Non-Alcoholic New Year's Eve Drinks: Punch, Mocktails & Sparkling Glitter Bubbles for Everyone

For a New Year's Eve party, three non-alcoholic drinks are enough, each suited to a different part of the evening:

1. Hot non-alcoholic punch – kept in a pot on the stove from the moment guests arrive, so everyone can help themselves.

2. Mocktail – a non-alcoholic cocktail served over ice and mixed to a single ratio, so anyone can make it.

3. Sparkling glitter bubbles – kids' champagne or dealcoholised sparkling wine with edible shimmer powder for the midnight toast.

Three is plenty. More drinks mean more dishes, more spilled bottles and a host who spends the evening stuck at the counter. One hot, one cold and one festive drink cover the whole evening and every taste.

A good non-alcoholic punch needs three components: a sweet fruity base, something bitter or tannic to stand in for the "body" of alcohol, and acidity at the end. Without that tannic element, it tastes like heated juice.

A tried-and-tested ratio for about 1.7 l (6–7 cups):

• 1 l apple juice or grape juice (the sweet base)

• 0.5–0.7 l strong tea – hibiscus, rosehip or black tea (tannins and colour)

• 2 cinnamon sticks, 4–5 cloves, 2 star anise, and a few slices of fresh ginger

• 1 orange, sliced, and the juice of 1 lemon, added at the very end

Heat the punch slowly, just below boiling point, so that only the occasional bubble breaks the surface, then keep it on the lowest heat. If you let it simmer for two hours, the spices turn bitter and the citrus tastes overcooked. Add the lemon juice only after heating so it stays fresh.

If you like hibiscus, brew it stronger – it gives the punch a deep red colour and a pleasant tartness. For how to work with it cold, see the recipe for refreshing hibiscus iced tea with lime; the same infusion also works as a base for hot punch.

You can mix a mocktail without a recipe using the ratio 1 part sour : 1 part sweet : 5 parts sparkling. For a glass of around 200 ml, that means:

• 20 ml citrus – lime, lemon, grapefruit

• 20 ml syrup – elderflower, ginger, raspberry, rosemary

• 100 ml sparkling water, tonic or ginger beer (ginger soda)

• ice, and a herb sprig or citrus slice on top

Sour and sweet in balance do what alcohol usually does in a cocktail: the drink has depth and doesn't come across as lemonade. Tonic adds bitterness, so you need less syrup with it – even just 15 ml.

You can make the syrup ahead. On Yumst you'll find homemade lemonade and other syrups as well as elderflower syrup. If you put some up in summer, New Year's Eve is the perfect moment to open it. Elderflower with lime and tonic is probably the easiest mocktail that still tastes grown-up.

To make sparkling non-alcoholic bubbles, stir a pinch of edible shimmer powder into a glass of non-alcoholic sparkling drink. The bubbles lift the powder, and the drink swirls in the glass like liquid silk. All it takes is a pinch of powder and ordinary kids' champagne or dealcoholised sparkling wine.

The best bases are clear or light-coloured drinks: dealcoholised sparkling wine, sparkling grape juice, tonic or a pale lemonade. In a dark drink the shimmer gets lost. Red powder looks a rich ruby in a light sparkling drink, while blush gold gives pale bubbles a warm, pearly glow.

Watch out for dealcoholised wine and alcohol-free beer: under the rules, a "non-alcoholic" drink and "dealcoholised" wine may contain up to 0.5% alcohol. For kids, teetotallers and pregnant guests, choose a drink with 0.0% alcohol or simply a sparkling juice.

One glass needs just a pinch, roughly ⅛ teaspoon, and a jug for 8 people about ½ teaspoon. More powder won't make it shimmer more; it will only cloud the drink.

How to make the shimmer last:

1. Put the powder in an empty glass or stir it into a spoonful of syrup.

2. Pour in a well-chilled sparkling drink and give it one short stir with a bar spoon.

3. Serve right away. Manufacturers say the shimmer is liveliest for the first 10–15 minutes, after which the powder settles at the bottom.

Settled powder isn't a problem: just swirl or stir the glass and it starts moving again. For that reason, add the powder to a jug just before pouring, not in the afternoon. The article Edible glitter for drinks covers the technique in detail, including glittery glass rims.

For drinks, edible shimmer powder works best: it's as fine as dust, floats in the bubbles and creates that typical swirling sheen. The other options have their place, but elsewhere:

• Shimmer powder (lustre dust) – a fine powder that makes silky swirls in the glass. The best choice for drinks.

• Edible glitter flakes – larger pieces that sparkle more, but sink to the bottom faster and look more like confetti in a glass. Good for the rim.

• Edible gold leaf – expensive and eye-catching, but it doesn't swirl; it belongs on desserts and pralines rather than in non-alcoholic drinks.

• Ready-made "glitter" syrups – convenient, but the flavour and colour are fixed.

You'll find powders, gold and glitter together on the edible gold and glitter page. For bubbles, the best value is shimmer edible powder in Christmas red and shimmer edible powder in blush gold.

Prepare ahead everything that doesn't fizz or shimmer. The bubbles and powder come in at the last moment.

• The day before: syrups, brewed and chilled tea for the punch, sliced citrus in a container in the fridge.

• In the afternoon: ice in the freezer (allow 200–300 g per person), sparkling drinks in the fridge, glasses set out.

• When guests arrive: punch on the stove, syrup and citrus at the bar with a card showing the 1:1:5 ratio (20 ml citrus, 20 ml syrup, 100 ml sparkling), so everyone can mix their own.

• Ten minutes before midnight: put a pinch of powder in the glasses, open the chilled bubbles and pour on the countdown.

Allow roughly 1–1.5 l of drinks per person for the whole evening, including one or two glasses of bubbles for the toast.

With non-alcoholic New Year's Eve drinks, serve savoury nibbles – canapés, open sandwiches or savoury muffins – to balance the sweet punches and syrups. You'll find ideas in the articles New Year's Eve canapés and prepping ahead, decorating open sandwiches for New Year's Eve and savoury party muffins. If you'd like to echo the shimmer on the table, find inspiration in the article on sparkling New Year's Eve desserts.