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I just finished cleaning up from our New Years’ Eve party this afternoon…finally. With all of the snow, I decided to take it slow. As I was dumping out the leftover flavored water, I thought about my wonderful blogging friend, Reese at Compost and Cava. She’s a huge proponent of reusing stuff, and while I might not want to drink the water that’s been sitting in a dispenser for the last four days, I thought I could definitely make it scent our house (which it’s doing, beautifully).

I always like to have flavored water available when we host parties. It helps me to remember to drink water while I drink other things, which is always a plus.  It’s also an inexpensive option for guests that might not be drinking alcohol. During our New Years’ party this year we did a wine tasting (post coming this week), so having water available isn’t just a plus, it’s a necessity. I made a holiday-inspired Orange-Cinnamon water (instructions below) that ended up being a perfect combination of cozy and sweet with a touch of spice.  Making flavored water is really easy, and you could definitely do it for your next get together!  Using the leftovers in a pan as a chemical-free air freshener proved to be a great added bonus.

Orange Cinnamon Water
Fill up your drink dispenser about 3/4 of the way with plain water. I use filtered Berkey water, but you could use any water you like.
To it, add:

1 whole cinnamon stick
the zest of one orange (use the orange below)
cinnamon juice (see below)

[Cinnamon Juice] In a small saucepan, add 2 cups of water and a cinnamon stick broken in half. Bring to boil on high and then turn down to low to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool briefly.

Remove the white pith of the orange and cut remaining fruit into 1/2″ slices. Put the fruit and about 20 cranberries in a zippy bag (or in a mason jar)- fill to freeze line (on a mason jar) with water and put in the freezer. I like to make my own ice for these type of drinks, that way the flavor continues. Freeze the remaining cranberries.

Add the ice and frozen cranberries about a half hour before your guests arrive (keep in mind that it took about an hour for my ice to melt enough to get out of the mason jar).

Not only is it delicious, but it’s awfully good-looking, too! This might be a good flavored water for your next winter party, or to have around your house. It would definitely be good for a few days, and even longer if you put it in the refrigerator.