Homemade punch is perfect for a party! It’s the best way to serve a group or crowd, and easy to keep refills going! To help you host, I’ve collected a list of 25+ party punch recipes, many with or without alcohol.
There are ideas for rum punch, vodka punch, and sparkling champagne punch. As well as holiday punch suggestions, hot punch recipes, and kid-friendly party punch ideas, too
After you decide on a punch recipe for your party, you will want to visit my party food and party theme ideas. A themed party makes it easier to plan and shop for the menu. Also, if you enjoy serving individual cocktails, try Valentines Day cocktails, they are all great for bridal showers or birthday parties. You can also make a big batch of Easy Mocktails for your guests.
My most popular cocktail recipes are Masters golf themed. Try an Arnold Palmer, Azalea Cocktail, or a Transfusion.
Jump to:
- Why Punch Is A Good Drink For Parties
- How Much Punch Do I Make For My Party?
- What To Put In Punch To Make It Taste Great
- Tips For Serving Punch
- What To Do With Leftover Punch
- Make Party Planning Easy
- Best Party Punch Recipes
- Alcoholic Punch Recipes Ideas
- Punch Recipes Without Pineapple Juice
- Punch Recipes Without Sprite
- Vodka Punch Recipes
- Pink Punch Recipes
- Non-alcoholic Punch Recipe Suggestions
- Holiday Punch Recipe Ideas
- Hot Punch Recipes
- Punch Recipe For Kids
Why Punch Is A Good Drink For Parties
The best drinks for a party are ones that your guest can serve themselves and sip on all evening. Party juice recipes are perfect for a party, it's easy to keep refills going, and there are fruit juices in the punch that help guests not get dehydrated. Staying hydrated will help keep hangovers to a minimum the next morning.
How Much Punch Do I Make For My Party?
You will need to take into consideration how long you plan to have your party. You also will want to figure out if you are serving adults or children and if you will be serving food or light snacks. If you have a big dinner planned, you will not need as much, but if only a few light snacks, guests will probably fill up on punch also.
How many people will a gallon of punch serve?
On average, you can figure 10 people will be served per gallon of punch.
How Much Alcohol Goes In Punch?
As a general rule mix, two parts alcohol to three parts punch. However, if you are using strong-grain alcohol, only add five or six shots per gallon.
Don't knock their socks off!
The point of serving party juice is for your guest to enjoy sipping on it throughout the whole party. It's best to have enough alcohol to give it a little kick. You want your guest to have an enjoyable evening talking together and remember it the next day. Oh, and nobody wants to wake up with a hangover, either.
If it is a long party, you could always offer the same punch recipe, alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
What To Put In Punch To Make It Taste Great
If you are trying to decide what would be the best recipe for your party punch, then take into consideration the season, holiday, and what your guest would enjoy.
What are good fruit juices for punch?
If you want to make a fruity punch recipe, then there are a large variety of fruit juices that are perfect for punch recipes. Choose a recipe that has some of your favorites. Don't be afraid to try some different combinations of juices together.
- orange juice
- pineapple juice
- lemon juice
- grapefruit juice
- cranberry juice
- lime juice
What type of alcohol do you add to party juice?
It's a good idea to keep in mind to only add alcohol that will not overpower the flavors of your punch. Try using light, low-proof spirits vs. hard liquors.
- Coconut rum (my personal favorite)
- Dark rum (good for warm fall punches)
- White, Blanco tequila
- White rum
- Volka (using fruit-flavored vodka adds sweet notes to your punch)
How To Add Bubbles To Punch
To make your punch more festive, just add bubbles. There are a variety of drinks you can add to a punch recipe to give it that fizzy feel while your guests sip on it.
- Champagne
- Lemon-lime soda (diet or regular)
- Ginger-ale (diet or regular)
- Ginger beer
- Soda water (this would be good with a particularly sweet recipe)
How To Keep Punch Fizzy
Sparkling punches begin to lose their fizz after about 2 hours, so don’t add the sparkling ingredients until right before serving. If your party is going to last more than 2 hours, divide your punch in half and mix a fresh batch of punch and fizz product after two hours.
How To Garnish Punch
- You can add flowers, herb leaves, or slices of fruit to your ice molds before freezing for a pretty garnish.
- For your guest's cups, add extra garnishes such as mint leaves, sliced lemons or limes, fresh fruit slices, or cinnamon sticks.
Tips For Serving Punch
After you decide on what type of punch you want to serve at your party, your next step is deciding what to serve it in so your guest can serve themselves throughout the night.
What to serve punch in
It really depends on the style of party you are throwing as to what type of glass to serve punch in. If it's a super chilled backyard party, then red solo cups are great. For baby showers or bridal showers, it would be nice to use punch cups or stemless wine glasses. However, if you are throwing a formal type of party or special occasion like New Year's Eve, it would be fun to serve your party juice in stemmed wine glasses or champagne flute glasses.
Punch bowl ideas
There are a variety of containers you can serve punch in.
- Glass beverage dispenser with pour spout
- Large pitcher
- Large punch bowl
- Drink fountain
Punch Bowl Set with 8 Punch Glasses
How To Keep Punch Cool
- Only use large blocks or rings of ice. Ice cubes melt quickly, and water your punch down. Just be sure to leave room for labeling out the punch.
- Chill all your liquid ingredients before mixing the punch. It will stay cooler longer if you start with chilled ingredients.
- If you do not have any bubbly ingredients, such as club soda or ginger ale, in your punch, you could freeze the actual punch for an ice ring or block. That way, as it melts, the juice will not get watered down.
- Don't add your ice until the last minute, just before guests arrive.
How To Serve Hot Party Juice Punch
When making a hot punch, plan on mixing the punch up beforehand and allowing it to cool. Don't add the spirits until it is time to reheat and serve your punch. Reheat in a pan on the stove. To keep the punch warm while serving, use a Crockpot set on low.
Best Way To Serve Punch For A Long Party
If you plan for a late evening, the best way to keep your punch fresh is to divide your punch mixture in half or thirds. Place the mixture in large jugs or pitchers with lids, then store in the fridge. Plan on refilling the punch bowl a few times throughout the party. This will keep it fresh and not so watered down.
What To Do With Leftover Punch
If you have mixed your punch and have leftovers, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to four days. Keep in a pitcher with a tight-fitting lid. The fizz will be gone if you added some bubbly drink to it, but the flavor will still be good.
Make Party Planning Easy
If you want to make it easy for yourself to host an Indian dinner party, download my free printable party planner. All the pages will help you easily get organized so you can throw a great party. There is even a free printable banner you can use for your birthday party. Here are all the great pages you will get.
Best Party Punch Recipes
Take a look through these top party juice recipes, and if you see one that might be perfect for your next party, click on get the recipe to get your printable recipe card.
Alcoholic Punch Recipes Ideas
Punch Recipes Without Pineapple Juice
Punch Recipes Without Sprite
Vodka Punch Recipes
Pink Punch Recipes
Non-alcoholic Punch Recipe Suggestions
Holiday Punch Recipe Ideas
Hot Punch Recipes
Punch Recipe For Kids
Carlee
We love making punch for parties. There are so many fun recipes and great tips here!