I used to drink my body weight in red every Christmas. Now I don't drink at all, and I've spent an unreasonable amount of time finding alcohol-free Christmas drinks that actually taste of something.
So here's the lot. Alcohol-free fizz for the 8am toast. A 0% red good enough for Christmas dinner. A limoncello for when the Quality Street's down to the coffee ones. Non-alcoholic whisky, bourbon, beer and cider for everyone else. And gift sets for the person in your life who's "having a quiet one this year".
Order by Saturday 19 December for delivery before Christmas. Mix any 6 drinks and save 5%, up to 15% on 24. Free UK mainland delivery over £85.
By Kev Gillespie, founder · Updated
One for every bit of Christmas, from the Christmas Eve mulled wine to the Boxing Day sofa.
A proper red from Hungary's Lake Balaton, all blackcurrant and plum. Lovely in a glass, even better warmed up with an orange and a cinnamon stick. The recipe's in the FAQs. Your house will smell like a Christmas market, minus the £9 a cup.
Crisp fizz with lemon meringue and a hint of biscuit. Pop it while the kids rip through the presents. You'll be the only adult in the house who can still build the Lego by lunchtime.
Fermented hemp, copper-pot distilled, with wormwood, ginger and Douglas fir. It literally tastes like a Christmas tree, in a good way. Over ice or with tonic while the sprouts boil. Herbal, bittersweet and very grown up.
A real Saint-Émilion with the alcohol gently taken out. Yes, it's £50. So was the turkey. Decant it and watch your father-in-law swirl, sniff and say "ooh, that's nice" before he sees the label.
From the Pallini family, who've made limoncello in Rome since 1875. Serve it freezer-cold after the Christmas pud. It's sunshine in a bottle, which helps, because outside it went dark at half three.
Fiery ginger, prickly pear and Assam tea. Neat by the fire, or as a hot toddy with lemon and honey. It's got more kick than your nan at a ceilidh, and there's no alcohol in it at all.
Bourbon-style, with Madagascan vanilla and American oak, in a square bottle that looks great under the tree. For the dad who says "don't get me anything" and means "get me something nice".
Six alcohol-free beers from Yorkshire breweries in a box that makes it look like you tried. Goes perfectly with a cold turkey sandwich and a heated row about offside.
Six cans from independent cider makers: fresh, floral and properly dry. For everyone who "doesn't really like beer". Go for a bracing walk, feel smug, open one. That's Boxing Day sorted.
Every gift set we've got. Add a free gift note of up to 200 characters.
Buying for someone who's cutting down? Don't buy them a book about willpower. Or a candle. Or a herbal tea selection they'll regift by February. Buy them something nice to drink.
The trick is a treat, not a hint. "Thought you'd love this" is a gift. "Thought you might need this" is an intervention with wrapping paper. Every set below comes with a free gift note, so keep it short and warm. "Happy Christmas, legend" works. "I see you've changed" does not.
For the 8am toast, the big dinner and midnight on New Year's Eve.
Bucks Fizz at 8am is the law in some houses. Make it with Miris Blend Blanc de Blancs and fresh orange juice. Tastes the same, and you'll still be upright for the 11am "which batteries does this take?" crisis.
The little 20cl bottles are brilliant too. One each in the stockings, nobody fights over the last glass, and nobody opens a full bottle at 7am and has to pretend that was the plan.
Reds for the beef, whites for the turkey.
This is where I used to open the good bottle. I still do. It's just ILEX now, a proper Saint-Émilion with the alcohol gently removed. If £50 makes your eyes water, Miris Blend Cabernet Sauvignon at £16 holds its own against the sprouts. Turkey people, go white.
Botanical, whisky-style, bourbon-style, gin and limoncello.
While the sprouts boil, pour a Pathfinder over ice or top it with tonic. Herbal, bittersweet, with Douglas fir in it. Very "I know what I'm doing in the kitchen", even if you don't.
After dinner it's Pallini Limonzero from the freezer with the pudding, then Talonmore neat by the fire, or as a hot toddy with lemon and honey. All the warmth of a dram, none of the 9pm nap.
Mixed cases, stouts, IPAs and cider for the match and the leftovers.
Cold turkey sandwiches, the match on and a few alcohol-free beers. Mash Gang Lesser Evil is chocolate and cherry stout, which is basically Christmas pudding in a can. Not a beer person? The mixed cider bundle is six cans of the good stuff. Or go for a bracing walk, feel smug, then have the cider. That's what I do. Mostly the smug bit.
Doing the works do first? Get to the bar early and order an alcohol-free lager. A pint in your hand stops the "go on, have a proper one" brigade in their tracks. If anyone asks, say you're training for a marathon. Nobody follows up on the marathon.
Any 6 drinks get 5% off, 12 get 10%, 24 get 15%. Wine and spirits: 6 bottles 10% off, 12 get 15%.
I used to think Christmas without a drink would be like Christmas without the telly. Technically possible. Deeply suspicious. Then I tried it, and the only things I missed were the 4pm headache and the bit where I fell asleep during the film I'd been looking forward to all year.
The secret isn't willpower. It's having something genuinely good in your glass at every moment where you'd normally have a drink. Christmas has a lot of those moments, so plan your drinks like you plan the food. Nobody turns up on Christmas Day hoping there's a turkey somewhere. Same with drinks.
