More Cocktail Garnishes for Thanksgiving Entertaining

We would have to agree with BuzzFeed - when it comes to Thanksgiving, it is much easier to pre-batch cocktails that can be served to all of your guests. Although we are strong believers in Big-Batching in order to decrease preparation and kitchen chaos, we still think when it comes to garnishing, you can still impress your guests with your attention to detail- which will add to your Thanksgiving decoration, festive holiday experience, and of course, elevate your cocktails!

Here are some of our favorite Thanksgiving cocktails and how to garnish them:

Apple Brandy Hot Toddies: We cannot get enough of hot toddies or apples! We recommend garnishing these with one apple slice, one orange twist and one cinnamon stick each. Serve in a clear mug so that the warm autumn orange flavor can add to your tablescape.

Food and Wine Magazine introduced us to a Punch Parker - punch made with gin, champagne and strawberry liqueur. Garnished with lemons, raspberries, oranges and pineapple. Also topped with one large ice cube. This punch is easy to serve in a Punch bowl with a ladle into small rocks glasses. You can purchase a reasonable punch bowl from Bed, Bath and Beyond here.

Cooking Channel TV recommends using cranberry and ginger in your Thanksgiving cocktails as they will perfectly complement the flavors in your Thanksgiving meal. Their Ginger Cranberry cocktail can be made with their gin or vodka, depending on your preference. Cooking Channel provides instructions on how to make your own Ginger syrup and recommends garnishing the cocktail with frozen cranberries and shavings of fresh ginger.

How To Make Cocktail Garnishes for Halloween

Halloween is a time to show your creativity and let your imagination go wild! After you have secured/made the perfect costume (for you and all your pets), acquired the necessary face paint and accessories, decorated your place so that you can hardly move, the next thing to consider is making your Halloween party a memorable one for you and your guests! 

Below we have listed our top 5 creepy and fun Halloween cocktail garnishes that will put your party over the top and keep your guests Insta-graming all night long! 

The Angry "Pumpkin" Cocktail Garnish- using a clementine or any smaller citrus fruit and a small sharp knife, carve the face of any angry pumpkin into the rind. Once completed, insert a wooden skewer into the center and place into cocktail of your choice. (More tricks and tips from Better Home and Gardens) 

The Peppery Devil- simply garnish the rim of the glass with red chili peppers on either side of the glass. This works well in spicy or sweet drinks and adds a little heat. 

Eyeballs in My Shots Please. - best garnish for lime jello shots. Stuff a marachino cherry into a lychee fruit and then cut a slice from the outside of the grape to place over the red part of the "eyeball". To put the eyeball in the kellow, pour half the jello into the shot glass, then place the eyeball in and let the jello set. Pour the rest of the jello over the eyeball and cover and let set again. (For Additional Ideas for Halloween Eyeball Jello Shots and Brownie Pops go to Good Cocktails)

Licorice Spider - get a long piece of black licorice and scissors. Wrap the licorice around your fingers and bundle to create the 8 dangling legs on each side. Tie onto straw and let hang halfway down the cocktail of your choice. (More details at Martha Stewart Living)

Bloody Martini Glasses- create "blood" rimmed martini glasses using red decorating icing writing gel. We recommend this icing writer from Wilton at Sur La Table.