Serving drinks to customers in your boutique is a great way to make your customers feel special and to improve on your customer service.

Remember: Serving alcohol in your bridal boutique can be a licensing issue, so make sure you check with your local council if you plan to do this.

We’ve picked out seven delicious Christmas drink ideas that you can serve to your customers, or to your staff at a Christmas celebration!

Festive Hot Chocolate

There’s nothing cosier than a rich cup of creamy hot chocolate – and it’s an easy, non-alcoholic hot drink to serve to brides who’ve come in from the cold – just keep the mugs away from those dresses! All you need is drinking chocolate powder (we use the Cadbury one at Bridal Buyer HQ), milk, hot water and a few bits for decorating – squirty cream, mini marshmallows and chocolate curls are a good place to start.

Add three to four heaped spoonfuls of chocolate powder to the mug, and stir in some milk to make a paste. Pour in boiling water, stirring as you go to eliminate lumps and to make sure the paste fully dissolves.

Top it with squirty cream, marshmallows and chocolate curls, or a dusting of cocoa powder. If you have any candy canes to hand, they’re the perfect adornment.

Top tip: to take it to the next level, add a squirt of peppermint syrup or a dash of Baileys!

Hot Mulled Wine

If you’re feeling creative, you can mull your own wine – mulling spices are available at most supermarkets – but if you’re feeling lazy (no judgment), you can easily buy pre-mulled bottles of wine.

If you have a catering urn you can keep it heated throughout the day, otherwise a microwave may come in handy…

Top tip: Add slices of orange and a stick of cinnamon for an extra festive feel.

Spiced Apple Punch

This is a great non-alcoholic alternative to mulled wine, and we’re going to claim it counts as one of your five-a-day too…

The recipe is from BBC Good Food and involves making a spiced apple syrup to add to apple juice, which you can serve hot or cold.

Mix 200ml of apple juice with a cinnamon stick, a teaspoon of allspice, 2 whole cloves, a mace blade, the zest of a clementine and a strip of ginger. Add 100g of golden caster sugar and heat until it boils, then allow to simmer for 10 mins. You’ll have a delicious, Christmassy syrup that you can mix in with apple juice!

Top tip: To take this to the next level, dry out slices of apple in the oven and use them as a garnish.

Hot Toddy

This is a winter classic and will warm you up through and through. Mix a shot of whisky with honey (a spoonful or too, depending on how sweet you want it) in a mug, then top it up with boiling water. Squeeze in some lemon juice and serve with a cinnamon stick.

Top tip: A wedge of lemon is a great garnish for this as the recipient can add as much or as little juice as they like!

Cranberry Cocktail

It isn’t Christmas without cranberries and you can make this alcoholic or as a mocktail based on what suits you.

Add a handful of fresh cranberries to a glass filled three quarters full with cranberry juice. Top with grapefruit juice (orange will do in a pinch!) and a twist of lime juice. Serve it with a wedge of lime – jazzy cocktail umbrella is optional.

Top tip: To make this alcoholic, mix in a shot (or two, if you’re partying) of vodka.

Gingerbread Bellini

Another awesome idea from BBC Good Food – we are obsessed with the idea of a gingerbread Bellini! This is a quick and easy cocktail you can whip up with bottles of prosecco that you may already have in store.

Mix a spoonful of gingerbread syrup, a dash of hazelnut liqueur and a squeeze of lemon juice into a glass and top up with prosecco. Fancy, and super-easy!

Top tip: Serve with a tiny gingerbread man for extra Instagram-worthiness.

Orange and Cranberry Fizz

This is an easy and ideal drink to serve up if you want to avoid alcohol. James Martin shared it with BBC Good Food magazine in April 2011 but we can vouch that it’s pretty timeless! Simply mix equal parts orange juice and cranberry juice and top up with some sparkling elderflower water.

Top tip: Don’t just save this for Christmas – you could serve it, or an adaption on it, all year round as a signature mocktail!

If this has got you feeling even more festive, make sure you check out our guide to the best Christmas decorations for your store for some last minute details.