How to Set Up a Hot Cocoa Bar this Holiday Season

I hosted my grandparents and my niece Gabrielle the day after Thanksgiving for a holiday dinner complete with a hot chocolate bar. The day after Thanksgiving feast has become somewhat of our own little tradition, this year adding some more fun elements like the hot chocolate bar. I just love hosting little parties and my niece was super pumped about the hot chocolate. And I have to admit, I loved it too!

The Ingredients for a Hot Chocolate Bar

I displayed the hot chocolate mix, milk, whipped topping, dark chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and chocolate chips in my kitchen and baked fresh chocolate chip cookies to pair with the hot cocoa since it’s the perfect combination on a cold, wintery day.

You could also include marshmallows and candy canes for more options! I kept this out for a while so we could float in and out add more to our hot chocolate as we drank it. We watched holiday movies at the same time and truly the best combo of things I love: cheesy holiday movies and all the chocolate.

Styling a Simple Hot Chocolate Bar

I love the holidays and subtle decor when entertaining. It’s why I selected this <adorable holiday mug set of four. I love the red designs on the cream mugs that say “joy”, “peace” and incorporate simple illustrations. I displayed my new mugs on my mug stand and moved it over to the peninsula at the hot chocolate bar. Easy to grab and added to my minimally designed hot chocolate bar.

I also added the mint crackled glaze embossed snowflake cheese board and platter, using it as a decorative element, setting a pretty pink and gold bowl filled with chocolate chips on top, using the wooden knife tool as a spoon for chocolate chips since it was wide enough to repurpose for that. It’s pieces like this that say holiday and winter theme, without going too overtly Christmas themed with Santas and such.

I also added a cake stand to display the fresh baked cookies, adding small decorative bowls for mix-ins and dark chocolate and caramel sauce bottles at the end with whipped cream. I also added a silver Christmas tree piece at the center of the kitchen peninsula to add more variation in the height–and add to that holiday theme!

A Hot Chocolate Recipe

I prepare homemade hot chocolate and hot chocolate from a pre-made mix–both are good with warmed milk and extra ingredients like chocolate chips and whipped cream–even a little cinnamon.

If you’re looking to make a quick homemade hot chocolate at home, try combining two teaspoons of unsweetened hot cocoa with two teaspoons of sugar (or a sugar substitute like Stevia), 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a cup of milk. First, warm up milk in the microwave for one minute, and then add in the ingredients to the milk. And I love extra chocolate, so I mix in a few chocolate chips next and then top with whipped cream and dark chocolate sauce!