Top shelf punch

The age-old 'bung it all in and see what happens' method, popular with students and paupers. Grab some bottles of whatever spirits you have lying around/can afford from the shops and top it up with plenty of orange juice, lemonade, cheap wine and cider. Bound to be potent, and may even taste disgusting, so warn your guests and keep some lemonade handy to add in for every alcoholic bottle your guests pour in.

Eggnog

Couldn't be more festive if it tried. Not sure we like it, but heck it's Christmas.

Ingredients: Six eggs, 170g sugar, 1.5 pints double cream, 1.5 pints milk, 340ml Brandy, 110ml Rum, sprinkling of cinnamon or nutmeg.

Separate the eggs then beat both mixtures. Add sugar to the beaten yolks until the mix is golden, and beat the whites until stiff. Fold the whites into the yolks. Then add the alcohol before stirring in the milk and cream. Chill. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon when serving.

Sangria

Hating this cold weather? Well pretend it's still summer with some sangria.

Ingredients: lime, lemon, orange, 1/4 cup of sugar, bottle of red wine, 2 tbsp lemon juice, soda water to top up with and plenty of ice cubes.

Slice up the fruit and put in a large jug with the brandy and sugar. Leave this to stand for an hour or so before adding the wine and lemon juice. Stir the mixture and stand for another hour. Add the ice cubes and top up the jug with soda water before serving.

Snowballs

Party like your grandmother with this retro winter tipple.

Ingredients: Advocaat, lime cordial, ice cubes and lemonade. Lemon and sugar to garnish.

Rub the rim of the glass on a lemon and then twist in sugar. Fill the glass with 1/3 advocaat, 2/3 lemonade and a dash of lime cordial and serve.

TheSite.org's strawberry sherbet slosh

Classy, just like us.

 Ingredients: 1 large punnet of strawberries, 3 litres of cold white cider, I chilled bottle of pink champagne, 8 tbsp sugar, 2 heaped tbsp of strawberry sherbet, plenty of ice.

Slice the fruit and place in a large jug with the sugar and half the cider. Place in the fridge for three hours. When ready, half fill a large punch bowl with ice and pour the chilled mix into it. Add the rest of the cider and the champagne. Sprinkle the sherbet over the top to produce a big fizz. Serve.

Year-round favourites

Quantities serve one person, and can be mixed in a jug, needing no special equipment.

• Pina Colada
  Cracked ice
  1 measure of white rum
  2 measures of coconut milk
  2 measures of fresh pineapple juice
• Cuba Libre
  2-3 ice cubes
  1 1/2 measures of dark rum
  Juice of 1/2 a lime
  Cola (as much as you like)
• White Russian
  2-3 ice cubes
  2 measures of vodka
  1 measure of Kaluha or Tia Maria
  1 measure of single cream
• Sex on the Beach
  Lots of ice
  1 measure of vodka
  1 measure of peach schnapps
  3 measures of cranberry juice
  3 measures of orange juice  

Updated: 16/12/2009