The outfits are planned and the presents bought and wrapped. Now it’s time to do the Christmas food shop and get all those extras sorted. Whether you’re hosting family and friends or keeping it minimal again this year, you can’t deny that Christmas food and drink just hits differently!
If you’re anything like me, you’ll grab anything Christmas themed, whether it’s party food or your favourite tipple. Whilst I love the classics, I love to experiment with drinks every year. This time, I thought I’d share some of my favourites with you!
Each of my top four tried-and-tested Christmas cocktails are designed to be paired with a Kelham Print item so you can show your allegiance to your favourite spirit! I have tried and tested all of these (for research, obviously) so they have my seal of approval!
Chocolate Orange Gin Martini
It sounds posh but it’s super easy to make! Chocolate orange is such a classic Christmas flavour (thanks, Terry’s) so I wanted to see how it would work in a cocktail.
Ingredients (per serving):
50ml chocolate gin liqueur (I used Bullion x Locksley Gin Co Lab)
25ml freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Valencia orange, for garnish
Recipe:
Add the gin liqueur and orange juice into the shaker. Follow with cubed ice (around ⅔ full) and shake for around 20 to 30 seconds. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with orange peel.
If you don’t have flavoured gin, use regular gin and cover the top of the drink with dark chocolate shavings, as suggested here. They need to be small so you might need a micro planer for this. It might be too much with chocolate gin but if you love chocolate, you might want to try it!
Pair with:
Don’t forget to wear your Drink More Gin when creating your martini so you can protect your clothing. For extra sparkle, add glitter text onto your Filled With Christmas Spirits T-shirt or sweatshirt to really get into the Christmas mood. Off for a girls night in? Grab your tote bag to carry your ingredients and impress all your friends with your cocktail making skills!
Festive Cosmopolitan (inspired by Difford’s Guide)
A fruity Cosmo will never go amiss at Christmas time, especially if you’re not a big drinker or don’t drink at all. Switching out the alcohol for orange juice makes a great mocktail and still looks great in a martini glass!
Ingredients (per serving):
30ml vodka
20ml Cointreau liqueur
10ml falernum liqueur Or Ginger Beer!
45ml cranberry juice
15ml freshly squeezed lime juice
Recipe:
Pop all the ingredients into a shaker with cubed ice. Shake for up to 30 seconds before pouring into a martini glass. For extra pizzazz, mix the zest of the lime with a little bit of sugar and apply around the rim of the glass.
I love this recipe as you can switch out the alcohol for your favourites. I changed the falernum liquor for ginger beer and it turned out lovely. Any excuse to experiment means you get to drink more, win win!
When it comes to making it a mocktail, you might need to experiment with how much of each fruit juice to put in as well as adding in orange juice. This recipe suggests adding sparkling water too but shake it gently or it will fizz up way too much!
Pair with:
Get cosy and comfy with the It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Cocktails sweater. It would be rude not to if you’re having a cocktail making party! I just wouldn’t recommend wearing white when making them as I can tell you from experience, there might be spillages. 
Bakewell Fizz (inspired by this recipe)
If you’re a big fan of Bakewell Tarts/Cherry Bakewells, this next cocktail will be right up your street! It’s more of a grown up version with a kick of fizz and punch!
Ingredients (per serving):
15ml Kirsch or Cherry Brandy
25ml Disaronno amaretto
Prosecco
Cherries
Recipe:
Soak one cherry per person in kirsch before placing it at the bottom of a champagne flute. Add in the kirsch and Disaronno amaretto before mixing gently. Top up with prosecco and it’s ready to serve.
You can get non-alcoholic amaretto and you could switch out the prosecco for sparkling water, cranberry juice or cherry juice. Alternatively, you could use almond extract instead of the amaretto. Again, it depends on how fruity or nutty you want it to taste!
Pair with:
If prosecco is your drink of choice, show off that loyalty with a Proseccho Ho Ho Ho top or sweatshirt. It’s been a popular style this year so I guess lots of you share a favourite drink!
Christmas Red Wine Sangria (inspired by this recipe)
Whilst you might drink red wine on the regular (especially after this year), you can make it extra special at Christmas! Serving a special sangria will definitely impress your friends and ramp up your hosting skills!
Ingredients (serves 6-8):
750ml red wine
180ml orange juice
80ml brandy
60g sliced apples
65g sliced oranges
55g brown sugar
Recipe:
Add apples, oranges and brown sugar into a large pitcher and mix. Next, add in the brandy and orange juice and mix again. Finally, add in the red wine before mixing and adding in ice. Leave it to chill in the fridge before serving. Garnish with orange segments for extra luxury!
You might want to taste it before serving as sometimes you might want to add in more orange juice, brown sugar or brandy to the mixture. It’s all about personal taste so each person might want to add something different into their own drink!
Pair with:
Keep it traditional, embrace your inner Cliff Richard and rock your Mistletoe and (lots of) Wine sweatshirt whilst serving your sangria pitcher! You could even buy matching ones for your wine-loving friends in their favourite colour combination.
If you’re a cocktail connoisseur like myself, you’ll probably have most of the equipment already. All you’ll need is a cocktail set, complete with strainer, measuring jug/jigger and bar spoon. They’re pretty inexpensive to buy or you could even ask Santa for one this year!
Which of my top four tried-and-tested Christmas cocktails will you be trying? Let me know over on Instagram, I'd love to see if you try any!