5 Ingredients or Fewer
Spiced Pumpkin Vodka
Try this pumpkin-infused vodka in the Smashing Pumpkin Martini, or use it to invent a holiday cocktail of your own.The bar at Fifty Seven Fifty Seven in New York City, where it was created, uses a liter-sized Stolichnaya bottle to hold the vodka-pumpkin mixture while it steeps.
Cranberry-Orange Cape Cod
If you're expecting a crowd, mix up a pitcher of these drinks ahead of time and refrigerate. Pour over ice and garnish with lime wedges just before serving.
Blackberry Lemonade
Take this lemonade along on a picnic in a large Mason jar or a plastic container, stowed in the cooler with the other drinks.
Champagne Americana
This Franco-American combination of bourbon and bubbles gives you another reason to be thankful. It doubles easily to accommodate the number of guests around your holiday table.
Mike's Milk Punch
Try this frothy, creamy cocktail instead of eggnog to kick off your Christmas festivities.
Cucumber Agua Fresca
Luis Miguel López Alanís of Morelia, Mexico, writes: "Although I grew up in Mexico, it was in Chicago of all places that I learned to cook Mexican food. During the two years I lived there, I missed my country's food so much that I wrote to my mother in Zitácuaro and asked her to send me recipes so I could cook for myself.
"Now I work as a tour guide in Michoacán, my home state, where I lead tours on Morelia's colonial history and architecture, and show tourists the Paricutín Volcano and monarch butterfly sanctuaries. And sometimes I do restaurant and market tours. Whenever business slows down, I enjoy cooking for my family. "
Mexico is known for its aguas frescas, delicious cold "waters" made simply from fruits or vegetables, water, and sugar. They're the perfect refreshment on a hot day.
Cranberry-Tangerine Christmas Cooler
This refreshing, sunrise-tinted juice can be blended and chilled one day ahead.
Tropical Fruit Smoothie
Here's a great breakfast or after-workout cooler that's ready in seconds and tastes as good as one you'd get at a juice bar.