How to run a home bar at Christmas
A drinks plan for Christmas Day from the Buck’s Fizz to the port, with what to stock, a mulled wine that works and how to keep the host out of the kitchen.
Christmas is the busiest day of the year for a home bar. The family is all in one place, everyone has a different usual, and somebody is also trying to get a turkey cooked. A bit of planning means the drinks look after themselves.
A drinks plan for the day
Christmas Day drinks follow a rhythm. Stock for each part of it and nothing runs out at the wrong moment:
When | What people want |
|---|---|
Morning, presents | Buck’s Fizz, coffee, orange juice for the children |
Before lunch | A sherry, a beer, a G&T |
With lunch | A red, a white and water on the table |
Afternoon | Snowballs, Baileys, a cup of tea |
Evening | Mulled wine, port with the cheese, a nightcap |
What to stock
Fizz: prosecco or cava for Buck’s Fizz. Two parts fizz to one part orange juice is the usual mix, and nobody will notice it’s not champagne once the juice goes in.
Wine: a red and a white that suit roast turkey. A light red like a pinot noir and a dry white are safe bets.
The classics: sherry, port, advocaat for Snowballs, a cream liqueur. Christmas is the one day people actually ask for them.
Beer and mixers: as for any party. See how much to buy for a house party for the quantities.
Proper soft drinks: for drivers, children and anyone pacing themselves.
A mulled wine that works
For one bottle of red: the juice and peel of an orange, a cinnamon stick, four cloves and two or three tablespoons of sugar or honey. Warm it gently in a pan for twenty minutes and keep it just below a simmer, because boiling it cooks off the alcohol and makes it taste stewed. Taste, add more sugar if needed, and serve with a slice of orange.
Festive drinks without alcohol
Mulled apple juice, made the same way as the wine.
Sparkling elderflower in a champagne glass for the toast.
Hot chocolate with marshmallows, which children and adults both want by four o’clock.
Alcohol-free beer and an alcohol-free fizz, so drivers are not stuck with orange squash.
Keep the host out of the kitchen
The person running the bar usually ends up running the day. Write the drinks list on a card on the table so nobody has to ask what there is. Put the beer, soft drinks and wine where people can help themselves, and only make the fiddly things yourself.
Or let everyone order from their phones. With Orders Up, the bar gets its own name, menu and QR code; Nan orders her sherry from the sofa and it lands on the host’s phone, along with which room she is in.
Give someone their own pub
If there’s someone in your family who is always behind the bar at Christmas, Orders Up makes a good present. Set it up in their name, choose the look, and print the table cards to wrap. They open it on Christmas morning and the bar is open by lunchtime.
Questions people ask
What drinks do you need for Christmas Day?
Fizz and orange juice for the morning, a red and a white for lunch, sherry, port and a cream liqueur for the afternoon and evening, plus beer, mixers and good soft drinks.
What is the ratio for Buck’s Fizz?
Two parts sparkling wine to one part orange juice. Pour the fizz first so it doesn’t foam over.
How do you make mulled wine without boiling off the alcohol?
Warm it gently and keep it just below a simmer. A slow cooker on low is the easiest way to hold it there.
What can non-drinkers have at Christmas?
Mulled apple juice, sparkling elderflower, hot chocolate, alcohol-free beer and an alcohol-free fizz for the toast.
Give Dad his own pub
His bar gets a name, a menu and its own web address. Everyone orders from their phones. Dad serves.
