The holiday season is filled with social occasions, including office parties, end-of-year functions, Christmas get-togethers, and New Year’s Eve celebrations (to name a few). Whether the food on offer is limited to a few nibblies or includes a full set menu, no party would be the same without some festive holiday cocktails – and what could be more fun than to make them together? It’s easy to learn how to do a cocktail class. Cocktail-making workshops also provide an ideal opportunity to feature your favourite holiday cocktails alongside some refreshing new summer drinks.
The first step toward ensuring your holiday cocktail class stands out from the crowd is to make it accessible. This is easily achieved by using live streaming for your in-person cocktail-making classes to make them available virtually. This one simple step can help dramatically increase the event’s appeal. Hybrid cocktail-making classes are becoming very popular since it’s easy (and great fun) to follow along and make beverages at home. Our virtual event platform makes hosting easy, offering a full suite of tools and resources, and seamless integration with Zoom or Vimeo for virtual and hybrid events.
Another smart idea to broaden the reach of your holiday cocktail-making class is to include non-alcoholic drinks as well as classic aperitifs. With a growing population of non-drinkers around the world and a delicious array of alcohol-free mocktail recipes to choose from, there’s no need to cut the ‘sober generation’ out of your potential audience.
For a more competitive consumer base, it’s worth looking into how to host a cocktail competition with prizes for the most inventive, festive, delicious, and/or best-looking cocktails.
Keen to find out what you need to know to make your holiday cocktail class as bright and sparkly as the season it celebrates? We spoke to top mixologist workshop creators and discovered some simple tips on how to host a cocktail-making class that will attract the many eager cocktail makers you know are out there.
Tips for hosting cocktail-making classes this holiday season
1. Send holiday cocktail-making class invites out early
Given the crowded holiday social calendar, it’s crucial to send your save-the-dates and invites out as early as possible – before your audience gets caught up with other commitments.
“We started marketing our holiday cocktail classes earlier than usual,” says Laura Johnson, the founder and CEO of You & Yours Distilling Co. Wait too long, and your potential ticket buyers might already be committed to a performance of ‘The TEN Tenors’ or an outdoor movie showing of ‘Santa Paws’. For Johnson, early marketing efforts weren’t just about letting people know of the event before their competition did the same. Instead, she found that by getting advertising and promotion efforts underway early, her guests were able to purchase multiple tickets and turn the classes into fun group holiday outings. A holiday-themed class that’s entertaining and informative can work well as an office team-building experience or as a fun way to host a family reunion, so make sure to give team leaders and ‘Aunt Edna’ time to get organised.
Marketing early also helped Johnson’s company to sell tickets in another way. With so many families taking their vacations over Christmas and Hanukkah, it’s quite common for people to exchange gifts throughout the season, rather than restricting their gift-giving to specific days. Johnson found that promoting her event early gave people the opportunity to purchase and gift tickets to their friends, colleagues, and family members.
Our Boost platform provides event creators with a full array of promotional and marketing tools to make it easy to get the word out about your holiday cocktail-making event, especially across social media like Facebook and Instagram. What’s more, with the data and metrics we provide, you’ll be able to track exactly which advertising strategies worked and discover how to improve your campaigns.
2. Set up your cocktail-making kit beforehand
As in many areas of life, it pays to be prepared. Even renowned TV chefs like Jamie Oliver or Maggie Beer always have their ingredients measured out and ready to go before recording starts. Take a leaf out of their books and make sure your cocktail-making class goes off without a hitch by getting your ingredients ready ahead of time. You don’t want to waste time looking for ingredients during the class, and no one really needs to wait as you measure out the vodka, gin, tequila, or rum – have them all lined up before your class starts.
“Portion out each item in different taster glasses,” advises Tori Zamrik, marketing and event coordinator for Taft’s Brewing Company. “That way, all that’s left to do is mix everything together.” Just make sure it’s all close by and easy to grab when the time comes. Most importantly, be sure to label all your ingredients. You won’t want to mistake a measure of gin for a splash of water.
Another insider tip is to choose drinks that include several ingredients. “The more ingredients people can shake in a shaker glass the better,” says Zamrik.
