9 Non-Alcoholic Beverages for the Holidays

Are you looking for something festive to drink besides water at your upcoming holiday events? Alcohol can be a sneaky source of calories during those extra holiday gatherings, parties, and events which is why many of our Lose It! members are searching for alternatives to sip on.

Whether you’re looking to cut back on your alcohol intake or abstaining from alcohol altogether, we’re sharing 9 non-alcoholic beverages for you to give a try this holiday season. 

What to Look For in a Healthier Beverage

When selecting a healthier beverage, look carefully at the nutrition facts label to identify the serving size and added sugar content.

Although most labels have been updated, some beverages still contain more than one serving per bottle.

This is important to know as oftentimes, we quickly look at the calories and sugar but don’t realize that we’re actually consuming twice as much sugar as we thought. 

This brings us to the next point: added sugars. 

Limit Your Intake of Added Sugars

High intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, in particular, has been linked with an increased risk for heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. 

While many foods contain added sugars, beverages can also be a sneaky source of sugar as well.

For example, the average glazed donut contains 11 grams of sugar. Compare that to a 12-ounce can of soda that has 39 grams of sugar. This is equivalent to consuming about 3.5 glazed donuts. 

Chances are, you’re more aware of how much sugar you’ve consumed (and probably more full) after 3.5 donuts than you are after drinking one can of soda. 

While there are several recommendations for added sugar, the American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar to no more than 36 grams per day for men and 25 grams per day for women. 

Other Things to Consider 

In addition to the amount of added sugar, other things to consider when choosing a healthier beverage include: 

• Quality of ingredients
• Types of sweeteners – artifical, non-nutritive, or varieties of sugar
• Any additional health benefits like probiotics
• Calories per serving

And, of course, you want to choose a drink that’s satisfying and enjoyable to sip on. 

9 Non-Alcoholic Beverages For The Holidays

Here are nine alcohol-free, flavored beverages that are festive enough for the holiday season. 

Of course, these drinks (except for number 9) can be enjoyed year-round whenever you’re in the mood for something other than water.  

For homemade mocktails, be sure to check out these Lose It! recipes as well: 

• Sparkling Summer Mocktails, including Pineapple Mojito, Strawberry Lime Fizz, and Sparkling Raspberry Lemonade 
• Fruity Immune-Boosting Beverages, including Kiwi Mint Lime, Blood Orange Lavender, and Grapefruit Hibiscus 

1. Spindrift Cranberry Raspberry Sparkling Water

Instead of settling for a standard seltzer, look for Spindrift Sparkling Soda if you’re in the mood for something fruity. 

Unlike most sparkling beverages that have unnamed natural flavorings, all of Spindrift’s waters are flavored with real fruit juices and purees. 

I also like that these sparkling sodas have short ingredient lists with recognizable ingredients, like carbonated water, raspberry juice, cranberry juice, raspberry puree, lemon juice.

While they have several flavors, Spindrift’s Cranberry Raspberry is perfect for the holidays! To make it even fancier, try pouring a can into a glass and garnish it with whole cranberries and fresh mint sprigs. 

One 12-ounce can contains: 

• Calories: 8 grams
• Carbs: 2 grams
• Total sugar: 1 gram
• Added sugar: 0 grams 

Ingredients: carbonated water, raspberry juice, cranberry juice, raspberry puree, lemon juice

In addition to being low in calories, carbs, and sugar, Spindrift Sparkling Waters are also gluten-free and Whole30-approved. 

2. GT Gingerberry Kombucha

Kombucha is a fermented tea drink typically made from black or green tea. While the fermentation does require sugar, many kombucha options are much lower in sugar than other sweetened beverages, like soda and sweetened fruit juice. 

While it’s debatable whether the probiotics in kombucha have meaningful health benefits (more on that in our previous post), these fizzy drinks can still be a tasty, lower-calorie beverage option.  

There are many great brands of kombucha out there, offering a huge variety of flavors. GT widely available and a great one to try. Gingerberry Kombucha is sweetened with kiwi, blueberry, and ginger juice. 

