This delicious Thanksgiving punch recipe combines the popular duo of cranberry and orange juice with cinnamon syrup, soda, and a little pop of grenadine for a festive and fun drink for the whole family! Make it even more special by topping with whipped cream and holiday sprinkles!
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My go to drink for as long as I can remember when I’m getting something a little special is cranberry and orange juice mixed together.
My mom got me hooked on the combination years ago and to this day, it’s still one of my favorites. It can be in a cranberry orange bread, cranberry orange muffins, or even just the actual juices combined in a yummy drink like this Thanksgiving punch.
This drink recipe is actually inspired by one I had at a dessert party at Disneyland’s Oogie Boogie Bash of all things. It’s not a Halloween punch by any means but it was so good I ended up getting like six refills and downing them all while we waited for the parade.
It would totally make my best Disneyland food list!
I asked the cast member what was in it because I loved it so much and she didn’t give me the recipe but she did tell it was cranberry juice, orange juice, Sprite, pineapple juice, and a little grenadine combined. No wonder I loved it – those are my favorite things to use to make drink recipes!
So I went home and I played with various combinations and measurements and ended up with this recipe that tastes a little more fall than the original. It’s not exactly the same as the one at Oogie Boogie Bash, but it’s sure delicious.
Why you’ll love this
- Super easy – you just need a few ingredients that are readily available at the grocery store!
- Kid-friendly – everyone deserves a special drink every once in a while, including the kids! This Thanksgiving punch is a fun special drink that’s both delicious enough for the adults but also something kids will enjoy!
- Drink with depth – the cinnamon simple syrup in this recipe gives it an amazing holiday warmth that goes so well with the cranberry and orange mixture.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Orange juice – any orange juice works, I recommend pulp free just so it mixes a little better.
- Cranberry juice – any cranberry juice is good as long as it’s actual cranberry juice and not something like cran-apple. Most are going to be cranberry juice cocktails and that’s okay but 100% cranberry juice is best!
- Sprite – I always prefer Sprite but you could also use 7-UP.
- Grenadine – I personally prefer this brand of grenadine but you can also use homemade or whatever brand you want.
- Pineapple juice – my personal favorite is 100% Dole pineapple juice but again as long as it’s just pineapple juice and not a juice cocktail, it should work!
- Cinnamon simple syrup – you’ll need water, sugar, and cinnamon sticks to make this. I’ve included ingredients in the recipe card at the very bottom of this post!
In addition to the actual punch ingredients, you may want to grab some of these items to garnish your punch!
- Fresh cranberries or you could even do sugared cranberries
- Orange slices
- Cinnamon sticks
How to make Thanksgiving Punch
Okay so let me preface this by saying that I wrote this recipe to make enough for eight (8 oz) servings of punch because I was just serving it for my individual family.
If you are making this for a large group say as your Thanksgiving drink, I recommend doubling or tripling depending on how many people you are serving. As long as you stick with the same ratios, the punch should still be delicious!
How to Make the Punch
When you’re ready to make this Thanksgiving punch, here’s how you’ll do it:
- Pour all of the ingredients (including the cooled cinnamon simple syrup) into your chosen container.
- Mix well until they’re all combined. Then chill until serving.
Recommended tools
When I’m doing a small batch, I like to put it together in a drink shaker to really get the flavors mixed – just don’t mix too hard or the Sprite will make it explode!
If you’re doing a larger portion, just pour everything into a pitcher or punch bowl and stir until the flavors are mixed well.
- Serve over ice, evenly dividing the mixture into eight (or however many you want) 12 to 16 ounce glasses. Alternately, you could also serve chilled in smaller glasses (without ice).
- Garnish with fresh cranberries, orange slices, and or cinnamon sticks.
If you’re doing it in a pitcher, you can add the garnishes right to the pitcher, but I don’t recommend adding ice to the pitcher so you don’t dilute the punch flavors!
How to Make Cinnamon Simple Syrup
The cinnamon simple syrup really warms up this punch although to be honest, it’s still good without it – it’s just better with it! But if you’re in a hurry, you could skip it.
- Combine cinnamon sticks, water, and sugar in a pot on the stove on medium heat. Stir to combine.
- Heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the cinnamon sticks have transferred their flavor to the simple syrup, it was about five minutes for me.
- Pour the simple syrup through a strainer into a bowl to remove the cinnamon sticks and any residue from the sticks. Set the cinnamon simple syrup aside to cool.
Tip!
