Easy Cocktail Recipes for New Year’s Eve
Whether you’ll be having a cosy night in or dancing until midnight, one thing’s for certain; you’ll be needing a drink in hand to welcome in the New Year. Sweet, sugary cocktails aren’t typically the most slimming-friendly tipples on the drinks menu, but luckily we’ve got you covered with some boozy treats that’ll get the party started. From classic cocktails to fruity festive numbers, there’s something for everyone on this list (plus a few low-calorie nibbles to keep you going until midnight).
You can find our guide on calories in alcohol here.
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Easy Fizzy Cocktails
You can’t have a celebration without bubbles! If you’re a lover of prosecco and gin, enjoy them together in our fruity Elderflower Gin Fizz. Refreshing and light, it goes down exceptionally well for only 84 calories per glass.
As with all of our fizzy options, it’s best to make your tipple on the night; if you make it in advance and store it in the fridge, it may be flat by the time you come to drink it.
A set of highball tumbler glasses will take your cocktails to the next level.
We serve ours over ice with zesty wedges of lime and lemon for the full effect.
When it comes to counting down to the fireworks at midnight, you’ll struggle to find a more apt boozy treat than our Firework Fizz. Don’t be fooled by its short ingredients list, this one packs a proper punch!
To give our champagne flutes an extra-special bang, we’ve decorated the rim of the glass with sticky maple syrup and popping candy. It perfectly complements the rum, sweet apple squash, fragrant cinnamon and zingy ginger ale.
Wrapped in a light, delicate puff pastry swirl, we’ve combined heavenly cheese and pickle to create our moreish Cheese and Pickle Twists. They’re perfect if you get a little bit peckish while you’re waiting for midnight!
A batch-cook dream, there’s nothing to stop you preparing these savoury buffet-sized nibbles a few days ahead of your New Year’s Eve bash. At 41 calories per twist, we’d say it’s worth going back for seconds (or thirds!).
When you’re not quite ready to say goodbye to Christmastime flavours, our Cranberry Fizz is Yuletide joy in a glass. To make it as fizzy and fun-filled as possible for fewer calories, we’ve combined cranberry juice with Russchian pink soda. Every sip has a prosecco-style touch of indulgence, without a bottle of bubbly in sight.
Why not crack out your finest jug and place it at the centre of the buffet table? Your guests can grab a glassful while they pop a couple of Festive Sausage Rolls on their paper plate.
Easy Classic Cocktails
It wouldn’t be right to talk about cocktails without mentioning our epic Strawberry Daiquiri recipe. A certified cocktail menu classic, our version of the rum-based fruity delight is great for celebrations at any time of year.
Once you’ve blitzed your strawberries into a smooth puree, combine them with white rum (we’ve gone for Bacardi), lime juice and strawberry-flavoured water.
After a couple of hours in the freezer, the fun starts! Break the daiquiri-flavoured ice into slush with a fork and divide between Martini-style glasses. We’re betting no one will guess that they’re slimming friendly at 84 calories each!
Since your freezer is your best friend for this recipe, you can keep any leftovers stored away for a rainy day, or use moulds to transform the mixture into boozy ice lollies. Just make sure to keep them somewhere that little hands won’t find them.
Forget about getting caught in the rain! There’s nothing to stop you getting caught in the snow with our Pina Colada Cocktail. A staple for summertime celebrations, you can always give it a festive twist by swapping out cocktail umbrellas for candy canes.
Another time-saver that you can serve straight from the freezer (after all the fun of slushing up the icy mixture!), it’s sure to brighten up the final night of the year.
With gin, tequila and white rum in the mix, there’ll be no issue getting the party started with our Long Island Iced Tea on offer. No freezer required, you can have this low-calorie wonder rustled up in 5 minutes.
Cocktails taste even better if you dance while you’re mixing them, and our kitchen playlist for Pinch of Nom: Enjoy is the ideal soundtrack to get you moving while you stir.
Easy Cocktail-themed Treats
Does it get any better than a cocktail for dessert on New Year’s Eve? Our Espresso Martini Trifle is the perfect way to round off your year-end festivities.
A truly scrummy sweet treat, we’ve topped a layer of coffee-flavoured jelly with chocolatey yoghurt, cream and brownie chunks. While they’ll keep nicely in the fridge (without the cream) until midnight, we’re betting your guests won’t want to wait that long to tuck in…
Another delightfully boozy dessert option, our Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake Pots serve up sweet, satisfying comfort by the ramekin. We can’t think of a tastier place to put the leftover Irish cream liqueur from your festive feast!
As if the Baileys-infused, creamy silkiness wasn’t enough, we’ve topped each one with crushed double-chocolate cookies to give them an irresistible crunch.
You can always put a fun twist on standard gin and tonic by having our Gin and Tonic Ice Lollies handy in the freezer. Great to grab at a moment’s notice, they’re a fruity frozen treat at the lighter end of the calorie scale; just 29 per lolly.
If you’re thinking of handing them out to your guests before the clock strikes twelve, just make sure they’ve been in the freezer for a minimum of 8 hours – overnight should be fine.
New Year, New Goals
When the festive celebrations come to a close, it’s time to think about looking ahead and getting organised for the new year. With our Family Meal Planner in hand, you’ll have all you need to get ahead of your slimming goals at your fingertips.
As well as week-by-week meal space for meal planning, shopping lists and fun stickers, you’ll find a freezer-tracker that’ll protect your budget by making the most of the food you’ve already got.
Plus, we’ve included 26 crowd-pleasing recipes inside – they’re all exclusive to our planner, so you won’t find them anywhere else.
Which tipple will you raise a toast with at midnight?
Tell us which of our slimming-friendly tipples and treats you’ll be sharing with your dinner guests in our Facebook group, where we have almost 1 million members waiting to support you on your slimming journey.
Did you know that you can now show off your hints, tips, quotes and photos in our PON Gallery too? We’d highly recommend going for a scroll through the submissions we’ve had so far if you’re ever feeling short of inspiration.