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Christmas Mocktails are the two minute answer to the holiday toast problem, sparkling, layered, and gorgeous in a flute, and when Lizzie got her own bubbly glass at Christmas dinner last year she held it like royalty through the whole meal. They are the zero proof cousin of our apple cider mimosa.
Two chilled juices, a cherry, and a few apple cubes turn into the prettiest non alcoholic drink on the table.
Christmas Mocktails Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 2 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 0 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 2 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 1 serving
- ⚡ Calories: 95kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Crisp sparkling grape with sweet tart cranberry apple and a cherry finish
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, even simpler than our pink punch
Quick Answer
Fill a champagne flute halfway with chilled sparkling white apple or white grape juice, then top it off with chilled cranberry apple juice, leaving a little room at the rim. Drop in maraschino cherries and a few cubes of diced granny smith apple for the garnish and serve immediately while the bubbles are lively. Both juices must be fridge cold, warm juice kills the fizz.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Two juices do all the work. Sparkling white grape brings the champagne energy and the cranberry apple brings the Christmas color, no syrups, no shaking, no bar tools.
- Cold is the only technique. Both bottles need hours in the refrigerator, chilled juice holds its carbonation while room temperature juice foams up and goes flat in minutes.
- The pour order builds the look. Sparkling base first, cranberry second, the heavier red juice cascades down through the bubbles and blends into that glowing holiday red.
- A flute is not just for show. The narrow glass keeps the surface area small, which keeps the bubbles rising far longer than a wide tumbler would.
- Tart apple balances the sweet. Granny smith cubes are the acid counterpoint to two sweet juices, and they look like little ornaments in the glass.
- It scales to a crowd instantly. The halfway then top up formula works for one flute or twenty, no measuring, just pour down the line before guests sit down.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Everyone gets to raise a glass, kids, guests skipping alcohol, and the designated drivers included.
- Two minutes, two juices, zero tools, it is the easiest thing you will serve all season.
- They look as festive as our white wine sangria with none of the wine.
Key Ingredients
Four simple things build the whole festive glass.
- Sparkling white grape juice: The bubbly champagne stand in, sparkling white apple juice or even sparkling cider works the same.
- Cranberry apple juice: The Christmas red layer with a sweet tart edge, plain cranberry juice cocktail is a fine swap.
- Maraschino cherries: The glossy ornament at the bottom of the glass, drop in two or three with a splash of their syrup for extra sweetness.
- Granny smith apple: Small diced green cubes for tart crunch and that red and green holiday contrast.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
One formula, a whole season of festive glasses.
- Add a splash of grenadine at the bottom for a deeper red ombre effect.
- Rim the flutes with honey and crushed candy canes or colored sugar for a party finish.
- Swap the cranberry apple for pomegranate juice and float fresh pomegranate arils instead of cherries.
- Drop in a sprig of fresh rosemary for a Christmas tree look and a piney aroma.
- Turn it into a warm drink night instead with our hot cocoa bombs for the kids to melt.
How to Make Christmas Mocktails
- Fill your champagne flute halfway with chilled sparkling white apple or white grape juice.
- Fill the glass the rest of the way with chilled cranberry apple juice, leaving enough room at the rim for garnishes.
- Add maraschino cherries and diced granny smith apple to each glass and serve immediately while the bubbles are lively.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Chill everything overnight. The juices, and even the flutes if you have fridge space, cold glass keeps the fizz alive noticeably longer.
- Open the sparkling juice at the last minute. Every minute the bottle sits open costs you bubbles in the glass.
- Pour the sparkling juice down the side. Tilting the flute and pouring gently preserves the carbonation instead of foaming it off.
- Dice the apple small. Half inch cubes fit through a flute opening and are easy to spoon out and eat at the end.
- Set up a garnish station for parties. Bowls of cherries and apple cubes let guests build their own while you just pour.
- Make them in batches, not pitchers. Pre mixed pitchers go flat, pour flutes to order and they sparkle every time.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Serve them at the start of Christmas dinner so everyone can join the toast, they hold their own on a drink station next to our eggnog latte for the coffee crowd.
For a holiday brunch, line up flutes beside a tray of pastries and keep our gingerbread latte going for the warm drink drinkers.
New Year without champagne? These pour a midnight toast the kids can count down with, and our blueberry lemonade cocktail covers the adults who want a spirited option.
There is no storing these, the bubbles wait for no one. Keep the juices sealed and chilled and each flute takes two minutes to build fresh, which is the entire charm.
Christmas Mocktails FAQs
Christmas Mocktails are festive non alcoholic drinks styled after holiday cocktails. This one is a mimosa style pour, sparkling white grape juice layered with cranberry apple juice and finished with cherries and green apple, so it looks like a celebration in a champagne flute without any alcohol.
Sparkling white grape juice is the classic champagne stand in, with sparkling white apple juice and non alcoholic sparkling cider close behind. All three bring the golden color and lively bubbles, just make sure whichever you choose is thoroughly chilled.
Prep the parts, not the pour. Chill the juices overnight, dice the apple, and set out the cherries, then build each flute right before serving. Pre mixed batches lose their carbonation within the hour, and the two minute pour is the whole recipe anyway.
The cranberry apple and sparkling white grape combination nails the sweet tart balance and the deep red color. Pomegranate juice is the best swap for the red layer, and plain cranberry juice cocktail works if that is what is in the refrigerator.
Cold and timing. Chill both juices for several hours, open the sparkling bottle at the last moment, pour gently down the side of a tilted flute, and serve immediately. Narrow flutes also hold carbonation far longer than wide glasses.
Completely, they are just juice dressed up for the holidays, which is exactly why kids love them. Serving them in real flutes, plastic stemware for the littlest hands, makes children feel included in every toast of the night.
Made these Christmas Mocktails? Leave a comment and a star rating below, and tell me who got the fanciest flute at your table!
Set out my Christmas trail mix alongside for the full party spread.
If a few guests want something spirited, my Christmas punch brings the eggnog and cinnamon whisky.
Christmas Mocktails
Ingredients
- Sparkling white apple juice chilled
- Cranberry apple juice chilled
- Maraschino cherries
- 1 granny smith apple small diced
Instructions
- Fill your glass halfway with sparkling white apple juice.
- Fill the glass the rest of the way with cranberry-apple juice, leaving enough room for garnishes.
- Add maraschino cherries and diced apples to each glass and serve.
Notes
- Make sure your juices are chilled.
- You can double this recipe to make more for a larger crowd.
- This can be made alcoholic, see my tips above on how to do that.
- If you want a less apple flavor you can use regular cranberry juice.
- A typical bottle of sparkling white grape juice makes 6-8 mimosas.
Nutrition
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