New Year’s Eve Punch is exactly what you need to make the chaos that is 2020 feel like a fuzzy bad dream and hopes for 2021 soar. Before I share the recipe from those wonderful people over at Delish where you can find a treasure trove of wonderful food and drinks recipes, here are a few things to remember:

• COVID-19 doesn’t stop or go away at midnight, so keep wearing your masks, wash your hands, and maintain a safe distance.
• Curfew is midnight (in South Africa). So make a bunch of christmas beds (might be an SA thing as well) and have your guests stay over. Or celebrate from the safety of your home with friends and family on your preferred social group platform (Facebook, Whatsapp, House Party, Zoom [ick], Teams [yuck], Google Meet, etc.)
• Consider sparklers rather than fireworks. I double dare you to make those cool long-exposure photo’s signing out “2021” or “love” or basically whatever you want.

OK now that that’s out of the way, let’s get the punch ready.

New Year’s Eve Punch

3 cups pineapple juice
3 cups soda water
750 ml bubbly
1 cup vanilla vodka
2 cups sliced pineapple
2 peaches, thinly sliced
¼ cup fresh mint (and extra for garnish)
Ice
Pineapple wedges for garnish
⅓ cup granulated sugar

Combine pineapple juice, soda water, bubbly, vodka, pineapple slices, peaches, and mint in a punch bowl.
Add ice and stir to combine.
Using a wedge of pineapple, wet the rim of your glasses.
Dip rims in sugar, then fill glasses with punch and garnish with a wedge of pineapple and a sprig of mint.

Cheers to the new year!