Easy Thanksgiving Punch Recipe

This delicious Thanksgiving punch recipe combines the popular duo of cranberry and orange juice with cinnamon syrup, soda, and a little pop of grenadine for a festive and fun drink for the whole family! Make it even more special by topping with whipped cream and holiday sprinkles!

My go to drink for as long as I can remember when I’m getting something a little special is cranberry and orange juice mixed together.

My mom got me hooked on the combination years ago and to this day, it’s still one of my favorites. It can be in a cranberry orange bread, cranberry orange muffins, or even just the actual juices combined in a yummy drink like this Thanksgiving punch.

This drink recipe is actually inspired by one I had at a dessert party at Disneyland’s Oogie Boogie Bash of all things. It’s not a Halloween punch by any means but it was so good I ended up getting like six refills and downing them all while we waited for the parade.

It would totally make my best Disneyland food list!

I asked the cast member what was in it because I loved it so much and she didn’t give me the recipe but she did tell it was cranberry juice, orange juice, Sprite, pineapple juice, and a little grenadine combined. No wonder I loved it – those are my favorite things to use to make drink recipes!

So I went home and I played with various combinations and measurements and ended up with this recipe that tastes a little more fall than the original. It’s not exactly the same as the one at Oogie Boogie Bash, but it’s sure delicious.

1. Orange juice – any orange juice works, I recommend pulp free just so it mixes a little better.
2. Cranberry juice – any cranberry juice is good as long as it’s actual cranberry juice and not something like cran-apple. Most are going to be cranberry juice cocktails and that’s okay but 100% cranberry juice is best!
3. Sprite – I always prefer Sprite but you could also use 7-UP.
4. Grenadine – I personally prefer this brand of grenadine but you can also use homemade or whatever brand you want.
5. Pineapple juice – my personal favorite is 100% Dole pineapple juice but again as long as it’s just pineapple juice and not a juice cocktail, it should work!
6. Cinnamon simple syrup – you’ll need water, sugar, and cinnamon sticks to make this. I’ve included ingredients in the recipe card at the very bottom of this post!

In addition to the actual punch ingredients, you may want to grab some of these items to garnish your punch!

• Fresh cranberries or you could even do sugared cranberries
• Orange slices
• Cinnamon sticks

Okay so let me preface this by saying that I wrote this recipe to make enough for eight (8 oz) servings of punch because I was just serving it for my individual family.

If you are making this for a large group say as your Thanksgiving drink, I recommend doubling or tripling depending on how many people you are serving. As long as you stick with the same ratios, the punch should still be delicious!

How to Make the Punch

When you’re ready to make this Thanksgiving punch, here’s how you’ll do it:

1. Pour all of the ingredients (including the cooled cinnamon simple syrup) into your chosen container.
2. Mix well until they’re all combined. Then chill until serving.

3. Serve over ice, evenly dividing the mixture into eight (or however many you want) 12 to 16 ounce glasses. Alternately, you could also serve chilled in smaller glasses (without ice).
4. Garnish with fresh cranberries, orange slices, and or cinnamon sticks.

If you’re doing it in a pitcher, you can add the garnishes right to the pitcher, but I don’t recommend adding ice to the pitcher so you don’t dilute the punch flavors!

How to Make Cinnamon Simple Syrup

The cinnamon simple syrup really warms up this punch although to be honest, it’s still good without it – it’s just better with it! But if you’re in a hurry, you could skip it.

1. Combine cinnamon sticks, water, and sugar in a pot on the stove on medium heat. Stir to combine.
2. Heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the cinnamon sticks have transferred their flavor to the simple syrup, it was about five minutes for me.
3. Pour the simple syrup through a strainer into a bowl to remove the cinnamon sticks and any residue from the sticks. Set the cinnamon simple syrup aside to cool.

This makes it a really fun drink, especially for the kids who typically get left out when it comes to fun drinks for the holidays!

If you want something else to serve alongside this Thanksgiving punch, this caramel apple drink is also a great “fancy” option!

Recipe FAQs

This Thanksgiving punch recipe goes perfectly with any of these other Thanksgiving recipes!

• Pumpkin cupcakes with cake mix – the ultimate Thanksgiving dessert, these gorgeous pumpkin cupcakes are topped with a cheesecake frosting for a showstopping treat!
• Pumpkin delight recipe – four layers of delightful creaminess make this a perfect addition to any Thanksgiving dessert spread!
• No bake pumpkin pie – skip the traditional stuff and try this light and fluffy pumpkin pie that you don’t even have to cook!
• Homemade sausage stuffing – one of my favorite Thanksgiving sides of all time, this delicious stuffing is easy and delicious!
• Roasted root vegetables – gorgeous rainbow colored root vegetables make a great Thanksgiving side dish when they’re roasted and flavored like these ones!