If you want to make it fancier and fun for the kids, add a little whipped cream and sprinkles to the top right before serving. Spray whipped cream does go flat pretty quickly, so I recommend not doing it until the very last minute.
This makes it a really fun drink, especially for the kids who typically get left out when it comes to fun drinks for the holidays!
If you want something else to serve alongside this Thanksgiving punch, this caramel apple drink is also a great “fancy” option!
Tips & tricks
Make the simple syrup ahead of time so that it has time to cool if you want or just make sure everything else is chilled and add it directly to the other chilled ingredients.
Don’t add ice to the punch in a large pitcher. Let people add punch to ice in their glasses so the ice doesn’t melt and water down the flavors.
Refrigerate any leftovers in a covered pitcher and enjoy within three days. The Sprite will go flat within like a day but the rest of the flavors are still good even if the Sprite is slightly flat.
Recipe FAQs
How do I keep my punch cold without watering it down?
You can either keep the punch in the refrigerator until right before serving, use reusable ice cubes, or keep your punch in an iced container, cooler, or otherwise cool location for serving.
How long will this punch last in the fridge?
This Thanksgiving punch is best enjoyed the day you make it because the Sprite will go flat. If you want to refrigerate any leftovers, you can definitely drink them the next day but you’ll be missing the sparkling nature of the drink. This is why I also don’t recommend making it ahead of time.
Can this Thanksgiving punch be made ahead of time?
If you want to make this punch ahead of time, make the cinnamon simple syrup ahead of time. Then just throw everything together last minute. Or you can mix everything but the Sprite ahead of time and add the Sprite very last minute.
Do I have to add the simple syrup?
This recipe was originally written without the cinnamon simple syrup but after doing an entire day of punch testing, we realized it was missing a little bit of warmth to make it a true Thanksgiving punch. The cinnamon syrup does just that – it really gives it that warmth that really complements the other flavors. You can totally make it without, we just think it’s even better – plus the simple syrup is SUPER easy to make!
More Easy Thanksgiving Recipes
This Thanksgiving punch recipe goes perfectly with any of these other Thanksgiving recipes!
- Pumpkin cupcakes with cake mix – the ultimate Thanksgiving dessert, these gorgeous pumpkin cupcakes are topped with a cheesecake frosting for a showstopping treat!
- Pumpkin delight recipe – four layers of delightful creaminess make this a perfect addition to any Thanksgiving dessert spread!
- No bake pumpkin pie – skip the traditional stuff and try this light and fluffy pumpkin pie that you don’t even have to cook!
- Homemade sausage stuffing – one of my favorite Thanksgiving sides of all time, this delicious stuffing is easy and delicious!
- Roasted root vegetables – gorgeous rainbow colored root vegetables make a great Thanksgiving side dish when they’re roasted and flavored like these ones!
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Easy Thanksgiving Punch
Ingredients
- 24 oz cranberry juice 3 cups
- 20 oz orange juice 2 1/2 cups
- 12 oz Sprite 1 1/2 cups
- 8 oz pineapple juice 1 cup
- 2 TBS grenadine
- 12 oz cinnamon simple syrup recipe below
Cinnamon Simple Syrup (Makes 12 oz)
- 8 oz water 1 cup
- 1 cup sugar 1 cup
- 4 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- Mix your ingredients together with cinnamon simple syrup and stir until completely combined. Chill until serving.24 oz cranberry juice, 20 oz orange juice, 12 oz Sprite, 8 oz pineapple juice, 2 TBS grenadine
- Garnish with cranberries, orange slices, whipped cream, and/or sprinkles if desired and serve chilled.
Cinnamon Simple Syrup
- Combine water, sugar, and cinnamon sticks on the stove in a pot over medium-high heat. Heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the water has a cinnamon flavor, about five minutes.8 oz water, 1 cup sugar, 4 cinnamon sticks
- Strain simple syrup into a bowl or cup, removing the cinnamon sticks. Allow simple syrup to cool completely.
Tips & Notes:
- Orange juice – any orange juice works, I recommend pulp free just so it mixes a little better.
- Cranberry juice – I recommend 100% cranberry juice if you can get your hands on it without breaking your budget, but it’s been pretty tough to find these days. If you can’t find it, something like 100% juice Ocean Spray cranberry juice (if you look on the back, it actually has other fruits…) is fine. Stay away from the cranberry juice cocktails.
- Sprite – I always prefer Sprite but you could also potentially use 7-UP or Sierra Mist as well if you can’t find Sprite.
- Cinnamon simple syrup – you can make this without, but I highly recommend adding it because it really elevates the punch!
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