House of Hawthornes

Vintage. Thrifting. Gardening.

Cozy Hot Cocoa Station For The Holidays

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Since today is supposed to be a snowy day here in Ohio, I put together a cozy little hot cocoa station to help keep me warm. Or hot chocolate station. Not sure what the difference is?

A vintage inspired hot cocoa station for the holidays. Cute ideas for a Christmas display! Love the old Santa mug, vintage camera and plaid school lunchbox!

I set it up on my enamel topped cabinet in my new 1960’s Aladdin plaid lunch box.

Yes, this could have been my lunch box when I was in elementary school. If not for the fact that my mom packed my lunch in brown paper bags.

A vintage inspired hot cocoa station for the holidays. Cute ideas for a Christmas display! Love the old Santa mug, vintage camera and plaid school lunchbox!


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I so wanted to be one of the cool kids with a lunch box though. And now I am!

I’ve got your typical Nestle hot cocoa in packets (just add water) and in the little can next to the bottle brush tree is salted caramel hot cocoa.

A vintage inspired hot cocoa station for the holidays. Cute ideas for a Christmas display! Love the old Santa mug, vintage camera and plaid school lunchbox!

Who knew you could throw salt onto sticky caramel and create a little slice of Heaven? That stuff is to die for!

I’ve got candy cane sticks to stir the cocoa with. Along with tiny chocolate chips and tiny marshmallow bits to sprinkle on top.

The marshmallows are called Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits and are even tinier than typical mini marshmallows. And they’re hard.

Think of Lucky Charms minus the nasty Cheerios type things.

A vintage inspired hot cocoa station for the holidays. Cute ideas for a Christmas display! Love the old Santa mug, vintage camera and plaid school lunchbox!

The little milk bottle looking things are actually the 9.5 oz bottles of Starbucks’ chilled Mocha Frappuccino that you can buy at the grocery or convenience store. I just peeled the plastic Starbucks labels off them and spray painted the caps green.

I purchased two of these Santa mugs at the thrift store for $1 last week.

Vintage Santa head mug as part of a hot cocoa station for the holidays

The only worthwhile Christmas stuff I have found at the thrifts this year!!!

I added my newest vintage camera to the vignette. The Kodak Duaflex III camera, manufactured from 1954-1957. It’s not a super thrifty find, since I bought it at an antique mall, but I thought it was in pretty good shape for the $15 price tag.

Vintage Kodak Duaflex III camera

Normally I don’t like to spend more than $5 on a camera.

It’s one of those cameras that you hold at your waist and look down in to. The viewfinder is folded back into the down position in this photo.

Vintage Kodak Duaflex III camera

I also added my car in a jar.

Car with Christmas tree tied to top in a snow jar

Same car, same tree, but different jar from last year’s Christmas Kitchen Tour.

Car with Christmas tree tied to top in a snow jar

They were expecting so much snow here today that they called off school. Problem is that, as of right now, there is NO snow on the ground and I’m beginning to think they were reading the wrong forecast.

And not to be nit-picky or anything, but I had two barn sales and one new thrift store to check out today and now I’m just sitting here getting fat on hot cocoa.

Oops, my chocolate chips have all melted, can you pass me the bottle?

Have a wonderful, snow free, hot cocoa filled weekend!

A vintage inspired hot cocoa station for the holidays. Cute ideas for a Christmas display! Love the old Santa mug, vintage camera and plaid school lunchbox!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. This is such a cute post! I’m going to copy you and set up a similar station (if you don’t mind). I have yet to find a cheap plaid lunch box though. Booo! It’s -1 degrees here in MN!!! So I think I deserve to drink hot chocolate all day long! This weather is tough!
    Have a great day! Erica 🙂

    • Windchill – 38 Today in Milwaukee Wisconsin Jan 28, 2014 Warming to Single Digits tomorrow! So going to dinner first, then a documentary about Egypt with friends.

