As long as you remember a few simple rules, it's not difficult to set up a bar for a holiday party. The first rule is to make sure you have the right glasses to match your desired vibe. And though I have never been one to complain about sipping something hot and buttered from a "World's Okayest Dad" mug, it might dim your holiday spirit if you want to send the year out with a swanky soiree.
Rule two: Remember to offer drinks for all guests — not just the ones that drink alcohol. I know it sounds crazy that I even need to remind people about this, but time and time again, my sober self has been forced to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with tap water and lukewarm cans of Diet Coke, while every other party guest was wassailing it up like old Fezziwig. Sober people, designated drivers and people on antibiotics love celebrating, too! If you make us feel as welcome as everyone else, we won't have to spend 2024 complaining about your lackluster beverage decisions!
After that, pretty much anything goes. If you're the kind of person who wants to stock their fridge with beer and wine and call it a day, do exactly that - just throw a six-pack of nonalcoholic beer, some canned mocktails or a few bottles of craft soda in there, too.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you want to spend the entirety of your festivities cosplaying as a bartender, go right ahead! The holidays should be about being happy, and with your nearest and dearest gathered in the same room, you've got an audience to ooh and ahh as you show off what you've got. (Especially if it involves flair bartending, for when better to whip out those skills?)
Make up your own mocktail, like I did with this Burnt Orange Tonic with Rosemary. Treat yourself to a fancy mocktail manual with innovative, original recipes, or stock your bar with nonalcoholic liquor alternatives and go with some old standbys. Throw some Nat King Cole on the HiFi, shake and stir with swagger, and top everything off with a generous glug of ring-a-ding-ding.
Between over-the-top, impressive and "I survived this year good god isn't that enough" laziness, there's a wide range of approaches that will make things merry and bright no matter how much emotional energy you have to expend. I, personally, am a big fan of supplementing a fridge full of ready-to-go drinks with one "extra-special" beverage, and how much effort you want to put into this beverage lies solely up to you.
Zero-proof spirits and other alcohol-free alternatives have been buzzy this year, and a holiday party is as good a time as any to check them out. Or you could go with an tried-and-true tradition like throwing a few cinnamon sticks into a slow cooker of cider with a bottle of whiskey on the side for anyone who likes theirs spiked; complementing it with a bottle of nonalcoholic whiskey as well could also be a welcome touch, but not altogether necessary.
You could also go the signature cocktail route, in which you build a tiny bar around one recipe and one recipe only. Try picking a drink that sticks to one kind of liquor; this way if that liquor has a nonalcoholic counterpart, you can offer two bottles and let your guests whip up whichever kind they choose without opening themselves up to questioning.
