Halloween Party, Not Drinking: What to Order
Halloween party on the calendar and you’re not drinking? Same here, friend. My first sober Halloween, I spent half the night clutching a warm can of something and wondering why my costume felt itchier than usual.
Good news: Halloween is honestly one of the EASIEST nights to skip the booze. Everyone’s holding a weird-colored drink anyway. Nobody can tell what’s in your cup, and the vampire next to you is way too busy fixing his fangs to care.
Here’s my game plan for house parties and bars, the exact words to say, what to bring, and my favorite spooky soda drink (it takes 2 minutes and any bartender can make it).
Say this at the bar (or the kitchen island)
Read it out loud or show your phone:
- “Do you have a Halloween drink you can make without alcohol?”
- “Could I get Sprite with fresh lime and a little grenadine drizzled on top? No alcohol, please.”
- “Ginger ale and orange juice over ice with an orange slice, please.”
- At a house party: “Where’s the non-alcoholic stuff? I brought something to share!”
What to order at a Halloween bar party
1. The themed drink, minus the booze
Lots of bars do a Halloween special. Ask if they can make it without alcohol. Sometimes they can, sometimes they can’t, and either way you get a cool-looking drink out of asking.
2. A Vampire Bite Fizz
Lemon-lime soda, lime and a red grenadine drizzle. It looks like a crime scene in a glass (the good kind). Every bar with a soda gun can do it. My recipe is below.
3. A Jack-o’-Lantern highball
Ginger ale and orange juice over ice with an orange slice. Orange, fizzy, very on theme. Add a cherry if you’re feeling fancy.
4. A Shirley Temple
The OG. Lemon-lime soda or ginger ale with grenadine and a cherry. Ask for extra cherries. I always do.
5. Cranberry and soda with lime
Deep red, tart and not too sweet. Say “cranberry and soda water,” and skip anything called a “seltzer,” since a lot of bars pour hard seltzer.
6. Ginger beer with lime
Spicy and bubbly and it looks like a real cocktail. Just make sure it’s the soft-drink kind, not alcoholic ginger beer.
7. A non-alcoholic beer
If that works for you. Many NA beers can contain up to 0.5% ABV, so look for 0.0% on the label if you want as close to zero as possible.
Going to a house party? Bring your own fun
House parties are where I used to get stuck. The cooler is all beer, the punch is definitely spiked, and the only soda left is that one sad diet bottle. So now I just bring my own stuff. Hosts love it, by the way.
- A big bottle of lemon-lime soda or ginger ale plus a bottle of grenadine. Instant Vampire Bite Fizz for anyone who wants one.
- A bag of limes or oranges. Fruit makes any soda feel like a real drink.
- A fun NA option: sparkling apple cider, a craft soda, or a 4-pack of your favorite NA drink.
- Gummy worms or plastic spider rings for garnish. Silly? Yes. Do people get excited? Also yes.
- Label your stuff. A sticky note that says “no alcohol” on your bottle saves you from guessing later.
Hosting your own? Grab a batch idea from my Halloween Mocktails roundup.
My Halloween party survival tips
- Get a drink in your hand early. Once you’re holding something, nobody offers you a shot.
- Ask about the punch. Mystery punch bowls at Halloween parties are often spiked. When in doubt, skip it or ask the host.
- Watch out for “hard” stuff: hard cider, hard seltzer, hard kombucha and hard root beer are all alcoholic, and they love to hang out in the same cooler as the soda.
- Jello and pudding shots usually have alcohol in them. Fun to look at, not for us.
- Have an exit plan. Drive yourself, or set a time to leave. You’re the one who’ll remember the costume contest, which is honestly a flex.
- Someone asks why you’re not drinking? “I’m good with this, thanks!” works every time. And at a brewery afterparty? Here’s what to order at a brewery.
Vampire Bite Fizz
Ingredients
- 1 cup ice crushed or cubed
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice about half a lime
- 6 oz lemon-lime soda well chilled; use diet for less sugar
- 1/2 oz grenadine for the red drizzle
- 1 lime wheel for garnish
Instructions
- Fill a short glass with ice and tuck the lime wheel against the side of the glass.
- Add the lime juice, then pour in the lemon-lime soda and give it one gentle stir.
- Slowly drizzle the grenadine down the inside of the glass or over the back of a spoon. It sinks and leaves red streaks, like a vampire got there first.
- Serve right away, before the red fully mixes in. Stir it up later if you want it all pink.