We think it has just the right balance of sweet and tart. For a festive twist, pour your Gingerberry Kombucha into a festive glass and add frozen blueberries instead of ice cubes.

While the sugar is natural if you want to cut down on your total sugar intake, mix this fruity kombucha with an unsweetened seltzer. 

Another bonus is that Gingerberry Kombucha has just 50 calories in the whole 16-ounce bottle. 

One 16-ounce bottle contains: 

• Calories: 50
• Carbs: 12 grams 
• Total sugar: 12 grams
• Added sugar: 0 grams

Ingredients: GT’s Kombucha (Kombucha Culture, Black Tea, Green Tea, Kiwi Juice), Blueberry Juice, Fresh Pressed Ginger Juice. 

Note that as kombucha is fermented, it does contain a small amount of alcohol. Most store-bought options have less than 0.5% alcohol. However, homemade and craft kombuchas can have up to 3% alcohol. 

3. Hella Cocktails Bitters & Soda Dry Aromatic 

You’ve never had seltzer quite like Hella Cocktails Bitters & Soda Dry Aromatic. 

Flavored with ingredients like allspice, bitter root, clove, and orange peel, this zero-sugar seltzer is perfect for those who love the bitter, woodsy flavors of many classic cocktails. 

While it can be used as a low-calorie mixer, it’s plenty delicious on its own. For a little extra sweetness, you could add a small splash of ginger ale and garnish it with a black Amarena cherry. 

One 12-ounce can contains: 

• Calories: 10
• Carbs: 1 gram
• Total sugar: 0 grams
• Added sugar: 0 grams 

Ingredients: Carbonated water, Hella Aromatic Bitters (sugar, Jamaican allspice, black peppercorns, caraway, cinnamon sticks, cloves, wormwood, rose hips, angelica root, gentian root, star anise, chamomile), gentian root extract, natural flavors, citric acid, sea salt, fruit and vegetable juice (for color, and paprika oleoresin (for color). 

You can find Hella Cocktails Bitters & Soda Dry Aromatic online as well as several chains, like Whole Foods, Walmart, Stop and Shop, and Total Wine. 

4. Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Dry Secco 

In the mood for sparkling wine? Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Dry Secco is a great, alcohol-free alternative. 

While it lends more fruity flavor than traditional prosecco, this bubbly drink is still an enjoyable, festive drink option — especially if you add whole cranberries for garnish. 

Depending on the brand, real Prosecco has anywhere from 70-120 calories and 15-30 grams of carbs per 6.5 ounce serving. 

Gruvi is lower in calories and carbs, with 50 calories and 13 grams of carbs for a full 12-ounce bottle. 

One 12-ounce bottle contains: 

• Calories: 50 
• Carbs: 13 grams
• Total sugar: 11 grams
• Added sugar: 0 grams 

Ingredients: carbonated spring water, white wine grapes, natural flavors, citric acid

5. Bitburger Drive

More of a beer person? 

Non-alcoholic beers are becoming increasingly more popular which is good news for beer lovers who want the flavor without the alcohol. 

Bitburger Drive is a German pilsner-style non-alcoholic beer that has just 73 calories and actually tastes good too. 

One 12-ounce bottle contains: 

• Calories: 73 
• Carbs: 17 grams
• Total sugar: 0 grams
• Added sugar: 0 grams 

For a lower-carb option, look for Beck’s Blue Alcohol-Free (3.2 grams of carb) or Heineken 0.0 (4.8 grams of carb) instead. 

6. Recess Zero Proof Craft Mocktails

Recess Zero Proof is your go-to for craft mocktails, amped up with mood-boosting guayusa and chill-out adaptogens. They keep it real with ingredients like ginger, orange peel, and lime zest, delivering low-sugar, low-calorie sips – all the fun without the hangover. This functional beverage is designed to keep you balanced and uplifted on the go, making it the perfect choice for those alcohol-free moments.

