Punch bowls are vessels for serving punch, a popular drink at socializing parties. Punch is made of an assortment of ingredients including spirit, water, lemon, sugar, and spices. The drink was brought back from India by the British, and eventually spread to different parts of Europe, and then to the Western world. The original name was derived from the Hindi root “paanch” which means “five”, as the drink contained five essential ingredients.
Punch bowls are usually large and wide, so that multiple guests can gather around the bowl and take out punch at the same time using large ladles or wooden spoons. The more ornate punch bowls are usually made of decorative ceramics and silverware, which look classic and antique. During the early 20th century, punch bowls were commonly given as presents to newly married couples by a relative or special friend, as they were realized as an essential household necessity in those times.
Recently, however, plastic punch bowls have replaced these traditional ceramic and silver bowls, as the plastic varieties are easier to mass produce in factories, and quite inexpensive to acquire for a party host of any income level, as well as being relatively easy to clean up with water and a simple detergent afterwards. The transparency of plastic punch bowls also makes them delightfully decorative at parties when filled with different colored punch and arranged artistically on the serving side tables.
Unlike traditional punch bowls that used tasteful painting on ceramic or intricate relief carving on silver, plastic punch bowls contain simpler decorative patterns, usually floral arrangements, wreaths and whorls, to give them a more domestic, homely, and hospitable look and feel.
Plastic punch bowls come in many different sizes. You should choose what kind of punch bowl to serve your drink in depending on the nature of the social gathering and the number of invited guests. Punch bowls usually range from 8 to 12 quarts in volume, whereas smaller bowls may be around 80 to 160 oz. Some punch bowls may come with detachable lids, whereas some varieties have an accompanying stand, to add an ornamental touch of class. Most plastic punch bowls come with a complete set of serving glasses or cups of similar design, and a large plastic ladle for stirring the punch and filling the cups. If the punch bowl set does not contain cups, ordinary plastic, glass, or even Styrofoam cups would do just fine.
Punch bowls are readily available at most local stores. They can range from a meager bargain price to quite expensive imported varieties. On special occasions like Christmas, you may purchase punch bowls at considerable discounts, as there is an increase in demand.
If you still cannot spare enough money to buy a brand new punch bowl (the cheapest would be around $2 to $3), there are quite a few other household items that you may use for serving punch. These include pressure cookers, large tin cans, and stock pots. But the appeal of a transparent plastic punch bowl is a delight to the guests and host alike.