3. Go beyond holiday cocktail recipes
To be memorable, your cocktail-making class must be more than just a quick review of cocktail recipes. Fortunately, there are plenty of colourful holiday traditions you can draw on to add some festive fun, so your event really excels. Christmas in Australia has its own flavour with plenty of festive gift options, including Christmas-themed cocktail garnishes, Santa-emblazoned stubbie coolers, Aussie animal-shaped tree ornaments, and even espresso-martini-making kits, that you could use as party souvenirs at your cocktail-making class.
When hosting a virtual cocktail-making class, top event creators send these gifts to their virtual attendees ahead of the event. It’s little touches like these that make your event stick in the minds of your attendees.
Of course, the holiday season is not just about gift-giving – it’s also a time when it’s okay to get a little bit silly. Carolling might not be a big thing here in Australia, but there’s nothing stopping you from including some singing in your Christmas cocktail-making class. Why not try introducing a few Aussie Christmas songs to give your attendees a taste of the Chrissie spirit down under?
No matter what elements you end up putting into your event, the key is to go beyond just providing a list of ingredients to add to your base liquor. Of course, you don’t want to omit the recipes themselves – the idea is to incorporate them in imaginative ways. Branded recipe cards in either print or electronic formats make handy keepsakes for attendees. Find out how to easily email all your guests, so you can even send out recipes electronically to your virtual and in-person attendees at the end of the class.
4. Get everyone involved in your cocktail-making class
Wondering how to do a cocktail class that isn’t boring? The secret is to keep your attendees engaged. Don’t leave them idle on one side of the bar or passively watching their screens. Encourage them to take an active part in the event. That’s the advice of Lesley Jacobs Solmonson, author of ‘Gin: A Global History’ and ‘The 12 Bottle Bar’. It’s generally accepted that active learners retain knowledge better than passive ones, so she may have a point.
“They need to enjoy the party too,” says Solmonson. One way to do this is to set up a DIY cocktail station where guests can customise their drinks. A gin and tonic bar, for example, can “offer various choices of gin, tonic water styles, citrus, herbs, and fruits for garnishes. An ‘Old Fashioned’ bar might include a few types of whiskey, various types of sugar cubes, and a selection of bitters.”
As with holiday party mementoes, special ingredients can be sent to virtual guests beforehand – more reasons to get your promotion efforts underway early!
Solmonson suggests another way to get in-person cocktail-making class attendees involved is to assign ingredients for them to bring. That said, it’s always a good idea to have backup ingredients – in case someone forgets theirs.
5. Keep your festive cocktails simple
While your holiday cocktail class can attract those who might already know the difference between an aperitif and a digestif, you’ll also attract people who may not have the background knowledge that mixologists might think of as common. You don’t want to overwhelm your guests with obscure and expensive ingredients.
“Asking someone to shell out for top-shelf liquors and then asking them to use a quarter teaspoon in a drink lacks logic,” says Solmonson. “Go with classic recipes that can be easily reproduced.”
If you’re demonstrating different cocktails, choose recipes with some overlapping ingredients. This makes things easier for your attendees, and they’ll thank you for it.
How to host a cocktail-making class that’s also a memorable holiday bash
Ultimately, people want to have fun during the holidays and, if your event makes them smile or laugh, chances are they will remember you when they’re looking for a fun experience to revisit or gift to a friend. To ensure your guests have a great time, add colourful decorations, turn on some seasonal music, and, most importantly, don’t forget to enjoy yourself – if you’re smiling, your attendees will be too.
Whether you’re making Christmas holiday cocktails, experimenting with New Year’s Eve cocktail ideas, or trying out mobile cocktail-making classes, there’s a lot to consider. Even if you’re an experienced event creator who knows how to throw a holiday cocktail party, all the planning, organising, administering, and then actual hosting of it can be a drain on your enthusiasm. That’s where having us by your side can make all the difference. When you put our tools to use, the enjoyment comes easy!
See how our classes can help you to plan, market, and sell tickets to your event and put you in the holiday mood!
