Every December my best friend and I host a girls night and Christmas cookie swap (something I look forward to all season long!) and I thought this year it would be so much fun to incorporate a hot cocoa bar! Christmas cookies and hot cocoa are pretty much a match made in heaven, and putting this together was so much fun. For our cookie swap, we ask everyone to bring 1-2 dozen of their favorite homemade Christmas cookies and then we serve a light dinner and let everyone enjoy dessert afterward. When we've all had our fill of cookies, everyone gets a brown kraft paper box to pack with an assortment of all the extra cookies to bring home.
If you are looking for something fun and easy to add to your holiday entertaining this year, a hot cocoa bar is definitely the way to go. All you need is your favorite cocoa, a way to serve it (I use this), mugs for your guests and your favorite cocoa toppings! We have this mug rack filled with mismatched mugs and I think it's so much fun to set it out and let each of my girlfriends choose their favorite mug, rather than using disposable cups. It makes it extra cozy to sip and enjoy!
If you are looking for something fun and easy to add to your holiday entertaining this year, a hot cocoa bar is definitely the way to go. All you need is your favorite cocoa, a way to serve it (I use this), mugs for your guests and your favorite cocoa toppings! We have this mug rack filled with mismatched mugs and I think it's so much fun to set it out and let each of my girlfriends choose their favorite mug, rather than using disposable cups. It makes it extra cozy to sip and enjoy!
Go-to cocoa toppings in our home have always been fresh whipped cream, mini marshmallows and peppermint bark, but I also included a few fun extras -- dark chocolate truffles that melt and give your cocoa the silkiest dark flavor (our favorite here), crushed heath bars, peppermint stir sticks and fudge pirouette cookies. Dustin kept trying to convince me to add chopped Andes mints and I thought mini caramel bits that you use for baking or warm caramel sauce would be fun. I've also seen sea salt, shredded coconut and white chocolate chips as toppings.
The best part of hosting a hot cocoa bar is you can tailor it to your tastes and those of your guests; you can keep it really simple or go over the top with options. I used these wooden scoops and a mix of vintage icecream bowls and mugs to hold the toppings on a small table in our kitchen. Bringing in a little greenery, cut logs and a fun framed chalkboard print + gold garland finished it off!
I hope this gives you some inspiration for the holiday season ahead! Even if you aren't entertaining, having a hot cocoa bar set up at home for your family and little ones is a fun way to make the season extra special. Olivia loves snuggling on the couch between Dustin and me after Poppy has gone to bed and sharing a cup of cocoa with us. Having one set up in our kitchen this time of year will definitely become a new tradition!! XO
Oh, I love this!!! We are planning to move in to our own home soon and I would love to have something like this set up. I pinned it for next year.
ReplyDelete