      You may be colder in MN, but East Coast, it may be coming by weekend so get the cocoa and ckn soup ready or other hot comfort food.

  2. your hot chocolate vignette looks so cool
    love the plaid lunch pail
    oh and I like the car in a jar i want to copy that with my Santa in a jar
    we didn’t get any snow here in central Missouri either however St Louis and Springfield got a lot ,maybe the snow just hasn’t got to you yet ?
    it is 6 degrees here now and below zero wind chill tonight so i need some of your HOT chocolate

  3. I created a rather elaborate hot chocolate bar on a 3-tier galvanized tray, but I like yours better!! It is so adorable in the plaid lunch box(I had that one!). Your idea of a vintage cookie container would be great, too. I really want some snow, but what a bummer to have to miss barn sales & a thrifting for a faulty forecast! Perhaps the school administrators saw those sales advertised too. 😉

  4. I would love to put a little hot chocolate station together. Hmmmmmmm…where to put it? I’ve pretty much exhausted every flat surface in my house with vintage Christmas décor. Maybe on top of the washer or dryer in the laundry room? I’m in there every hour on the hour so that may be a good way to pace myself!

    Btw…those little marshmallows are AMAZING! I discovered them last year and have been know to bypass the hot cocoa all together. Husband recently caught me shoving a handful of them into my mouth. He didn’t say a word. Smart man.

    ~Erica

  5. This is so neat!
    I would just love to have a coco station in my kitchen the only problem would be me sneaking in those delicious peppermints I think this is fabulous..

  6. I love your hot chocolate station Pam and the holiday touches make it extra sweet. I hope that great new camera isn’t there to catch shots of people like me who don’t care for hot drinks but wouldn’t think twice about swiping the entire cute container of tiny chocolate chips! I should be thinking about trying some hot chocolate with -40C (-40F) temps this morning. I need something to warm me up. With record snowfall for this early in the season I’d be more than happy to ship you a plaid lunch box or two full of snow too!

  8. I am loving all of the cute hot chocolate stations I am seeing and your’s is just the cutest!! Love that lunch box!! You created a wonderful, inviting area!!
    Jane

  9. Well , they may have been wrong about your weather but they were right on about ours! It’s been snowing here all day and it is coming your way (I am addicted to the weather channel so I know! LOL!)
    Lemon cottage had a hot cocoa station and now yours…I’m going to have to do one now, You were both different though and very unique. I love the car with the tree….now I have to find a car, and a tree. Yes…I am right there with you about the salted caramel thing! If it makes you feel better, I didn’t have a lunch box either as a child….should we be thinking about therapy over this issue? It seems to keep coming up…I’m just sayin’…..
    I did not know about the the mallow “bits” nor did I ever think about adding chocolate chips to my cocoa. I’ve been living under a rock except for the caramel and salt part. Thanks for all the great ideas! It’s all so cute and homey!

    • I just popped over there to see her cocoa area. Very cute! Love finding new-to-me blogs! I really do think a little therapy will be needed for our lunch box issues!

  13. Such a cute idea! I had this lunchbox when I was a child. Thanks for sharing. Also, wish we had some of that colder weather in Atlanta…it was in the 70’s today!

  14. I too had the same lunch box in 1955 when I walked two miles to a one room school house. I know, I know (violins playing) but alas its true– : )

  16. I have never drank so much hot coco in my life–it is so darn cold. I love the idea of setting up a station. Adorable. I also like the spiced cider packets–might have to add those in too. Enjoy!

  18. Wish I had known I was one of the cool kids…oh, the power I let slip through my little fingers.
    Will be on the look out for those marshmallows. Wait, there is a store nearby and it sells the marshmallows that are in cereal. My daughter bought a huge bag to eat and brought some back with her to gift. Those? In hot chocolate? Something else to help me reach my goal of becoming a circus fat lady? The car in the jar is adorable.

