5 Christmas Mocktails for Kids Who Want Their Own Fancy Drink

The grown-ups have had the good stuff for way too long.

Every holiday party it’s the same story. The adults clink their fancy glasses full of sparkly, garnished drinks, while the kids get… a juice box. Maybe a plastic cup of flat soda if they’re lucky. Where’s the magic in that?

Not in my house. Not this year. And hopefully not in yours either.

Mocktails are my secret holiday weapon. They’re colorful, they’re fizzy, and they come with sugared rims and fruit floating on top. Hand a seven-year-old a drink with a red sugar rim and watch them turn into the most grown-up little elf at the party.

The best part? These recipes are easy. No bartending degree needed. Most of them take about ten minutes, and your kids can help make them (translation: they’ll make a mess and love every second).

I went through a pile of YouTube videos and the comments under them, made the ones that looked worth it, and kept the winners. These are my all-time favorite Christmas mocktails for kids, the ones I make every December.

Why I Love These Non-Alcohol Drinks for Kids

Every drink here is alcohol-free and made for kids, with real Christmas color. Each drink comes with the full ingredient list and the video I follow, so you can pick the one that fits your party and start right away.

Grinch Punch

Grinch Punch is on my list because it takes four things and no cooking, and it still looks like a party. Under the video on YouTube, comment after comment says a grandma made this same lime sherbet punch for every party, and that was enough for me to try it. The green punch with sherbet foam and a red sugar rim looks like the Grinch in a glass, and no other drink here does that. I make it when I need something big and fast for a crowd.

I scoop half a gallon of lime sherbet into a big punch bowl, then pour the green Hawaiian Fruit Punch and the Sprite right over the top. The punch foams up on its own, and a big bowl takes about 10 minutes. I chill the Sprite first so the punch is cold from the start.

For the rim I brush on a thin layer of vanilla frosting or marshmallow fluff and dip the glass in red sanding sugar, then add a peppermint stick or a striped straw if I have one. Orange sherbet with Sprite works the same way if you cannot find lime. One thing to know: sherbet has a little milk in it, so skip this punch if dairy is a problem for your kid.

Ingredients

• 1 half-gallon lime sherbet
• 1 (2 liter) bottle Sprite
• 1 gallon green Hawaiian Fruit Punch
• red sanding sugar, optional, for the glass rims

Alcohol-Free Cranberry Pomegranate Christmas Punch

Cranberry pomegranate punch makes a big, deep red bowl for a crowd, and the recipe comes with an alcohol-free version. The original is a grown-up punch with prosecco and vodka. I swap in sparkling grape juice and extra clementine juice, and the list below is for that kid version. What sets this punch apart is all the fruit floating on top, and it is the most festive looking bowl on the table.

You stir the punch together in a large bowl in about 10 minutes, and it makes around 18 cups. I wait to add the sparkling grape juice and the mint until right before serving so the bubbles stay.

Large orange slices float better than small clementine slices, and if I want a deeper red I use grapefruit juice in place of the clementine juice. I make this punch when I want a bowl that looks like Christmas without mixing drinks all night.

Ingredients

• ice (1 large bag)
• 2 litres (about 8 1/2 cups) cranberry juice
• 700 ml (3 cups) pomegranate juice
• 500 ml (2 cups) clementine juice, or orange juice
• juice of 2 limes
• 3 limes, sliced
• 3 clementines, sliced
• 100 g (1 cup) fresh or frozen cranberries
• seeds from 1 pomegranate
• extra 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) clementine or orange juice, in place of the vodka
• 750 ml (about 3 cups) sparkling red or white grape juice, in place of the prosecco
• small bunch of mint leaves

Old School Kool-Aid Holiday Punch

Kool-Aid holiday punch is the cheap, easy drink I can make in one pitcher with things already in the pantry. Tropical Punch Kool-Aid, orange and pineapple juice and a can of fruit cocktail make it sweet and red, with orange and lemon slices on top. Nothing fancy.

I stir everything in a big pitcher until the sugar dissolves, then chill it. That is about 10 minutes of work for a gallon or more, and you can mix it ahead and keep it cold until the party. This is the pitcher I make when I do not want to be mixing at the last minute.

