Christmas Punch

Published November 22, 2020. Updated November 23, 2021

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

Christmas Punch has been my go-to holiday drink for 10+ years and it’s one of the most popular holiday recipes on my site! It’s so delicious (thanks to a secret ingredient) and perfectly festive, and the whole family loves it! Plus it only takes minutes to make.

Christmas Punch

Easy Christmas Punch Recipe

I can still remember the first Thanksgiving I made this, I immediately fell in love.

It isn’t very sweet which was perfect for me because I’m not a big fun of extra sweet drinks (if you love sweet though feel free to add in about 1/3 cup sugar with the cranberry juice then mix and dissolve before adding in the soda).

It really has the most delicious blend of flavors. The combination did seem strange to me at first with ginger ale, cranberries, pineapple juice and the secret ingredient of almond extract but truly it just works!

I mean just think about all the tasty foods that use almond extract – Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies, our absolute favorite Birthday Cake, this Banana Almond Flax Smoothie, and those irresistible Almond Poppy Seed Pancakes.

Almond extract makes everything good! It add such a unique yet perfectly warm and welcoming flavor and it just brings so much to this punch.

After one sip you’ll see what all the hype is about. It will likely become a new staple holiday family tradition!

Also this year with smaller gatherings you can definitely half the recipe if needed. Or just serve the leftover the next day like we do. It’s a bit flat but still so tasty.

Punch recipe. Shown here in a mug with a dispenser of punch in the background.

Christmas Punch Recipe Ingredients

  • Cranberry juice or pomegranate cranberry juice: Look for 100% juice blend. Not 100% cranberry juice alone but a blend of cranberry, apple, grape etc. Don’t use cranberry juice cocktail which is usually only about 20% juice with a lot of added sugar.
  • Pineapple juice: I like to use Dole not from concentrate in the can.
  • Almond extract: You can find this by the vanilla extract in the baking isle.
  • Ginger ale: For more natural flavor I recommend avoiding diet (with artificial sugar sweeteners) unless it’s for diet restrictions.
  • Fresh cranberries and limes: These ingredients are optional for decorative use. Keep in mind you’ll only want add cranberries if you are using a dispenser, you don’t want people ladling cranberries into drink cups which would be a potential choking hazard especially for kids.
  • Ice: If you used well chilled juices and soda you don’t necessarily have to add this.

Scroll below for full printable recipe.Christmas Punch

Can I Add Alcohol?

If you want to make it for adults only others have mentioned success adding vodka or rum, though I myself haven’t tried so I couldn’t say for sure on amounts.

Christmas Punch

How to Make Christmas Punch

  1. Pour cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and almond extract into a large drink dispenser and mix.
  2. Pour in ginger ale and give it one quick stir.
  3. Add in cranberries, ice and ginger ale.
  4. If you like it super bubbly then serve within a few hours as it can start to go flat.

Christmas Punch

Can I scale down the punch recipe?

I used to make a slightly smaller version of this recipe but I’ve listed what perfectly fits in my drink dispenser, which is enough to serve to a small crowd.

But you can easily bump it down to the 2 liter version if you don’t need that much and don’t want to purchase two bottles of soda.

  • 2 liters ginger ale
  • 4 cups cranberry juice
  • 2 cups pineapple juice
  • 2 tsp almond extract

We have an almond allergy what can we substitute?

I would say the almond extract is a must unless of course there is an allergy, in which case you substitute a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract.

Christmas Punch

Tips for Perfect Christmas Punch

  • Use good quality “100% juice,” skip juice “beverage” or “cocktail” (they have added water, sweeteners, and or flavors). Don’t use 100% cranberry only juice it’s much too tart.
  • Use chilled ingredients. If the soda and juices are cold beforehand you don’t need to add as much ice, therefore it won’t be so diluted.
  • Don’t be tempted to stir or you’ll stir more than once when adding the soda or you’ll start to stir out the carbonation.
  • Garnish it. Drinks taste better when they look better. The cranberries and limes are optional but I’d say at least use one or the other (unless serving from a pitcher or punch bowl, skip cranberries due to choking hazard).

