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The holidays are in full swing. Stress levels are rising as temperatures are dropping. It’s no wonder. With  traffic at a crawl and parking spaces at a minimum, all this hustle and bustle can be nerve wracking. This should be a time spent with friends and family, not spending obscene amounts of money on meaningless gifts.

Give the gift of time — send out invitations for holiday happy hours to celebrate the 12 days before Christmas with a different cocktail featured each day. That’s a gift that will keep on giving.

Trust me– once you get this tradition in place, you are never going want to celebrate the holidays without it.

Twelve Days of Christmas Cocktails:

Day 1: Ginger Bell Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces bourbon
• 2 springs of fresh mint
• 1/2 lemon, cut into discs
• 2-inch piece freshly-skinned ginger, cut into small pieces
• 1 bottle ginger beer
• ice

Directions:

In a cocktail shaker, add the bourbon, mint, lemon and ginger. Firmly muddle until pieces break down (less than a minute). Add ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds, then strain into coupe glasses. Top with ginger beer, and garnish with a couple cranberries.

Day 2: Candy Cane Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ ounces Vanilla Rum
• 1 ½ ounces White Chocolate Liqueur (Godiva recommended)
• 1 ½ ounces Peppermint Schnapps
• Mini Candy Cane for Garnish

Directions:

Add first 3 Ingredients to an iced cocktail shaker, shake well and strain into martini glass. Garnish with candy cane. (Courtesy of Sandra Lee)

Day 3: Hot Toddy

Ingredients:

• Boiling Water
• 4 Whole Cloves
• 1 Lemon Twist
• 2 tsp Brown Sugar
• .25 ounces Lemon Juice
• 2 Ounces of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey

Directions: Fill mug with boiling water and let warm for a few minutes. Meanwhile, stick the cloves into the lemon twist and set aside. Empty the mug and fill halfway with fresh boiling water. Add the brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the lemon twist, lemon juice and whiskey. Stir and serve. (Courtesy of Jacques Bezuidenhout)

Day 4: Caramel Apple Mimosas

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. Caramel
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon sugar
• 1 c. apple cider
• 8 oz. caramel vodka
• 1 bottle champagne
• Apple slices, for garnish

Directions: In a small dish, pour caramel sauce. In another small dish, pour cinnamon sugar. Dip champagne flutes into caramel to rim glass, then dip in cinnamon sugar. Pour apple cider, caramel vodka, and top with champagne into flutes. Garnish with an apple slice and serve.

Day 5: Salted Caramel Eggnog

Ingredients:

• caramel sauce, warmed
• 4 oz. eggnog
• 1 oz. spiced rum
• kosher salt
• whipped cream
• nutmeg, freshly grated

Directions: Coat inside of Irish whiskey glass with warm caramel sauce. Add eggnog, spiced rum, and a pinch of salt and stir. Top with whipped cream, a drizzle of caramel, and freshly grated nutmeg.

Day 6: Orange Cointreau Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Milk
• 4 ounces Chocolate Chips
• 2 ounces Frangelico
• 2 Orange twists
• ½ tsp Espresso
• 1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg

Directions: Add chocolate and milk into sauce pan and heat on stovetop at medium heat. Stir slowly with a wooden spoon as the milk heats ups. (Chocolate will slowly begin to melt as it reaches the right temperature. It usually take @ 5 minutes, keep stirring, be patient and DO NOT LET IT BOIL!) When heated to desired temperature, pour into mugs. Add Frangelico and expresso. Sprinkle nutmeg and ad orange twists. (Unknown)

Day 7: Pomegranate Moscow Mule

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. pomegranate juice
• 1 tbsp. pomegranate seeds
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1/2 c. ice
• ginger beer
• Sprig of Rosemary

Directions: In a cocktail glass stir together vodka, pomegranate juice, pomegranate seeds, tbsp. lime juice, honey, and ice. Top off with ginger beer and garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Day 8: Candy Cane-Kahlua Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. whole milk
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1 candy cane
• 3 tbsp. sipping chocolate
• 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 oz. Kahlua
• whipped cream
• candy canes

Directions: In a saucepan over low heat, warm whole milk and heavy cream. Add 1 candy cane and stir until melted. Stir in sipping chocolate and vanilla extract.
Remove from heat, stir in Kahlua, and pour into glass. Garnish with whipped cream and candy canes.

Day 9: Peppermint Paddy

• 1 ounce brandy
• 1 ounce white crème de menthe
• 1/2 ounce dark rum
• 4 ounces white hot chocolate
• Chocolate-flavored whipped cream and crushed Peppermint Altoids, for garnish (optional)

Directions: Combine the brandy, white crème de menthe, dark rum and hot chocolate in a heatproof mug and stir. Top with the chocolate whipped cream and crushed Altoids.

Day 10: Creamsicle Fizz

• sugar
• 1/2 c. ice
• 1 oz. Vanilla Vodka
• 1 oz. orange or blood orange juice
• Champagne
• Cava
• Prosecco
• 1 orange slice

Directions: Rim a champagne flute with sugar. Fill cocktail shaker with ice, vanilla vodka, and orange or blood orange juice. Shake, then strain mixture into flute. Top with champagne, cava, and prosecco and garnish with orange slice

Day 11: Mulled Wine

Ingredients:

• 2 Bottles of Red Wine
• 1/3 cup Brandy
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 1 Orange & Zest
• 8 Cloves
• 2 tsp Ginger
• 4 Cinnamon Sticks
• 2 Star Anise

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a 4 quart sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring periodically. Simmer ten minutes, serve warm.

Day 12: Santa’s Sleigh Cocktail

Ingredients:

• White sugar crystals, preferably coarse
• 2 cups store-bought eggnog, chilled
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 1/2 cup amaretto liqueur
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
• 4 cinnamon sticks

Directions: Dampen the rims of 4 martini glasses and then line the rims with sugar crystals. Combine eggnog, brandy, amaretto, nutmeg, and ice cream in a blender; process until smooth. Pour mixture into martini glasses and garnish each glass with a whole cinnamon stick.

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