This Cranberry Margarita (Christmas Margarita) is perfect for enjoying throughout the Christmas season. It’s made on the rocks with tequila, fresh lime juice, cranberry juice, and Cointreau!

After you enjoy a few Christmas Margaritas, be sure to ring in the New Year with this Frozen Champagne Margarita!

Close up of a Cranberry Margarita on a white tray on a gold surface with limes and cranberries around it.

Bring all of your winter parties to life with this seasonally fun Cranberry Margarita! Bursting with fresh flavor that’s perfectly tart yet sweet and finished off with festive garnishes to fit the occasion!

Make a single drink or mix up a large batch! Enjoy it at home by the light of the Christmas tree or at the annual holiday party.

I find this margarita goes down best while munching on appetizers with friends and family!

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Tips For Making This Festive Cranberry Margarita

Chill The Ingredients – Margaritas are best served cold, and this holiday margarita is no exception to that! Therefore, you’ll want to place all of your ingredients in the fridge beforehand to allow them to chill.
Get The Most Out Of Your Limes – You always want to use fresh lime juice in margaritas! To easily get the most juice out of your limes, first, microwave them on high for about 20 seconds. Then firmly roll them on the counter using the palm of your hand to encourage the limes to release their juices. Afterward, slice the limes in half and use a citrus juicer!
Simple Syrup – This easy ingredient sweetens this drink up perfectly! Though you can buy it at the store, I’d recommend just making it at home. All it takes is 2 ingredients and 5 minutes following this easy recipe on How To Make Simple Syrup!
Garnishes – It just can’t be a seasonal drink without some fun garnishes to take it the extra mile! For this margarita, I like to finish it off with a salt or sugared rim, a slice of lime, and Easy Sugared Cranberries that are made with only 3 ingredients!
Make It Sparkle! – Want a sparkling cranberry margarita? Add a splash of cranberry or lime seltzer or club soda to the glass after your strain the contents of the cocktail shaker in.

100% Cranberry Juice Vs. Cranberry Cocktail

The difference between the two lies in where the sugar comes from in each. 100% cranberry juice uses the sweetness of other fruits to balance out the tart cranberry flavor. Cranberry cocktail is made with high-fructose corn syrup and added sugars to sweeten it. For this recipe, I actually recommend using Pure Unsweetened Cranberry Juice, which is more concentrated than 100% and will give you a deeper flavor and red color. If you use 100% in this recipe, you will want to increase it to 2 ounces.

A cocktail shaker filled with cranberry margarita on a white plate.

Make It A Large Batch For Parties!

This Easy Cranberry Margarita Recipe is perfect for all of your holiday parties! But the last thing you want to do is be a bartender when you want to mingle with friends and family.

Therefore, the best way to serve these margaritas for a party is to make a large batch! To do so, gently stir together 2 cups of tequila, 1/2 cup of Cointreau, 1 cup of lime juice, 1 cup of pomegranate juice, 3 ounces of simple syrup, and 1 1/2 cups of 100% cranberry juice.

This Cranberry Margarita can be prepared and served in a large pitcher or punch bowl. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour and then serve over ice!

For even easier serving, you can set out garnishes along with plates of simple syrup, salt, and sugar so guests can prepare their rim!

Make more quick drinks like this Cranberry Margarita that allow you more time to marvel in the holiday spirit and less time mixing drinks! My Jingle Juice Recipe and Christmas Punch are great for large crowds.

However, if you’re hanging out with friends, you may want to make up a few Cranberry Cosmopolitan Drinks! If you’re looking for a more summery drink, try this Passion Fruit Margarita.

A cranberry margarita on a white tray with holiday decorations around it.

How Many Cranberry Margaritas Does This Recipe Make?

This Christmas Margarita recipe makes just one drink. If you need two drinks, simply double the recipe; it should fit in a standard-sized cocktail shaker no problem! Anything more than that and I’d suggest just making a large batch following the instructions above.

How Do I Make This Cranberry Margarita Without A Cocktail Shaker?

Instead of using a cocktail shaker, you can use a mason jar with a lid, a blender bottle, or two glasses – one smaller than the other. Investing in a cocktail strainer or a fine mesh sieve (affiliate links) allows you to use almost any container with a lid.

Can I Make This Margarita Recipe Into A Slushie?

Absolutely! You can make a Frozen Cranberry Margarita by adding the ingredients to a blender with ice and blending. Usually, for frozen margaritas, I recommend increasing the cranberry juice a bit so that the flavor stands out a little more with all the ice.

A Chritstmas Cranberry margarita on a white serving tray surrounded by limes and cranberries.

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