I finally had the chance to catch a breath during the pre-finals craziness and enjoy the holiday season a little bit. My apartment has been looking rather bland without any Christmas decor, so I picked some things up from Michael’s 50% off sale to spruce up the place. Then I hung my newfound gold and red tinsel, put on some holiday tunes and whipped up a 3 p.m. cocktail. Dubbed a “Christmas margarita,” the cocktail was too good not to share the recipe with you all!

It’s one of those sweet drinks you could have several of without tasting any alcohol. So dangerous!

Here’s the recipe for one serving:

• 1 shot of tequila (I used Jose Cuervo, but whatever your preference is will work)
• ¾  shot of triple sec (I used De Kuyper)
• 3 shots of cranberry juice to taste
• Fresh cranberries (for garnish)
• 1 lime
• 1 tbsp of kosher salt

Start by pouring roughly 1 tbsp of kosher salt onto a shallow, flat plate. Then, use one-quarter of your lime to wet the rim of your glass. From there, dip the rim into the salt. Next, pour the cranberry juice, tequila, triple sec, and juice from one-half of the lime over ice in a shaker. If you don’t have a shaker, simply put all of these ingredients into your glass and stir with a spoon. Top off your Christmas margarita with a few fresh cranberries and a quarter of your lime. And voilà, enjoy!

For an extra fun touch, I added a ‘jolly’ curly straw. What kind of special drinks do you like to make during the holidays? Are you a glass of champagne on New Year’s Eve person, or do you like to mix it up?