If you’re looking for something you can take round to friends or family to wait for Santa this Christmas, we’ve got just the thing. 

Our Citrus Iced Tea Punch is a winner – especially if – like us – you’re gearing up for a hot Christmas.

This punch is so refreshing, it’s perfect for making a big pitcher, filling it with ice and sit it in the shade next to the pool. Every now and then, float over, top up and away you go. Bliss!

It’s also really easy to make this into a ‘mocktail’ if you’re expecting visitors who’ll be driving later.

We got the idea of using herbal teas as a base for cocktails when we wrote our first cocktail ebook ‘How to Host the Perfect Cocktail Party’. Mrs Romance made up the Granny’s Pomegranate Punch, which uses a pomegranate tea infusion.

This cocktail looks so bright and so red, it’s the perfect seasonal sipper. Even if you’re in for a cold Christmas, there’s only so much mulled wine and eggnog you can drink. This is a light, delicious punch that’s not too calorific either.

The Citrus Iced Tea Festive Punch

Here’s what you need:

• 1 pot of tea – we used T2 Citrus Punch tisane
• Lemonade
• Vodka
• Orange slices, lemon slices or cherries to garnish
• A pitcher and straight glasses

Here’s what you do:

1. Brew the tea for 3-5 minutes then pour it into a pitcher of ice to cool it down.
2. Once the tea’s cool, add the vodka and lemonade, and pop a couple of slices of fruit in to decorate.
3. Serve in a glass over ice, but stop pouring about a quarter of the glass from the top.
4. Top up the glass with lemonade – you could use soda water here, but the sweetness works well with the dry tea flavour.
5. Garnish with fruit of your choice – we liked how orange or lemon slices looked, but a couple of cherries gives a nice touch too – and they’re easier to drink around too!

Quantities will depend on how much punch you want to make, how sweet you want it to be and how strong you want the punch.

We used a large pitcher, so we made a litre of tea, a cup of vodka and two cups of lemonade.

T2 makes surprisingly strong tea; we used about 4 teaspoons of loose tea and it was plenty strong enough to make the cocktail.

The best thing about using herbal teas is that they’re pretty cheap and you can make as much as you need. And you won’t need to fork for lots of sugary soft drink mixers either.

Looking for more cocktail party ideas for the holidays? Check out our How to host the Perfect Cocktail Party ebook with 30 delicious cocktail recipes and loads of party planning tips.

What’s your favourite party drink at Christmas time?

Images by Mrs Romance.