10 Pro Pointers for Holiday Cocktail Party Hosts

In Parties Around a Punch Bowl, Kimberly Schlegel Whitman makes a strong case for jazzing up modern parties with old-school details. Champagne toasts are lovely, but a Champagne punch like this one keeps the bubbly flowing all night long without blowing your budget through the roof. Get the recipe.

If your drink recipe of choice features a liqueur, Whitman suggests swapping in an extract with the same flavor. In her La Dolce Vita Italian Punch (pictured here), for example, a teaspoon of either hazelnut or almond extract can replace four tablespoons of Frangelico, and cranberry juice subs in beautifully for cranberry-infused vodka. The key, she says, is to take your time: "If you are going off-recipe, be sure to add slowly and taste test along the way until it is just right."

Create a crowd-pleasing drinks station by presenting beverages "spike your own glass" style, as Whitman puts it. You can also serve two versions of the same recipe — one with alcohol, and a mocktail version — side by side. In either case, "a simple tent card with an explanation beside the punch bowls does the trick," she says.

Psst: Your Thanksgiving dishes can do double duty at cocktail parties. Consider Whitman’s soup tureen, which looks right at home serving punch on her bar cart (above). The repurposing doesn’t stop there: "[s]ometimes I serve my punch in a pitcher," she says. "At other times, I have used a porcelain planter that has a very wide mouth[.]" Bottom line: As long as it’s sanitary, almost any large vessel can join the party.