Re mulled wine: If you're having a holiday party, it is a really good thing to serve, because it's festive but inespensive, because you can use cheap wine. I made it once for a NY Eve party. I had some champagne, but I couldn't afford to serve champagne to all those people all night long, so I brewed up a big kettle of mulled wine.
If, like me, you're not particularly good in the kitchen, you can even find premixed mulling spices. Works in both wine and cider.
It's even possible--at least, around here--to find cider that's already spiced; all you have to do is heat it. I buy this and then microwave it one mug at a time when I feel like a mug of mulled cider. Same goes for wine. The winery where the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire is located sells a "holiday wine" that is essentially a red wine with the spices already added. They even recommend serving it warm. I've had it, and it smells and tastes pretty good.