Mocktails for Weddings and Parties: Drinks for a Crowd

Mocktails have become a standard feature of Pakistani weddings, mehndis and birthday parties, with colourful drinks served from big glass dispensers or by waiters with trays. Making them for 30 or 100 people at home sounds daunting, but it’s mostly a matter of preparing bases ahead and adding ice and fizz at the last minute.

All the drinks here are completely alcohol-free.

Choose two or three drinks

More choice means more work and more waste. For most events, two or three drinks are plenty:

• One green and minty: the Pakistani favourite, mint margarita, or a virgin mojito.
• One fruity: strawberry lemonade, watermelon cooler or mango.
• One traditional: shikanjvi or Rooh Afza, for older guests who prefer something familiar.

For a colourful centrepiece, a blue lagoon always gets attention. Buy only the syrup that’s clearly labelled non-alcoholic, as the liqueur version looks very similar.

The base-and-top method

Every mocktail can be split into two parts:

1. The base: fruit, herbs, lemon juice and sugar, blended or muddled and strained. This can be made hours or even a day ahead and kept in the fridge.
2. The top: soda, sparkling water or chilled water, plus ice, added only when serving.

Carbonation disappears within minutes once it’s mixed, and ice melts, so never mix the whole batch in advance. Keep bases cold in jugs or bottles, and assemble drinks as you pour.

How much to make

Plan on about two to three drinks per guest over an evening, more in hot weather. A typical serving is about 250 ml.

Guests	Total drinks	Approximate volume
20	50	12–13 litres
50	125	30 litres
100	250	60 litres

Roughly a third of that volume is the base and two-thirds is soda or water, so for 50 guests you’d prepare about 10 litres of base. And buy more ice than you think you need: around half a kilo per guest in summer.

Prep timeline

When	What
Two days before	Buy fruit, soda, syrups and plenty of ice. Make simple syrup.
The day before	Make fruit bases (strawberry, watermelon) and strain them. Chill.
The morning of	Make mint bases (they discolour if made too early). Slice lemons.
During the event	Combine base, ice and soda in jugs or glasses as needed.

Serving ideas

• Large glass dispensers with a tap look beautiful and let guests serve themselves. Add ice to the glass, not the dispenser, so it doesn’t water down.
• Garnish with lemon slices, mint sprigs, and sugar or salt rims for a festive look.
• Label the drinks, especially if one contains nuts or dairy.

Keeping costs down

Mocktails for a crowd can get expensive. Seasonal fruit is cheaper and tastes better: watermelon and mango in summer, oranges and strawberries in winter. Homemade sugar syrup costs a fraction of bought syrups, and lemons go further than you’d think.

With bases ready and a good supply of ice, the drinks practically serve themselves, and you can enjoy the event.