Holiday food is great and all but a fun tradition we have is to make specialty drinks, particularly for New Year's. Italian Cream Sodas are a favorite of mine but they are so overpriced at restaurants I tend to not order them often. Did you know that you can make your own for a fraction of the price? Seriously! They're super tasty and I love how they look. Aren't they so festive and pretty?! They are indeed.

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Step 1:

Italian Cream Sodas

What you'll need:

•Club Soda
•Half & Half
•Torani Syrups
•Ice

To make one Italian Cream Soda, you'll need:

•1/2 cup Club Soda
•3 TBSP Torani Syrup {our favorite combo was Raspberry Vanilla- 2 TBSP Raspberry to 1 TBSP Vanilla}
•1 TBSP Half & Half
•3 ice cubes
•whipped cream and a cherry for the top!

Add ice cubes to glasses. Measure out about 1/2 cup Club Soda and pour into each glass. {If you have larger glasses, you can double all of the ingredients.}

Step 2:

Measure out 3 TBSP Torani syrup. You can find this type of syrup in the coffee section at just about any grocery store. I found vanilla everywhere but had a hard time finding any fruity flavors. I finally found Raspberry at Walmart. The bottles cost about $3.50 each and will make about 12-14 of the drinks at least.

Our favorite combo was a mix of vanilla and raspberry as detailed above. Yum.

Add the syrup to the soda. Just before serving add the 1 TBSP of Half & Half to the soda/ syrup mixture. This is the fun part- as the cream seeps down it makes a really cool design on the glass. Try and not shake the glasses around too much so that the design is preserved- serve with whipped cream and a cherry on top, as well as something to stir with prior to drinking. It's fun to admire the cool swirls of the syrup and cream, but encourage everyone to give it a little stir before drinking so that all the flavors meld.

ENJOY!