Modern Party Ideas for Kids and Adults: December 2012

I just LOVE punch. I remember my Mum had the most beautiful ornate (albeit plastic) punch bowl set. All the gorgeous slices of fruit floating around in a punch just make it seem so lush and fresh.

This is like the one Mum had, i'm sure many of us remember these.

This is what you might have had back then if you were upper class. So cool!

I make punch for every party i have. In the good only days when i was in university, i used to make watermelon punch - a super alcoholic version including vodka, passion pop and cheap cask wine. I will never forget the time that i completely forgot to add the lemonade and fruit juice and we were completely smashed in about 30 mins.

In my twenties, i opted for a cocktail style and would often make a Pina Colada punch that would, inevitably, leave us all feeling extremely ill the next day. The taste was of course always worth it though.

Now in my thirties, there are lots of party goers who won't be drinking so they can drive home and take care of their kids. And so a new recipe has emerged, one that will leave everyone feeling very merry, even though it contains no alcohol whatsoever.

Pink Party Punch
3-4 litres of full fat lemonade

1/2 a bottle of Bickfords lemon lime and bitters cordial
1 litre of Pineapple and coconut juice (the premixed supermarket juice shelf kind)
A few slices of pink grapefruit for aesthetic purposes.

Of course you can always add alcohol to any punch recipe. For this one, i recommend a white coconut rum like Malibu, some cask wine and a bottle of cheap spumante.

Here are a few other great punch recipes that will be a hit at any party.

Zesty Lime Punch
2 litres of diet lemonade
1 litre of tropical fruit juice
The juice of 2 limes
100mls Bickfords Lime Cordial