2 delicious holiday drink recipes guests will love

For when you want to pull out all the stops this holiday season, these festive drinks are sure to keep guests happy.

Mulled wine is great to serve in the winter after a long day spent outside in the cold. To avoid the same old flavours, we've spiced ours with lemon spice tea bags. The tea perfectly complements the rich wine flavour and adds a layer of complexity to the brew.

Preparation time 5 minutes 

Cooking time 15 minutes

Serves 4

• 1 bottle (3 c/750ml) dry red wine
• 10 black peppercorns
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 10 whole allspice berries
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 lemon, sliced
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 125 ml (1/2 c) sugar
• 250 ml (1 c) water
• 1 lemon spice tea bag

1. Combine the wine, peppercorns, ­cinnamon, allspice berries, cloves, lemon slices and nutmeg in a large pot over medium heat. Heat until the mixture is hot but not boiling. Stir in the sugar and water, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Continue heating two minutes longer.
2. Remove from the heat and add the tea bag; let stand four minutes.
3. Strain the mixture and serve warm, ladled into mugs.

Take this one to the jolly ol' England of Charles Dickens' time by adding 500 millilitres (two cups) of ruby port after straining out the spices. Pull a chair up to the fireplace; the resulting drink packs quite a punch.

If you need a last-minute beverage for a ­holiday party, look no further. Orange juice gives eggnog a welcome burst of citrus flavour and ginger ale adds a festive effervescence.

Preparation time 5 minutes 

Serves 8

• 1 L (4 c) eggnog
• 1 can (350 ml/12 oz) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 can (350 ml/12 oz) ginger ale, chilledIn a pitcher, stir the eggnog and orange juice concentrate until mixed well. Pour in the ginger ale and stir gently. Serve in tall glasses.

If the kids are in bed and you want to celebrate grown-up style, add 125 ml (1/2 cup) of rum to the punch. You could also use lemon-lime soda in place of the ginger ale.