I'm hosting Christmas dinner at my place this year, so I'm planning to drink heavily. I have already begun my search for the best holiday recipes, splurged on several copies of "Martha Stewart Living" for ideas, and even counted my Pottery Barn Reindeer dishes to make sure there are enough for the gang.

Now it's time to begin thinking about the cocktails, my favorite part of any holiday gathering. Should I simply serve beer and a good bottle or two of wine? Nah. Let's break out the hard stuff so Mommy can have a good time!

Here are 10 of my favorite Christmas cocktail recipes, complete with seasonally appropriate names, so you can share in the blessings of this holiday along with me.

Your ingredients for one Cosmo:

1/2 ounce of Cointreau

1/2 ounce of cranberry juice

1 tsp.fresh lime juice

1 ounce of vodka

Place all the ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled martini glass. You can also float a few frozen cranberries on the top of this after pouring it into the glass. I'm salivating!

To make one candy cane martini, mix:

1 1/2 ounces of vanilla vodka

1/2 ounce of peppermint schnapps

1 ounce of club soda

crushed candy canes for garnish

Dip the rim of a martini glass with water, then the crushed candy canes. Mix the vodka, schnapps, and club soda with ice in a cocktail shaker; strain into your prepared glass. This one makes me weep for joy. 

Pour the following into a fluted champagne glass:

3 ounces of chilled champagne

1 ounce of triple sec

3 ounces of chilled cranberry juice

Then just stir and serve! Couldn't be easier.

Anyone who sings "Here We Come a-Wassailing" must have had a few of these drinks first. This one is a warm drink and requires a bit of actual work, some allspice, some whole cloves and a crockpot!

Your ingredients:

2 quarts of apple juice or cider

1 pint of cranberry juice

3/4 cup of sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp. of whole allspice

1 small orange, studded with whole cloves

1 cup of rum (the best part)

Put all of the ingredients in a crockpot. Cover and cook on high one hour, then on low for 4 to 8 hours. Serve this baby warm to your guests.

I just threw this one in because of the name.

Fill a highball glass with ice. Then add:

1 ounce of strawberry liqueur

1 ounce of absinthe

1/2 ounce of fresh lime juice

a splash of soda water

Just stir and enjoy. By the time you recover, it will be New Year's Eve. 

When I was a kid, Christmas just wasn't Christmas without the adults having a nip of Irish coffee. This one's for my late dear old Irish dad.

1 1/2 ounces Irish whiskey

1 ounce of Bailey's Irish Cream

Hot coffee -- enough to fill one mug

Whipped cream

Add the whiskey and the irish Cream to a mug and stir. Fill the rest of the mug with hot coffee and stir. Top it all with a dollop of whipped cream.  

This is a great drink for anyone who likes creamy cocktails -- like me.

1 ounce of white Creme de Cacao

1 ounce of good vodka

1 ounce of white creme de menthe

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain your White Christmas into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a cherry and play some Bing Crosby tunes.

They named a drink after my husband?

The ingredients:

2 ounces of Midori liqueur

1/2 ounce of fresh lemon juice 

1 tsp. of simply syrup

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strained into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish this pretty green drink with a maraschino cherry. 

Isn't this a bit sacreligious? Oh well. Drink up.

Use a highball glass filled with ice for this one. In a shaker, mix the following:

1 ounce of tequila

1 ounce of blue Curacao

1 ounce of Triple Sec

1 ounce of pineapple juice

a squirt of fresh lime juice

Shake well and enjoy while you watch this gentleman play "Silent Night" on his saw.

We end our cocktail exploration with this lovely drink.

Dip the rim of a martini glass or a champagne saucer in freshly squeezed lime juice. Then dip the rim into a bowl of sugar.

Mix one ounce of chilled Advocaat with 2 ounces of chilled lemonade and pour into the glass. Serve with a slice of lime and a maraschino cherry. This is yummy and will vagely remind you that you miss the summer months.