  19. I’ve been collected plaid thermos all year at estate sales and have yet to find a plaid lunchbox. Love this vignette. Magazine worthy, Pam. PS. You can bring your hot cocoa station to our house. Chris and I put the final touches on the backyard ice rink last night and the hoses are running.

  20. Well, aren’t you the clever one! I was drooling all over my keyboard over those vintage milk bottles with green caps when I read how you made them. Very cool! Your whole cocoa station is just perfect in my book, and I’ll be over this afternoon for a cuppa…..well maybe it’ll take 2 days to make the trip with slippery roads and all. 🙂

  21. This is just too cute! You came up with a super nice display that you can actually use. I have that same lunch box from a flea market sale and it’s just sitting in the basement. I have my old Santa mug from when I was little. Hummm….might have to get that stuff out and see if I can set up something like yours. Love those peppermint sticks, one of my favorites! Enjoy your hot chocolate! Freezing up here in Minnesota plus now it’s snowing…staying home today and drinking lots of hot chocolate or cocoa…never understood the difference either 🙂

  22. So cute! Did one last year… but didn’t know about the tiny marshmallows and never thought to add in chocolate chips. Great ideas… going to add these to mine…thanks! Also…to help keep the calories down, I add little basketof tea bags for me while the kids drink cocoa:)

  24. Pam, I tried to find a way to contact you but could not see anything. I was so inspired by this post of yours that I cleaned all the counter tops in my kitchen today and made up a little cocoa station like yours. I hope you don’t mind, I will give you full credit for this super cool idea and a link to your post. I just couldn’t help myself! Mine is not as nice as yours and my Santa mug is nowhere to be found but it’s still looks fun and even the husband thought it was cool. Thank you!!!! I’m going to start on the post now.

  26. This is so fun. I need this, too. We had 8 inches of snow on Tuesday and another 6 on Saturday. Such an adorable idea. I love the plaid lunch box, where did you find it? Thanks for the fun idea.

    • I found it stuffed into a booth at a little antique mall here. Wasn’t looking for a lunch box at all, but when I saw the plaid corner poking out of a pile of stuff, I knew I could do something with it 🙂

  27. Just too cute. Love the lunch box. The truck in the jar could be mailed to a friend easily-hint hint. But not one like me who seldom appears these days-it is a long story but involves CC. xo, olive

  34. I drink so much hot chocolate during the wintertime, it ain’t even funny, and I don’t even live anywhere near as cold as Ohio. Love your idea! I’m definitely wanting to replicate it especially when we have company. I also love your little diorama. So cute!

  35. What a fun thing to do on cold snowy day. It’s perfect. Oh, and by the way I still want to snatch that enamel table away from you. If ever it’s mysteriously missing, I may just have gotten a wild hair, jumped in my car, drove to Ohio from Minnesota and smuggled it home to my house for safe keeping. LOL.

  40. I have this exact lunch box from my first grade year in 1964. As an adult, I’ve used it with Christmas decor every year. Last year, I set up a hot chocolate/coffee station very similar to yours!

    • I’ve been thinking of maybe putting a snowy scene in it this year. Throw some of that fake snow in the bottom and put some deer and bottle brush trees on top of it 🙂

  41. I have to tell you how much I enjoy your posts? I love all your finds and so enjoy your sense of humor! I too love old and vintage things and like to see them used throughout a home. Thanks again for all the enjoyment I get from seeing your posts.

  42. Great station and I collect these type of lunchboxes, I have a GI Joe for my husband and a Candyland one for me. Will try the station in our kitchen, since we like hot chocolate and New Jersey is cold now.

    • You’ve probably had the weird weather that we have. The problem is that I’m normally done with the cold and snow after Christmas and I have a feeling it’s just getting started. Hoping for a mild winter anyway!

  43. Hi, I love your Starbucks jars!
    Can I ask what the exact color of spray paint you used for the green caps?
    Thank you!

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