Fun Holiday Drinks for Your Upcoming Get Togethers

It's almost time for the year-end holidays, and that means holiday parties! If, like many districts, you're planning on having a staff holiday party, it's time to start thinking about what to serve.

So, let's step away from talk of school bus drivers and bus routes, and have a little fun. Here are some of our favorite drinks to serve up at holiday parties!

Holiday Drinks Your Staff - Or Your Family - Will Love

Mulled Wine

Mulled wine is an all-time classic, and one that's easy to make in large batches - especially if you have access to the big pots in the kitchen. Just simmer some full-bodied red wine in holiday spices like cloves, cinnamon, or anise, typically along with flavorful fruits like oranges or raisins. Then strain off the chunky bits before serving.

You can even get away with using cheap box wine for this, since the spices and fruit will provide most of the flavor.

Keep in mind that alcohol has a low evaporation point, around 172°F. So don't let the temperature get too high. On the other hand, you could also potentially boil off the alcohol on purpose for a 'virgin' variation. Just be careful to keep stirring and not scorch the wine.

Yule Mule

A 'mule' is a drink that combines vodka, citrus, and ginger beer, so it's automatically pretty holiday-themed. But you can take it further with the yule mule!

A basic recipe would be:

• 2 cups vodka
• 2 cups dry / unsweetened cranberry juice
• 2 cups ginger beer (medium spicy)
• 1 cup lime or lemon juice
• Cranberries, rosemary, or star anise for garnish

Since the vodka has no real flavor, you could always skip it and create a non-alcoholic punch which would taste about the same. Or, if you want it to be a bit sweeter, try Cachaça 51 instead of vodka. This Brazilian rum variant is perfect for mixers.

Bourbon Punch

With its rich, slightly sweet taste, bourbon goes great with the holidays. There's no way to make an alcohol-free version of this drink, but your people will love it.

The basics are:

• 1 bottle of bourbon
• 1 bottle of mid-tier sparkling wine
• 2 cups apple cider (hard or soft)
• 1.5 cups orange liqueur
• 1.5 cups of lemon or lime juice
• 1 cup simple syrup, or corn syrup if that's all you have

Ideally, the syrup should be mulled with holiday spices to add a bit more flavor. If that's too much work, just add some cloves, cinnamon, and star anise as garnish when you serve it.

Wassail

Let's go old-school for this one. If you've ever heard the song "Here We Go A-Wassailing," it's about this medieval drink which dates back hundreds of years. Shakespeare wrote about it. No one's even quite sure how old it is.

Back in the day, it would have been thrown together from whatever fruit was available. For a modern take on the drink:

• 8 cups apple cider (hard or soft)
• 2 cups unsweetened black tea
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (two lemons, roughly)
• 1 cup fresh orange juice (one orange)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 oz peeled ginger
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp allspice

This is all simmered together, with the aromatics strained off afterward. Wassail is typically served hot.

From here, you've got a basic wassail and it's potentially even non-alcoholic. Or, if you need more buzz, feel free to add bourbon, brandy, or a dark rum.

From everyone at BusBoss, we hope you've had a great 2024, and that 2025 will be even better. And remember, if you ever need help improving your bus routes or school bus drivers' experience, just contact us!