Second secret: always have something in your hand. An empty hand at a party is an invitation for someone to fill it. A glass of fizz or a can of something decent ends the conversation before it starts. Nobody asks what's in it. They're too busy worrying about their own cracker joke.
Third: you're not the designated sensible one. You're the one who remembers the evening, wins the quiz and drives home without a fuss. Lean into it.
The best alcohol-free Christmas drinks are the ones that do the same job as the boozy ones. Fizz for the toast, a red with some backbone for dinner, something sweet and cold for pudding, a proper dram by the fire, and beer or cider for the sofa. Get those right and nobody misses anything. Except the hangover, which nobody misses anyway.
My shortlist, by moment:
You don't need a cocktail shaker or a moustache. Just ice, a glass and about 30 seconds.
Pearsons London Botanic, Mediterranean tonic, a splash of cranberry juice and a sprig of rosemary. Looks festive, tastes like a proper G&T, and the rosemary makes you look like you know what you're doing.
A glass of Pierre Zéro Sparkling Chardonnay topped with cranberry juice. That's it. It's red, it's fizzy, it's Christmas.
A big measure of Sobour Bourbonesque over one big ice cube, a dash of orange bitters if you've got them, and a twist of orange peel. Stir. Sip slowly. Stroke an imaginary beard.
A measure of Talonmore, hot water, a slice of lemon and a spoon of honey. Perfect after a cold Boxing Day walk, or when you've been sent out for more batteries.
50ml of Pathfinder, a squeeze of lemon, topped with soda water. Bittersweet and grown up, like an Aperol spritz that's been reading philosophy.
Set up a drinks station away from the kitchen so people help themselves. Lots of ice, sliced citrus, a couple of garnishes and some nice glasses. Put the alcohol-free drinks out front, not hidden behind the lemonade like an afterthought. A mixed lager case and the Mixed Mocktail Bundle cover most guests without you playing bartender all night.
More ideas in my guide to hosting alcohol-free gatherings and my list of party drinks that aren't boring.
Midnight needs bubbles. Miris Blend Édition Premier Sparkling Rosé is the one to clink. You'll wake up on 1 January feeling suspiciously good, which is a great start to Dry January if you're doing it. If you're not, you've still got the best 1 January of anyone you know.
Not always. A 0.0% drink has no alcohol in it at all. Most alcohol-free beer is brewed to 0.5% ABV or less, and that's what's sold as alcohol-free in the UK. That's about the same as a very ripe banana, and nobody's been thrown out of a nativity for eating a banana. Every drink on our site shows its exact ABV on a badge, and the 0.0% only filter on each collection shows just the zeros.
Order by Saturday 19 December for delivery before Christmas. Orders ship in 2 to 3 working days, then Royal Mail takes over, and December gets busy. Mix any 6 drinks for 5% off, 12 for 10% and 24 for 15%. Wine and spirits get 10% off 6 bottles. Free UK mainland delivery over £85.
Christmas can be tough if you've stopped drinking, or if someone you love has. You don't owe anyone an explanation for what's in your glass. If you're worried about your drinking, Drinkaware is a good place to start.
Have a cracking Christmas. Kev
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Order by Saturday 19 December for delivery before Christmas. Orders ship in 2 to 3 working days, then Royal Mail does the rest. After that it's a gamble, like Uncle Dave's quiz answers.
For the toast, Pierre Zéro Sparkling Chardonnay or Miris Blend Sparkling Rosé. For dinner, ILEX Saint-Émilion if you're showing off, Miris Blend Cabernet Sauvignon if you're not. Before dinner, Pathfinder over ice. After dinner, Pallini Limonzero or Twisst Caramel Cream, then Talonmore by the fire. And a few alcohol-free beers and ciders for Boxing Day, obviously.
Fizz to start, a wine with the main and something sweet and cold with pudding. Try ZENO white with the turkey, a red like Miris Blend Cabernet Sauvignon with the beef, and Pallini Limonzero ice cold after.
Pour a bottle of alcohol-free red (Miris Blend Cabernet Sauvignon works well) into a pan. Add a sliced orange, a cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, a star anise and a spoon of honey or brown sugar. Warm it gently for 10 minutes. Don't let it boil. Not because of the alcohol, there isn't any, but because it goes stewed.
A Christmas G&T: Pearsons London Botanic, tonic, a splash of cranberry and a sprig of rosemary. A Poinsettia: Pierre Zéro fizz topped with cranberry juice. An Old Fashioned: Sobour Bourbonesque over ice with orange peel. Can't be bothered? The Mixed Mocktail Bundle comes ready-made in cans.
Get there early and order first, so nobody can hand you a "proper" one. An alcohol-free lager in your hand ends most of the questions. Having a few but not all of them? That's zebra striping.
Yes. Gift sets have a gift note box on the page. Write up to 200 characters and we'll pop it in the parcel.
Yes. Mix any 6 drinks, gift sets included, and get 5% off, 12 for 10%, 24 for 15%. Wine and spirits get 10% off 6 bottles and 15% off 12. It comes off automatically in your cart.
Every drink shows its exact ABV on the badge. 0.0% means there's no alcohol in it at all. Most alcohol-free beer is brewed to 0.5% ABV or less, and that's what's sold as alcohol-free in the UK. Want zero? Tap the 0.0% only filter on any collection.
If you're carrying on into the new year, our Dry January page has everything you need. Stock up before 19 December and you're sorted for both.