How to Host a Holiday Party, Soberish Style, Non-Alcoholic Drinks Everyone Will Love
Create an inclusive holiday party with alcohol-free options and a welcoming atmosphere, ensuring everyone feels comfortable and engaged. Because a great host thinks about what's in everyone's glass. This holiday season, some of your guests will be drinking, some won't, and some might simply be spending the holidays a little more Soberish. This guide will help you create the perfect non-alcoholic holiday drinks menu so everyone can have something wonderful.
The secret to a great non-alcoholic holiday drinks menu? Make sure every guest is taken care of.
The best hosts have a certain magic about them. They remember the little things, anticipate what people need, and make everyone feel like they belong.
And while a beautiful table and a perfectly curated playlist certainly don't hurt, the real art of hosting is making everyone feel welcome.
This holiday season, some of your guests will be drinking, some won't, and some might simply be spending the holidays a little more Soberish.
Whatever their reason, everyone deserves something wonderful in their glass.
Here's our favorite advice for creating a great non-alcoholic drinks menu
Whatever you're serving with alcohol, offer a version without it.
Making Old Fashioneds? Make a non-alcoholic Old Fashioned, too. Serving G&Ts? Have a botanical, alcohol-free gin ready to go. Opening wine with dinner? Put a beautiful non-alcoholic bottle on the table alongside it. Same menu. Same glasses. Same beautiful garnishes.
Everyone gets to enjoy the occasion, and nobody has to explain what's in their glass, or why.
That's the kind of detail that makes someone an exceptional host.
1. Start With a Sparkling Toast
Every celebration deserves a little ceremony. And few things make an occasion feel quite as special as opening a bottle of something sparkling.
A good non-alcoholic sparkling wine offers the same sense of occasion, without assuming everyone wants alcohol.
Look for something dry, crisp and beautifully balanced rather than overly sweet.
Our picks for holiday toasts:
[New Grenache sparkling wine]
— Mehrnush's upcoming arrival. Add her tasting notes and why this bottle deserves a place at the table.
Plus & Minus Sparkling Blanc de Blancs
— A sparkling option for guests who enjoy a crisp, dry style.
Good Twin Sparkling Rosé Minis
— Individual bottles that make charming additions to a holiday place setting.
Explore our non-alcoholic sparkling wines.
2. Choose Non-Alcoholic Wines That Actually Work With Dinner
Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, Christmas dinner — these are occasions built around a good meal. And wine is part of the experience for many of us.
The non-alcoholic selection deserves just as much consideration.
For turkey, roasted vegetables and lighter dishes, consider a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or another fresh white.
For richer dishes, mushroom preparations and all those deeply comforting holiday sides, try a fuller-bodied alcohol-free red.
What we'd put on the table:
A beautiful white:
[Mehrnush's selected Thanksgiving white + pairing notes]
A proper red:
[Mehrnush's selected Thanksgiving red + pairing notes]
The secret isn't finding a bottle that tastes exactly like your usual wine. It's choosing something delicious that complements the food.
Not sure what to pour? Bring us your menu. We love a good pairing challenge.
3. Make One Signature Non-Alcoholic Cocktail
A great cocktail doesn't need alcohol to earn its place on the menu.
And if you're serving a signature cocktail at your party, offering a non-alcoholic version is one of the easiest ways to make everyone feel included.
Here are two holiday-worthy options.
The Batch Non-Alcoholic Old Fashioned
Serves approximately eight.
You'll need:
16 oz Spiritless Kentucky 74
8 oz Bittermilk No. 1 Old Fashioned mixer
Fresh orange peels
Large ice cubes
How to make it:
Combine the non-alcoholic whiskey and mixer in a pitcher, adjusting to taste according to the product directions. Chill until your guests arrive.
Serve over a large ice cube and finish with a fresh orange twist.
Rich, warming and wonderfully uncomplicated.
Before publishing: test the mixer ratio and confirm the ingredients' ABV labeling.
The Spiced Cranberry Sparkler
Serves one.
You'll need:
¾ oz Portland Syrups Spiced Cranberry Syrup
4 oz non-alcoholic sparkling wine
One dehydrated grapefruit wheel
How to make it:
Add cranberry syrup to a chilled glass. Top gently with sparkling wine and finish with a grapefruit garnish.
Festive, pretty and ready in less time than it takes someone to ask what's in it.
Shop non-alcoholic spirits, mixers and cocktail garnishes.
4. Keep a Few Excellent Ready-to-Drink Cocktails on Hand
Not every holiday moment calls for mixology.
Sometimes you want to open something delicious, pour it into a beautiful glass and get back to your guests.
That's where ready-to-drink non-alcoholic cocktails come in.
Look for sophisticated spritzes, bittersweet aperitifs and canned cocktails with genuine depth of flavor.
Think of them as your entertaining insurance policy.
Our ready-to-serve favorites: [Insert three verified Soberish products and quick flavor descriptions.]
Explore our ready-to-drink collection.
5. Want to Be the Fun House? Know Your Options.
For an adults-only gathering, some hosts may also choose to have hemp-derived THC beverages available.
Just remember that a THC drink is not the same thing as a non-alcoholic cocktail. One may be free of alcohol while still being intoxicating.
If you offer hemp products, keep them clearly labeled and separate, available only to adults 21 and over, and never mix them into someone's drink without their knowledge. Guests should understand the potency and effects before making their own choice.
And because the rules surrounding hemp THC are changing, we've put together a guide to what's happening in Georgia.
Read: The Hemp THC Ban, Explained — What Changes December 11.
6. The Little Things That Make Everyone Feel Welcome
A few hosting rules we love:
Mirror the menu.
If it's on the cocktail list, consider offering an alcohol-free version.
Use the good glasses.
Nobody should be relegated to a plastic cup because they're not drinking.
Make the options obvious.
Put non-alcoholic drinks alongside everything else, not on a forgotten shelf.
Check the labels.
Some dealcoholized products contain trace amounts of alcohol. If a guest needs to avoid it completely, check the product's labeling.
Skip the interrogation.
Why someone isn't drinking is not a conversation starter.
The best hosts make everyone comfortable without making a fuss about it.
Where to Buy Non-Alcoholic Holiday Drinks
You could spend hours trying to find the right bottles.
Or you could come see us.
At Soberish, we curate non-alcoholic wines, spirits, cocktails, mixers and entertaining essentials worth bringing to the table.
Tell us how many guests you're expecting, what you're serving, and what kind of evening you have in mind. We'll help you put together a drinks menu that makes sense.
Visit us in Kirkwood, Atlanta, or Serenbe in Chattahoochee Hills.
Because the best holiday parties aren't about what's in the glass. They're about who's around the table.