This punch is the sweetest of the big-batch drinks here because a full cup of sugar goes in on top of the Kool-Aid, so I pour small glasses over ice.

Ingredients

• 1 (6 oz) can pineapple juice
• 3 cups orange juice
• 1 can fruit cocktail
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 10 to 12 cups water
• 2 packets Tropical Punch Kool-Aid
• sliced oranges and lemons, for garnish

Jingle Jangle Mocktail

The Jingle Jangle takes three things shaken over ice, and it was made with a kid behind the bar. That is the whole point of this drink: kids can shake it and add the garnish themselves. Unlike the punch bowls and pitchers here, this drink is made one glass at a time, not in a bowl, so it suits a small group or one special glass.

The drink is bright blue and tropical, like a kid’s pina colada. The blue comes from blue curacao syrup, the kind with no alcohol in it, not the liqueur. Cream of coconut syrup and pineapple juice make up the rest. I shake it in a cocktail shaker or a jar with a tight lid and strain it over fresh ice, about two minutes a glass, with a pineapple slice on the rim.

Because each glass is made fresh, I keep the ingredients and ice ready and shake one when someone asks for a drink. That makes this drink the most hands-on one here.

Ingredients

• 1/2 oz blue curacao syrup (non-alcoholic)
• 1/2 oz cream of coconut syrup
• 4 oz pineapple juice
• pineapple slices, for garnish

Spiced Holiday Sangria Mocktail

Spiced holiday sangria has no alcohol and no added sugar, and it still tastes like Christmas. The sangria smells like the holidays and looks grown-up in a pitcher, so kids feel special drinking it.

The base is cranberry and pomegranate juice with orange slices, fresh cranberries and whole spices like cinnamon sticks, star anise and cardamom, topped with sparkling water. I do five minutes of work, then the pitcher goes in the fridge for at least four hours, best overnight, so the spices soak in. No other drink here needs that much waiting, so this is the drink to start the day before. The pitcher makes four glasses.

I only add the sparkling water when I serve the sangria, or the fizz goes flat while the pitcher chills. The cranberries go in raw, so they stay firm in the glass.

Ingredients

• ice
• 1 orange, sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 4 whole star anise
• 8 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• lime juice from 1/2 lime
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 cup sparkling water

Answers To Common Questions

Here is what I would want to know before picking a drink.

Which Can I Make The Night Before?

The spiced sangria is meant to be made ahead. Mix everything except the sparkling water and chill it at least four hours, best overnight, then add the sparkling water when you serve it so it keeps its fizz. The Kool-Aid punch also chills well after mixing. For the cranberry pomegranate punch, mix the juices and fruit ahead, then add the sparkling grape juice and mint right before you serve. The Grinch punch has to be made right when you serve it so the sherbet foams.

How Do I Keep Sugar And Juice Low?

Pediatricians say no more than 4 to 6 ounces of 100 percent juice a day for kids ages 1 to 6. A cup of the cranberry pomegranate punch is nearly all juice, about 8 ounces. The Jingle Jangle has 4 ounces of pineapple juice in one glass and the spiced sangria has about 4 ounces of juice per glass. The Kool-Aid punch has about 2 ounces of juice per cup, but a full cup of sugar goes into the batch. I pour a small glass over plenty of ice or top it with sparkling water.

Which Is Best For A Crowd?

For a big party I reach for the big-batch drinks. The cranberry pomegranate punch makes about 18 cups, the Kool-Aid punch makes a gallon or more, and the Grinch punch fills a large punch bowl in 10 minutes. The spiced sangria makes four glasses and the Jingle Jangle is one glass at a time, so they fit a small group. In a punch bowl, one big block of ice melts slower than small cubes.

Are These Safe For Toddlers?

Some of the garnishes are a problem for little kids. Whole cranberries, pomegranate seeds, pieces of fruit cocktail and hard candy like a peppermint stick are choking hazards for toddlers, and the spiced sangria has whole cinnamon sticks, star anise, cardamom pods and cloves. For toddlers, I leave those off their cup or strain the pitcher and serve just the liquid. Everyone still gets the festive color without the small pieces.

I usually make one big bowl for the table and one small hands-on drink the kids can help with. That way there is always something cold ready and something fun to shake or garnish when friends stop by.