One 12-ounce can lime "margarita" contains: 

• Calories: 25
• Carbs: 7 grams
• Total sugar: 5 grams
• Added sugar: 4 grams 

Ingredients: filtered water, citrus tea infusion, agave, lime juice, pear juice, orange juice, lemon juice, natural flavors, citric acid, sea salt, guayusa extract, L-theanine powder, lemon balm powder

7. OLIPOP Cherry Vanilla 

Marketed as an alternative to soda, OLIPOP sparkling tonics contain botanicals for a unique flavor experience. 

They also differ from other sparkling beverages on the market as they’re high in fiber and naturally sweetened with fruit juice and stevia. 

Growing up, the holidays were one of the few times we’d have soda in the house. And I always gravitated towards cherry or vanilla-flavored sodas. OLIPOP’s Cherry Vanilla satisfies those nostalgic memories without all the added sugar. 

However, if cherry vanilla isn’t your thing, they also offer other flavors like vintage cola, root beer, and orange squeeze. 

One 12-ounce can contains:

• Calories: 45 
• Carbs: 17 grams
• FIber: 9 grams
• Total sugar: 5 grams
• Added sugar: 1 gram 

Ingredients: Carbonated Water, OLISMART (Cassava Root Fiber, Chicory Root Inulin, Jerusalem Artichoke Inulin, Nopal Cactus, Calendula Flower, Kudzu Root, Marshmallow Root, Slippery Elm Bark), Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate, Cassava Root Syrup, Apple Juice Concentrate, Lime Juice, Stevia Leaf, Himalayan Pink Salt, Natural White Cherry Flavor, Natural Vanilla Flavor

Note that the fiber content comes from inulin, which can cause bloating or other GI symptoms in those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 

8. Bai Ipanema Pomegranate

For a non-carbonated option (although they do make carbonated versions as well), Bai offers several fruity flavors, all of which are sweetened with erythritol and stevia. 

For the holidays, I like their Ipanema Pomegranate, but they have many other flavor options as well. Another benefit of Bai is that you can find it in pretty much any large grocery store. 

It’s an especially good option for those with tight calorie goals as there are just 10 calories per 18-ounce bottle. 

One 18-ounce bottle provides: 

• Calories: 10 
• Carbs: 11 grams
• Total sugar: 1 gram
• Added sugar: 0 grams 
• Erythritol: 10 grams 

Ingredients: Filtered water, erythritol, pomegranate juice concentrate, malic acid, citric acid, vegetable and fruit juice concentrate (for color), natural flavors, tea extract, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) stevia leaf extract, coffee fruit extract, sodium citrate.

Just keep in mind that one bottle contains 55 mg of caffeine. While less than a cup of coffee, if you’re sensitive to caffeine, you may want to avoid drinking Bai too close to bedtime. 

9. Califia Farms Holiday Nog AlmondMilk 

You can’t talk about drinks for the holidays without mentioning eggnog. 

While not technically eggnog as it’s vegan, Califa Farms Holiday Nog is a great option if you’re looking for a nog that’s lower in calories, fat, and sugar compared to others on the market.

It’s not as thick and rich as traditional eggnog or coconut milk-based nogs, but it still has that warm, nutmeg flavor that you expect from this holiday classic. 

One 4-ounce serving provides: 

• Calories: 50 
• Fat: 1.5 grams
• Saturated fat: 0 grams
• Carbs: 9 grams
• Total sugar: 8 grams 
• Added sugar: 8 grams

Ingredients: Almondmilk (Water, Almonds), Pure Cane Sugar, Natural Flavors, Calcium Carbonate, Fruit and Vegetable Juice for Color, Ginger, Sea Salt, Sunflower Lecithin, Potassium Citrate, Locust Bean Gum, Gellan Gum, Nutmeg.

For a richer option, SO Delicious Coconut Holiday Nog is another good option with 90 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 15 grams of total and added sugar per ½ cup (4-ounce) serving. 

The Bottom Line 

The holidays can be a wonderful time, filled with family-favorite dishes and desserts. But it can also be a challenging season if you’re trying to lose weight or cut back on your alcohol consumption. 

Luckily, there are numerous alcohol-free, lower-sugar beverages on the market that can still give you that festive feeling. 

Don’t forget to use the bar code scanner on your Lose It! app to help you find beverages at the grocery store that fit within your health goals.