So now is the time I can begin to consider Christmas. Or winter holidays. Doesn’t have to be Christmas of course. But the invites to December parties are coming in. Lights are up around town. It’s after Thanksgiving. That’s the deal breaker for me. I won’t let my kids even talk about Christmas till after Thanksgiving. ‘It makes it more special,’ is my excuse for waiting till mid December for our Christmas tree. Every family has their own traditions, and more power to them. But who makes these traditions? For my family, I do. My husband does too, but he lives so much in the present that the future and the past don’t concern him that much. Rarely does he choose to assert a tradition. And so my little family is my little blank canvas. And I say, let’s wait a little bit. Let’s not make Christmas last too long. Short and sweet.

That being said, it’s definitely time to talk Christmas cocktails.

This is a nice twist on the ole daiquiri I wanted to try and I recommend checking it out. A daiquiri has such a summery vibe–can it work as a wintry cocktail?

Ingredients for cranberry daiquiri on the rocks
adapted from Bon Appetit
makes 6 drinks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
small cinnamon stick
2-3 cloves
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
grated orange zest
1/2 cup light rum
1/4 to 1/2 cup dark rum
1/4 cup cranberry juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon or lime juice

1) First make the sugar syrup. Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan and heat up on the stove to melt the sugar. Add the cloves, cinnamon stick, fresh cranberries and the orange zest.
2) Cook a few minutes until the cranberries pop. Take off the heat. Discard the cinnamon stick or it will get too strong.
3) Add the light rum and chill in the fridge.
4) Strain the cranberry sugar syrup into a pitcher and add the remaining ingredients. Serve in glasses with plenty of ice and garnish with the cooked cranberries and a wedge of lime.