Picture of a dispenser of punch being poured into a single serve cup.

More Recipes You Might Like

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

Christmas Punch
5 from 60 votes

Christmas Punch

My families favorite punch! I've been making this for the holidays for 10+ years. A blend of soda, juices and almond extract - it may seem like a strange combination but together they taste amazing! 
Servings: 14
Prep5 minutes
Ready in: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 cups cranberry juice or pomegranate cranberry juice*
  • 3 cups pineapple juice**
  • 1 Tbsp almond extract
  • 3 liters ginger ale
  • 1 (12 oz.) bag fresh cranberries (optional)
  • 2 fresh limes, sliced (optional)
  • Ice

Instructions

  • Pour cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and almond extract into a large drink dispenser and mix. Pour in ginger ale and give it one quick stir.
  • Add in cranberries, ice and ginger ale. Serve within a few hours for best results as it will start to go flat.

Notes

*This is not 100% cranberry juice, it is 100% juice but it has a blend of other juices in it such as grape, apple, pear. 100% cranberry juice would be much too tart here. Use something like Oceanspray.
**If you have room in your fridge preferably chill the soda and juices first or keep them in a cold (not freezing) garage, that way you don't need to add much ice and dilute it.
Nutrition Facts
Christmas Punch
Amount Per Serving
Calories 151
% Daily Value*
Sodium 20mg1%
Potassium 173mg5%
Carbohydrates 37g12%
Sugar 34g38%
Vitamin C 6mg7%
Calcium 21mg2%
Iron 0.7mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.
Recipe inspired by All Recipes.

Leave a Comment

Rate this recipe




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

225 Comments

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      The craisins will likely just sink, the cranberries are really just for appearance they don’t add flavor so I’d just skip them or add fresh cherries or apple slices for another pretty red garnish if desired.

  • Nanette

    This punch was a huge success at our Christmas party! It was so refreshing and everyone loved it!

  • H

    Love this but your qty and measurements suck. Sorry just trying to figure out how much ginger ale..pineapple…and cranberry I need for a 1.5 gall and 1 gall dispenser. Saying “this is what i use for what my drink dispenser holds” does me absolutley no good. Hopefully it turns out good. I am not a cook…trying to do something easy and fun.

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      If you add the measurements listed you get total cups – about 21.6 then a few cups more for ice and cranberries.

    • Amanda

      Yes, would love to know how many gallons this recipe is supposed to make, so I can scale up or down for my needs.

  • Sandra krejci

    Just made two recipes of the punch for our Office Christmas Party- it was a huge hit, all went! What I did to keep it colder- was put two of the 6 oz cans of pineapple juice in a ice cube tray- made two trays one for each recipe and than I put 3 cans of liquid pineapple in- I also kept the cranberries frozen- I did not have to add any ice cubes it stayed cold, I had Ice available separately- huge hit, both dispensers were emptied- fit perfectly in a 7.6 L Beverage Dispenser and also a 6L Beverage Dispenser, wish I had taken a picture- but I plan on making it for Christmas Eve for my family, I didn’t alter the recipe at all except for makeing ice cubes out of the pineapple juice, plus they looked pretty the yellow cubes with the fruit

  • Lisa

    I have a family member that is allergic to all tree nuts (almonds) would it ruin the recipe if I omitted the extract??

  • Mari

    This was a nice punch. I used a little bit less ginger ale than the recipe called for because I wanted a little more fruit-juice-forward flavor. We added rum for the grown ups for an extra kick. The best part was using the leftovers to make a delicious Christmas sangria. I mixed the punch, which had been sitting for many hours and had time for the flavors to meld, with a robust red wine and it was amazing! I will keep this recipe just to make the sangria again if nothing else! Thanks for sharing your recipe!

  • Kelly

    This punch was great! I served it at a recent Christmas party and everyone raved about it. The addition of the almond extract just makes it a little unique in flavor the whole jug was gone by the end of the night. The only variation I did was to add alcohol, I added about a liter of vodka which went very well with the mix. I will definitely make this again!!