
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