How the holiday drink calculator works
Warm holiday drinks are easy to scale once you know the serving size. This tool takes your guest count and servings per guest, applies a typical serving size for mulled wine, eggnog, or hot cider, and works out the total volume plus the main ingredient to buy. Whether you are filling a slow cooker or a punch bowl, it gets you to a shopping list fast.
Mulled wine, eggnog, and cider
Mulled wine is red wine gently warmed with citrus and spices, served in small portions of about 150 ml. Eggnog is rich and creamy, usually poured in smaller cups around 120 ml, and built on eggs, milk, and cream. Hot apple cider is the lightest and most family friendly, served in larger 180 ml mugs and easy to spike to taste on the side.
Scaling for a crowd
Holiday drinks are perfect for batching. Make mulled wine and cider in a large pot or slow cooker, and mix eggnog ahead so the flavors settle. Keep a spiked and an unspiked batch so everyone, including drivers and kids, has something festive. Garnish with orange slices, cinnamon sticks, or a dusting of nutmeg right before serving.
Make ahead and keeping warm
Mulled wine and cider hold beautifully on low heat in a slow cooker, but do not let mulled wine boil hard or you cook off the alcohol and the spices turn bitter. Eggnog is best made a day ahead and kept cold. Set out ladles and warm mugs, and keep a kettle of plain hot cider going for refills as the party grows.
Frequently asked questions
How much mulled wine per person? About two small servings of 150 ml each over an evening, so roughly one bottle of wine serves four to five pours.
How many eggs for eggnog? Around one egg per couple of servings; this tool estimates eggs from your total volume.
Can I make it non-alcoholic? Yes, hot cider is naturally family friendly, and you can keep an unspiked batch of any of these.
Related calculators: Hot Chocolate, Punch, Party Beverage.