Festive Water Infusions for Holiday Parties: Delight Your Guests with Delicious and Healthy Drinks

 

Perhaps the top benefit of infused water is that it gives people an alternative to sugary or alcoholic beverages. Traditional holiday drinks like eggnog, wassail, and hot chocolate include heaps of sugar.

When Consumer Reports compared store-bought eggnog, it found that most options contain 170 to 210 calories, about eight grams of fat, and about five grams of saturated fat. If you spike your eggnog with an ounce of liquor, expect to add about 65 calories to it.

It’s no wonder that the average person gains 0.8 to 2 pounds over the holidays!

 

Holiday-infused water offers a much healthier alternative. Most infused water refreshments don’t contain any calories. At most, you might get a little fruit juice that adds one or two calories per cup. That’s nothing compared to traditional holiday drinks.

Offering infused water also helps ensure that your loved ones will stay hydrated during the season. The average person needs 11.5 to 15.5 cups of water per day to stay well hydrated. However, a busy holiday schedule can make it difficult for people to meet those requirements. You probably don’t think a lot about your water intake when you’re busy working a full-time job, raising a family, buying gifts, and attending parties.

Providing infused water increases the chance that more people will choose a beverage that keeps them hydrated, healthy, and refreshed all season.

 

Creative Infused Water Recipes

Will people choose your infused water over mulled wine and eggnog? The answer partially depends on which infused water recipes you choose.

Try the following infused water recipes to lift everyone’s holiday spirits while promoting healthy choices.

 

Winter Wonderland Mix

Ingredients needed: 64 oz. filtered water, cranberries, rosemary

The winter wonderland mix infuses water with cranberry and rosemary flavors. Start with 64 oz. filtered water. Add two cups of halved cranberries and about three to five rosemary sprigs. Put the pitcher of water in your refrigerator for two to four hours. (You can store it in the fridge for up to a day, but the flavors will become more intense the longer you let the combination rest.)

 

Citrus Spice Delight

Ingredients needed: 64 oz. filtered water, cinnamon sticks, orange slices, star anise

If you want a healthier alternative to mulled wine, infuse 64 oz. filtered water with cinnamon sticks, orange slices, and star anise. Again, you can let the combination rest in a chilled area for up to a day. If you plan to leave your citrus spice delight out on a table or countertop for several hours during a party, consider removing the ingredients before serving. The oranges and spices can get mushy when left in the water too long.

 

Berry Merry Splash

Ingredients needed: 64 oz. filtered water, seasonal fruit, mint leaves

Add your favorite seasonal fruit and about half a cup of mint leaves to 64 oz. of filtered water. The flavors will come together to create a marvelously refreshing drink. As with any infused water recipe, consider removing the ingredients if you plan to leave the water out for very long.

Find more recipes on our blog post, Delicious Fruit Infused Beverages to Make for Guests.

 

Perfect Pairing with Brio Water Products

All holiday-infused water recipes start with filtered water. You want filtered water because it doesn’t contain chemicals and contaminants that can taste bad and negatively impact your guests’ health. Pairing your infused water with Brio water products also helps reduce the number of plastic bottles you use, so you can celebrate the holidays knowing that you’re protecting the planet’s health, too.

Importantly, Brio’s bottleless water coolers are very easy to install and use. You just connect the bottleless cooler to a cold water supply, connect the appropriate filters, and enjoy clean water.

Some of the most popular Brio models include:

• Countertop modelslike the Brio 300 Series 3-Stage Stainless Steel Bottleless Countertop Water Cooler
• Brio 500 Series 2-Stage Tri-Temp Bottleless Water Cooler
• Brio 500 Series 4-Stage UF Bottleless Water Cooler

No matter which model you choose, you get fresh, delicious water without adding more plastic to landfills.

 

Make Presentations Fun and Attractive

While taste and health obviously matter, you also want to present beverages in fun, attractive ways that emphasize holiday cheer.

A few garnishes can make your infused water recipes look more appealing. For instance, you might want to provide extra rosemary sprigs or orange slices that guests can add to their drinks.

Holiday-themed ice molds can also make your infused water more festive. Search websites like Etsy to find holiday molds that will turn your ice cubes into snowflakes, Christmas trees, stars, and other fun shapes.

 

Start Making Healthy, Delicious Infused Water at Home

Want more tips for a healthy, joyful holiday? Follow Brio on your favorite social media platforms.

Also, don’t forget to include a tag Brio and share your holiday creations. We’d love to see what other infused water recipes you come up with this year!