This festive, non-alcoholic holiday punch comes together in about 10 minutes with just three main ingredients: cranberry juice, limeade, and ginger ale. Thin slices of lemon, lime, and tangerine plus fresh cranberries make it as pretty as it is delicious, so it doubles as a centerpiece for your party table.
It’s the perfect punch for Christmas parties, Thanksgiving dinner, Hanukkah gatherings, and every celebration in between. Looking for more festive drinks? Try Mulled Cider, Wassaill, Brunch Punch, and our Tropical Punch too.
The Perfect Party Punch For a Crowd
Punch is the perfect holiday drink. You can make a huge batch, allow people to serve themselves, and even use it as a beautiful centerpiece by serving in a pretty punch bowl with a few simple garnishes. No wonder punch has made such a huge comeback!
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This particular non-alcoholic punch recipe combines limeade, cranberry juice, and ginger ale over ice with sliced citrus fruit and fresh cranberries as garnish. If cranberry isn’t your thing, swap out for pineapple juice. For an adults-only version, add your favorite rum, vodka, gin or Prosecco—just about anything goes.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s bright, bubbly, and full of festive fruit flavor. Tart cranberry juice and limeade are balanced with sweet, fizzy ginger ale, creating a refreshing punch that works for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any holiday party.
- It doubles as a beautiful holiday centerpiece. Thin slices of lemons, limes, and tangerines along with fresh cranberries make the punch bowl look colorful and festive with almost no decorating effort.
- It’s easy to customize for kids or adults. Keep it completely non-alcoholic, swap cranberry juice for pineapple, or turn it into an adults-only punch with Prosecco, rum, vodka, or gin.
Key Ingredients
- Limeade – this recipe calls for a can of frozen limeade (or lemonade). You will need to also add water according to the package instructions.
- Cranberry Juice – any brand of cranberry juice will work great. Or, use a blend like cranberry pomegranate, cranberry raspberry or cranberry juice cocktail. Not a fan of cranberry juice? Substitute pineapple juice or orange juice.
- Ginger Ale – any brand will work. If you like your ginger ale extra spicy, you could substitute ginger beer.
- Ice – you’ll want to add the ice just before serving so that it doesn’t melt and water down your punch.
- Citrus -this recipe calls for lemons, limes and tangerines to be sliced super thin. They are mostly for decoration but do add a bit of flavor. You’ll want to wash each fruit before slicing, but keep the rinds on for a prettier display.
- Cranberries – use fresh cranberries instead of frozen cranberries for this recipe so that they don’t stain the punch red.
How to Make Holiday Punch
- Combine liquids. In a large punch bowl or large drink dispenser, add the can of limeade along with the amount of water according to the packaging instructions. Mix well, then add the cranberry juice and ginger ale and stir to combine.
- Add the ice, citrus slices and cranberries. Add the ice, lemon slices, lime slices, tangerine slices and fresh cranberries and stir.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Tips for the Best Holiday Punch
- Chill everything first. Refrigerate the juice and ginger ale overnight. The punch starts out cold, and you’ll need less ice.
- Add the bubbly last. Pour in the ginger ale right before guests arrive to keep it fizzy.
- Use an ice ring instead of cubes. A big ice ring melts much more slowly than cubes, so your punch won’t get watered down. Our Raspberry Punch Ring is perfect for this.
- Slice the citrus thin. Thin slices float on top and look prettier in the bowl.
- Easy to double. This recipe makes about 24 one-cup servings. For a bigger crowd, mix a second batch in a pitcher and keep it in the fridge to refill the bowl.
Recipe Variations
- Sparkling punch: For a fancy adult version, swap out the ginger ale for Prosecco.
- Add orange sherbet: This is a classic addition to the punch bowl and would taste amazing with all of the other citrus flavors. Just before serving, add scoops of orange sherbet directly into the punch bowl.
- Try a different juice: Instead of the limeade, substitute an equal amount of orange juice, pineapple juice or apple juice.
- Add fresh rosemary: Add a sprig of fresh rosemary for a pretty and aromatic finishing touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to make this ahead of time, we recommend doing everything except for adding the ginger ale and ice. This way the punch will still be bubbly and the ice won’t melt!
If you want to make a spiked version, dark rum, light rum, vodka, champagne or gin would all taste amazing. You could even make two separate versions – one with and one without.
If you have any leftover, don’t throw it out. Add red wine to taste and voila – Holiday Sangria!
This version uses cranberry juice, frozen limeade concentrate, and ginger ale, garnished with citrus slices and fresh cranberries. You can also swap in pineapple juice, orange juice, or lemon-lime soda depending on what your family likes.
This recipe makes about 1½ gallons, or 24 one-cup servings. A good rule of thumb is about 2 cups per guest for a two-hour party.
Chill all the ingredients ahead of time and use an ice ring instead of ice cubes. You can also freeze cranberries in ice cube trays with a little cranberry juice.
More You’ll Love
Holiday Punch Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce can frozen limeade, (or lemonade)
- Water, as directed on the limeade can
- 1 64-ounce bottle cranberry juice
- 2 liters ginger ale
- 6 cups ice
- 2 large lemons, sliced thin
- 2 large limes, sliced thin
- 2 large tangerines, sliced thin
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
Instructions
- In a large punch bowl, add the can of limeade along with the amount of water according to the packaging instructions. Add the cranberry juice and ginger ale and stir to combine.
- Add the ice, lemon slices, lime slices, tangerine slices, and fresh cranberries and stir.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This Holiday Punch recipe is bright and cherry, simple to make and doubles as a beautiful centerpiece. It’s the perfect drink to make for parties and get-togethers all holiday season long.
Categories:
Christmas, Dairy-Free, Drinks, Fall Recipes, Gluten-Free, Holiday Favorites, Nut-Free, Thanksgiving, Vegan, Vegetarian, Videos, Winter Recipes,
Sounds delicious! Making this for the family Christmas party. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Hooray! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
This is such a festive drink! Love that it’s alcohol free so everyone can enjoy and the ginger ale adds the perfect amount of fizzy brightness to it!
This recipe is fantastic! I will be making this all winter long for all my gatherings.