Santa Claus Christmas Punch is an extra-delicious, easy, make-ahead holiday punch that’s perfect for a Christmas or New Year’s Eve party. This festive boozy punch is so good you will want to plan a party just so that you can serve it to your friends.
Santa Claus Christmas Punch is filled with all things good for you: pomegranate juice, fresh lemon juice, and cranberry juice. You can also substitute lime juice for the lemon juice. I was lucky, my friend Mary Carroll had just given me a big bucket of juicy Meyer Lemons from her tree. If you are in a pinch, however, you can use frozen lemon juice, but don’t use the bottled lemon juice. Of course, since it’s a punch with a kick you also add tequila and, to give it a subtle effervescence, a bottle of dry sparkling wine. You could also substitute vodka for the tequila.
The bright deep red color of this punch is perfect for the holidays. With all of the fruit juices it’s similar to sangria, and really would be a great light, refreshing cocktail anytime. Float an ice ring made from cranberry juice and cranberries in your punch bowl, and you have a beautiful holiday presentation and a delightful drink. Of course, the fruit juice mixture is delicious by itself so if you want to make this punch non-alcoholic, just leave out the tequila and sparkling wine and add a bottle of club soda.
If you like this recipe, you will love these other recipes which are perfect for serving at a Christmas party:
Easy Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms
Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
Crab Mornay
If you need additional party ideas, check out all of my appetizer recipes here.
How to make Santa Clause Christmas Punch
There is just a short list of ingredients for this yummy punch which include 100% pomegranate juice, tequila, fresh lemon or lime juice, 100% cranberry juice, sugar, and dry sparkling wine. You will also need fresh or frozen cranberries if you plan to make an ice ring to keep your punch cold.
Be sure to refrigerate all of your ingredients except the sugar until you are ready to make the punch.
To make Santa Claus Christmas Punch you need to make a simple syrup by placing the sugar and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir constantly and boil about 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves, and the mixture is clear. Let the syrup cool.
Stir together the pomegranate juice, tequila, lemon juice, and cranberry juice in a large gallon size container or punch bowl and add the simple cooled syrup. Chill at least 4 hours.
If making an ice ring, add cranberry juice and cranberries to a mold and freeze until firm, which should also take about 4 hours. If you don’t have a mold, you could fill the cups of a muffin tin, use paper cups, or even a plastic storage bowl to make a block of cranberry ice to keep your punch cold.
Right before you serve your punch, add the sparkling wine and ice ring.
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| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 5 minutes |
| Servings | 20 servings |
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 quart 100% pomegranate juice
- 3 cups tequila
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup cranberry juice not cranberry juice cocktail
- 750 ml dry sparkling wine I used Prosecco
Ingredients
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- Refrigerate all ingredients except the sugar until you are ready to make the punch.
- Make a simple syrup by placing the sugar and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan over high heat. Stir constantly and boil about 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Let the syrup cool.
- Stir together the pomegranate juice, tequila, lemon juice, and cranberry juice in a large gallon size container or punch bowl and add the cooled simple syrup. Chill at least 4 hours.
- If making an ice ring, add cranberry juice and cranberries to a mold and freeze until firm, which should also take about 4 hours. If you don't have a mold, you could fill the cups of a muffin tin, use paper cups, or even a plastic storage bowl to make a block of cranberry ice to keep your punch cold.
- Right before you serve your punch, add the sparkling wine and ice ring.
Optional: If making an ice ring, you will need additional cranberry juice and fresh or frozen cranberries. You can use water instead of cranberry juice for the ice ring, but when it melts it will dilute your punch.
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