Home » Recipes » Holly Jolly Spiced Christmas Punch

Holly Jolly Spiced Christmas Punch

This post may contain affiliate links, please visit our privacy policy for details.

Celebrate the season with this Holly Jolly Spiced Christmas Punch! Made with a homemade simple syrup that’s been infused with a festive blend of spices, cranberry juice, apple juice, and freshly squeezed orange juice. Though, the goodness doesn’t stop there! Right before serving, each glass is topped with champagne. Every sip just feels like Christmas! Perfect for holiday parties, get-togethers, just when you’re in need of a fruity, sweet, and spiced drink that’s sure to please everyone. So delicious!

angled photo of four glasses of punch on white platter with whole spices, cranberries, a small ornament, christmas greenery, and gold leaf garland behind.

About The Recipe

It’s the first Saturday of December and ’tis the season for fun and festive cocktails! We have been so excited to share this recipe with all of you. It’s definitely one of our new favorites to mix up for a quick and crowd pleasing drink!

Every sip fills you with festive cheer (hence the name, holly jolly!). The best part? This can easily be made into a non-alcoholic punch, too.

Though, I’ll be honest…when we have company over for Christmas, we tend to either make our Spiced Apple Cider or our Gingerbread Mulled Wine. We’ve not ever really made a punch! But, it’s always been something we’ve told ourselves we’d get around to.

So, the inspiration for this actually came from when I was making a batch of mulled wine to enjoy while helping my mom decorate the tree. Sounds kind of weird, I know, but for that, we do make a spiced syrup as the base before adding the wine.

That one moment really just inspired this whole drink. I thought it would be fun to do a spiced punch, making a spiced simple syrup, and using fruit juices that are synonymous with Christmas!

My mom was all for it! So, we started concocting. It took a few tries to get the proportions right, but once we did…there is really no better cocktail!

pulled back shot of four glasses of punch with cranberries, orange slices, and rosemary sprigs in each glass, with two gold spoons beside, more cranberries around, two cinnamons sticks, and two star anise around.

The best part might just be how easy it is to make. I know you’re all gonna be busy this holiday season, so the simple syrup can be made DAYS in advance. Just whenever you have time, you can make it, pop it in the fridge, and use it whenever you need it.

Then, the ingredients are just three super simple fruit juices (cranberry, apple, and orange!), mixed together, and topped with some champagne. It doesn’t get any easier!

Be sure to finish each glass with a few orange slices and fresh cranberries (even a sprig of rosemary!) for a gorgeously Christmassy drink that everyone is sure to love.

Reasons You Will Love This Spiced Christmas Punch

  • Can easily be made in advance.
  • Full of festive flavor!
  • Uses a custom blend of spices to get the perfect amount of spice.
  • Can be made into a mocktail!
angled close up of christmas punch in glass with cranberries, orange slices, and rosemary sprig inside with more glasses around.

Equipment Needed

Ingredients

  • Granulated Sugar
  • Water
  • Cinnamon Sticks
  • Star Anise Pod
  • Allspice Berries
  • Whole Cloves
  • Cardamom Pods
  • Crystalized Ginger
  • Cranberry Juice
  • Apple Juice
  • Orange Juice
  • Brut Sparkling Wine
bottle of champagne, apple juice, cranberry juice, orange juice, candied ginger, whole spices, sugar, and water on marble surface.

How To Make Spiced Christmas Punch

Step 1: Make the syrup

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, allspice, cloves, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and star anise. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture come to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight.

Strain and set aside.

strained spiced syrup in measuring cup.

Step 2: Mix

Combine cranberry juice, apple juice, orange juice, and syrup in a punch bowl. Stir.

spiced punch in large glass bowl.

Step 3: Serve

When ready to serve, ladle the fruit juice mixture over ice and top with champagne. Enjoy!

How To Store

Once the punch is made (without the sparkling wine), you can simply store it in an airtight container or a lidded serving jug and keep in the fridge for 4-7 days.

Substitutions

  • To make this non-alcoholic, you can use club soda!
  • Fresh ginger can be used instead of crystalized.
  • Store-bought orange juice can be used instead of fresh.

Looking for more recipes like this? Here are a few you may like: Homemade Eggnog, Pomegranate Moscow Mule, Orange Champagne Cocktail, Gingerbread Spiced Mulled Wine

angled shot of four glasses of spiced punch on white tray with cinnamon sticks, star anise, slice of orange, and ornaments around.

Expert Tips

  • If you prefer not to use ice, you can mix the juices and refrigerate them overnight, then combine them with the simple syrup the next day; or you can use an ice ring in the punch bowl.
  • If using store-bought orange juice, make sure to buy No Pulp/Pulp Free.

When you make this Holly Jolly Spiced Christmas Punch, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

angled photo of four glasses of punch on white platter with whole spices, cranberries, a small ornament, christmas greenery, and gold leaf garland behind.
5 from 1 vote

Holly Jolly Spiced Christmas Punch

'Tis the season for this delicious Holly Jolly Spiced Christmas Punch! A simple to make punch that's infused with the most festive of flavors. Every sip really feels like Christmas!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Refrigeration Time 12 hours
Total Time: 12 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 18

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
  • 1 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 12 cardamom pods, cracked
  • 12 pieces crystallized ginger
  • 4 sticks cinnamon
  • 2 star anise pods
  • 4 cups cranberry juice
  • cups apple juice
  • cups fresh orange juice
  • 1 bottle brut sparkling wine

Instructions
 

  • In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, allspice, cloves, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and star anise.
  • Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture come to a boil.
  • Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat.
  • Allow to cool.
  • Store in a covered container in the refrigerator overnight.
  • Strain the syrup.
  • Combine cranberry juice, apple juice, orange juice, and syrup in a punch bowl.
  • Stir well.
  • To serve, fill serving glasses with ice.
  • Ladle 4 ounces of punch over ice.
  • Top with 2 ounces sparkling wine.

Notes + Tips!

Substitutions:
  • To make this non-alcoholic, you can use club soda!
  • Fresh ginger can be used instead of crystalized.
  • Store-bought orange juice can be used instead of fresh.
 
Expert Tips:
  • If you prefer not to use ice, you can mix the juices and refrigerate them overnight, then combine them with the simple syrup the next day; or you can use an ice ring in the punch bowl.
  • If using store-bought orange juice, make sure to buy No Pulp/Pulp Free.

Tools You May Need (affiliate links)

Nutrition

Serving: 1drink | Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.03g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 148mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 64IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

When you make this recipe, remember to tag @bakerstble or hashtag it #BakersTable!

– Still Hungry? –

Here are a few recipes may like!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.