Sip your way through the holidays with this light and refreshing poinsettia cocktail punch — perfect for Christmas gatherings and New Year toasts.

Wishing you a magical Christmas season filled with love, family, and many joyful memories!

On Christmas Eve I’ll be making our family’s German-style meal: Fleisch Rouladen (this year using flavorful wild venison from my sister Ingrid), spätzle (working on a gluten-free version), sweet-and-sour red cabbage, and cucumber salad. On Christmas Day we’ll have our traditional roast goose with sauerkraut, prune stuffing, and all the trimmings. What are you serving this year?

And to drink?

At our recent annual Christmas gathering — an evening of food, friends and silly games — I served a favourite festive drink: Nigella Lawson’s Poinsettia cocktail. Light, fresh, and cheerfully festive, it was the perfect pour for holiday toasts and would be ideal for New Year’s celebrations as well. Everyone enjoyed it, and it’s simple to prepare for a crowd.

Cheers and warm wishes throughout the holiday season!

Kitchen Frau Notes: The recipe calls for a sparkling dry white wine — effectively champagne in style. Only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France may be labeled Champagne, but excellent dry sparklers exist worldwide: Italy’s Prosecco, Spain’s Cava, and Germany’s Sekt. My go-to is an affordable German Sekt such as Henkell Trocken, which works beautifully in this cocktail and for other celebratory moments.

Use sweetened cranberry juice for the best balance — the unsweetened, tart cranberry juice will likely be too sharp in this mix.

Poinsettia Cocktail Punch

Adapted from Nigella Lawson’s “Nigella Christmas”

- 125 ml (½ cup) orange liqueur, such as Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or Triple Sec
- 500 ml (2 cups) sweetened cranberry juice
- one 750 ml bottle sparkling dry white wine (Sekt, Prosecco, or Champagne)

In a large pitcher, combine the orange liqueur and cranberry juice. Top with the sparkling wine, stir gently to combine, and serve. I like to add an ice cube or two to each glass.

You can garnish with an orange twist, slice, or a few fresh cranberries for a festive touch, though it’s just as lovely without embellishment.

Makes about 8 cocktails.

* For different batch sizes or individual drinks, use the ratio 1 part orange liqueur : 4 parts cranberry juice : 6 parts sparkling dry white wine.

Prosit! and Merry Christmas!

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