Christmas Tree Mimosa Bar

Set up a Christmas Tree Mimosa Bar with ornaments that will wow your guests with holiday magic! Fill ornaments with fresh juices and hang them on the tree for your guests to add to their glasses of bubbly.

There’s nothing like a cocktail that wows guests during the holiday season.

Whenever I host friends or family, I love to treat them to a drink that really surprises them and fills them with holiday spirit.

It makes parties memorable. Just think:

“Hey, remember that drink you served last year with the cranberries?”

“Oh, you mean the Yule Mule?”

Every year, I try to top the last. One year I did a champagne cocktail bar. This year I dreamed up a festive mimosa bar.

Christmas Mimosa Bar

Everyone has probably experienced a classic mimosa bar, with orange juice and champagne. After all, mimosas are one of the cocktail recipes that is very easy to memorize!

But this year I wanted to take it up a notch with a Christmas Mimosa Bar with a Christmas tree as the centerpiece.

Your party guests can pluck an ornament filled with juice for mimosas, then make their own mimosa.

These would be so fun for an evening holiday soirée, a cookie decorating party or a Christmas brunch. You can even do this for New Year’s Eve since mimosas are champagne cocktails!

Supplies for a Christmas Tree Mimosa Bar

Whether you’re making these for a nighttime party or for a Christmas morning mimosa bar, you will need a few things to set up a functional and beautiful mimosa bar:

A Christmas tree

I used this white, 3′ tabletop tree for my mimosa bar studded with battery-operated lights.

You can also put them on your big Christmas tree, or you can skip this step and just place the ornaments in a big bowl!

Ornaments filled with juice

My idea for this holiday mimosa bar came from stumbling across these cute ornament shot glasses.

They are plastic and have lids like a bottle, which makes them easy to fill and wash for the next event.

The set comes with 12, which would be great for a small group of 4-6 people (2-3 cocktails apiece).

If you’re planning a bigger party, you may wish to buy another set or two. Or, you can set out carafes of juice or make a plan to wash out and refill used ornaments during the party.

Bonus: You can reuse the ornaments and fill them with cinnamon whiskey or other spirits for another night of fun!

Juice

Citrus juice is most well-known, and cranberry mimosas are probably the most basic Christmas morning breakfast cocktail, but offering many options for delicious juices is how you can take your mimosa bar to the next level.

I filled my ornaments with various fruit juices so that people can make their own mimosas to their liking.

Here are a few ideas for delicious fruit juices you can put out:

• fresh orange juice
• apple cider
• apple juice
• pomegranate juice
• cranberry juice
• pineapple juice
• grapefruit juice
• guava juice
• blood orange juice
• peach puree
• strawberry puree
• mango puree

People can even mix and match if they like!

Champagne

It’s not a mimosa without bubbly! Stock up on a few bottles of the best champagne, Italian prosecco or cava. In general, you will want to get a dry AKA “brut” type.

I have a guide to choosing sparkling wine that can help! Keep in mind that one 750mL bottle of champagne will make 6-8 mimosas.

If you’re serving other drinks, check out my guide to stocking your bar for $100 or less to help you decide how much alcohol to get.

Also, you may wish to add some lemon-lime soda, ginger beer, sparkling cider or sparkling lemonade for anyone who would prefer not to imbibe alcohol.

These champagne stoppers are magical, by the way, and you might want to pick one up so your bubbly stays, well, bubbly all night long!

Orange Liqueur

This is totally optional, but you can also add triple sec to your mimosa bar.

You could fill more ornaments, or you could just leave it out as an option for people to choose from.

People will want to add about 1 ounce of this orange-flavored liqueur to their holiday drink.

Choose plain triple sec or a top-shelf option like Grand Marnier or Cointreau.

You can also add some other flavorings like cinnamon simple syrup or honey simple syrup so that your guests can make up their own drinks and flavor combinations!

Garnishes

You can set up some accoutrements like fresh fruit for people to dress up their drinks. This is totally optional, but it can make for a fun experience for your guests.

• rosemary sprigs
• mint sprigs
• orange slices
• sugared cranberries
• fresh cranberries
• pomegranate seeds
• raspberries
• sugar and cinnamon sugar, for rims
• sugar cubes
• bitters

Champagne flutes

Plastic champagne flutes are great for a party, but so will regular plastic cups.

But since it’s Christmastime, maybe you’d want to pull out your fancier glass flutes. Stemless wine glasses will also work.

Whether you choose plastic or glass really depends on your crowd!

How to set up a Christmas tree mimosa bar

You will need to clear off a drinks area for your DIY mimosa bar, as it will take up a bit of space.

A bar cart, table, sideboard, kitchen counter or island will work great. (You may also want some space for a pitcher of Christmas spa water, or some other non-alcoholic options.)

But bonus? That tree makes a stunning decoration!

1. Decorate your tree with lights and other ornaments. Leave spots for the mimosa ornaments.
2. Fill your ornaments with juices. Keep them in the fridge until your party.
3. Chill your champagne. Set up an ice bucket or wine chiller for the open bottle, and keep backup champagne bottles in the fridge or in a cooler filled with ice.
4. Set out any garnishes, triple sec (if using) and glassware.
5. Hang the ornaments on your tree a little before your party begins.
6. Wait for guests to arrive!

How to make a mimosa

Let the fun begin!

You may want to set up a little sign so people know what to do. I go back and forth between using a chalkboard sign like this one or a letterboard sign.

Here’s what they will need to do:

1. Select a juice ornament from the tree.
2. Add a splash of juice (or all of it) it into their champagne flute. The ornaments are 2 ounces so they are perfect for a mimosa.
3. Add 1 ounce of triple sec (optional).
4. Top with something bubbly.
5. Garnish with herbs or fresh fruits.
6. Say cheers!

Making a Christmas mimosa bar is easy and fun. You can do it for any holiday party, even December baby showers.

Guests will love the experience of building their own festive cocktail or mimosa mocktail.

And trust me — they’ll be talking about it for years to come!