Here’s another super cute idea from the brides.com Orange Crush wedding gallery, perfect for personalizing fall & winter weddings or showers: hot apple cider dressed up with personalized drink stirrers and a cinnamon stick. Serve this up in see-through coffee mugs, like these cool Irish Coffee Glasses from Crate & Barrel. ($2.95 each)

To make the drink stirrers, print a bunch of initials on a sheet of paper on your computer, reversed out in white on a background color, then use a circular craft punch to cut them out. If you want to get super crafty, you could also paint the letters onto colored paper or use a silver, gold or opaque white marker.

To use this idea for a holiday event or Thanksgiving dinner, instead of using initials, try lining the cups up on fun serving trays or a counter top before guests arrive, and have the drink stirrers spell out a phrase like “Happy Thanksgiving” or “Merry Christmas”.

Signature cocktail more your style? Instead of regular cider, try this yummy Spiked Apple Cider recipe from Rachael Ray: (full recipe after the jump)

SPIKED APPLE CIDER

{via Everyday with Rachael Ray}

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts apple cide
• 1 cup apple brandy
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon curry powder

Directions:

1. In a large pot, combine all the ingredients over high heat and bring to a simmer.
2. Lower the heat and keep warm.
3. To serve, strain through a fine mesh sieve into a heatproof pitcher and pour into mugs.
This Buttered Spiked Cider sound de-lish too!