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    Home » DIY Christmas Crafts

    Holiday Hot Chocolate Bar With Homemade Mix Recipe

    Published by Pam Kessler | 1027 words. · About 6 minutes to read this article. - 12 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    A couple years ago I made a cute hot chocolate station out of a plaid school lunchbox. It was compact, just the right size for 2 people and it looked very festive setting on the counter.

    This year I decided to kick it up a notch and make a hot chocolate bar with more options and on a much larger scale.

    hot chocolate bar toppings

    I have it setting on my kitchen dining table as the centerpiece and it pretty much takes up the whole top of the table.

    In case you want to make your own, here's what I have put on mine.

    How To Make A Hot Chocolate Bar

    I started with a HUGE wooden tray that was made from a wine barrel lid and topped it with a seasonal crate I found at the local grocery store.

    I have seen similar crates at Michael's earlier in the season. A vintage Coca-Cola crate would look festive also.

    By starting with the wooden tray I could make it look almost like a fancy charcuterie tray, which is so popular now, but yet have the items in containers so they can sit out for a bit.

    vintage inspired self-serve hot chocolate bar

    Various mismatched mason jars are corralling Pirouline rolled cookies, Bob's peppermint sticks and colorful sprinkles (aka jimmies for the East coasters).

    Sprinkles, cookies and Bob's peppermint sticks

    I picked up these syrup pitchers at the thrift store because they had red and green spouts, but had no idea what I was going to do with them.

    Turns out they come in pretty handy to dispense little items at the hot chocolate bar, since the spouts have fairly large openings.

    I have mini chocolate chips in one and dehydrated marshmallows in the other (like the "magically delicious" marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal).

    syrup pitchers used as marshmallow and chocolate chip dispensers

    I threw some Walkers shortbread stars on the wooden tray as a grazing snack. This would be one item that couldn't be left out all the time.

    Ask our dog Lacey who thought it would be fun to inch her nose up onto the table to get a good sniff of them.

    The caramels are for either eating as is (yum!) or cutting up and melting in your hot chocolate.

    And then I have a small French mason jar with attached lid for the traditional puffy mini marshmallows and a larger one to hold the cocoa mix.

    homemade hot chocolate mix and mini marshmallows

    Some festive napkins, spoons, Santa mugs and a couple thermoses round out the display.

    You can fill the thermoses with boiling water if you are having a get-together and want people to be able to graze the hot chocolate station at their leisure throughout the afternoon.

    Or they are just as fun to use as purely decorative pieces.

    vintage thermoses used on hot chocolate station

    And I don't know about you, but a hot chocolate bar at Christmastime HAS TO HAVE at least one Santa mug.

    I think it's a law.

    This one is holding extra wooden scoops, but I do have a set of my Pottery Barn Reproduction Santa Mugs on the table also for actually drinking out of.

    vintage Santa mug used in hot chocolate bar

    (This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. You can read my full disclosure policy here.)

    Hot Chocolate Bar Topping Ideas:

    • Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix (see recipe below)
    • Mini-marshmallows
    • Mini-chocolate Chips
    • Dehydrated Marshmallows (small hard marshmallows similar to what's in Lucky Charms)
    • Bob's Sweet Stripes* or Candy Canes
    • Pirouline Dark Chocolate Creme Filled Wafers*
    • Zachary Peppermint Thin Mints* cut into quarters or Andes Mints
    • Caramels
    • Festive Sprinkles (Jimmies)
    • Walker's Shortbread Mini Festive Stars
    • Mother's Circus Animal Cookies - Reindeer Games
    • Crushed Candy Canes
    • Chopped Up Hershey Bars
    • Chocolate Covered Pretzels
    • Hot Chocolate Stir Sticks**
    • Cinnamon Hearts Candy (Red Hots) or Shaker Of Cinnamon
    • Whipped Cream

    * I'm going to link to these three items at Amazon so you know what they look like, but DO NOT buy them there. Don't you dare. Dollar General has both of these for $1 or so and I'm sure you can probably buy them at Walmart, so it's silly to pay 14x that on Amazon. I love me some Amazon, but not for this type of stuff.

    ** Again, this is what they look like, but they seem awfully darn high on Amazon.

    Christmas themed cocoa station

    Festive Props For Your Hot Chocolate Station:

    • Santa Mugs
    • Wooden Scoops
    • Wooden Stirring Spoons
    • Ball Jars
    • Thermoses - these traditional plaid Aladdin thermoses are cute or these Wamika thermoses comes in all sorts of cool plaid colors for a slightly more modern look.
    • Seasonal Crate or Vintage Coca-Cola Crate
    • Wine Barrel Serving Tray or Charcuterie Tray
    • A vintage Shiny Brite, Santa or snowman is always appreciated

    Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

    This is the recipe I used to make my mix in the jar.

    Although you can easily buy hot chocolate mixes at the local grocery store, I prefer to make my own since it's so darn easy to make and it is the little homemade touches that count around the holidays.

    homemade hot chocolate recipe in a jar

    Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

    Quick and easy homemade hot cocoa mix, perfect for gift giving at the holidays.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Drinks
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 12 servings
    Author: Pam Kessler

    Ingredients

    • 2 cups nonfat dry milk
    • 2 cups powdered sugar
    • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1 teaspoon fine salt
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Whisk all ingredients together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed.
    • Store homemade hot chocolate mix in an airtight container or large mason jar.
    • For individual servings, use 3 Tablespoon of the mix with 8 oz. hot water.
    • To give as gifts, fill pint sized mason jars ⅔ of the way with the mix. Layer mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows on top. Tie festive ribbon or baker's twine around the top of the jar.

    Notes

    Can be stored in the pantry for up to 6 months. 
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    But let's be honest, you could easily just rip open a bunch of packets of hot chocolate mix and throw it in a jar and run off to watch more Hallmark Christmas movies if that's your style.

    Have you set up a hot chocolate bar this year?

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    215 shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. SJGD

      December 17, 2020 at 11:39 am

      Wow! I love love love this idea! I don’t think you have missed anything. I have been wanting to get a cupboard and make a tea station. This is revving me on to do that! Fantastic post!

      Reply
      • Pam Kessler

        December 18, 2020 at 4:40 pm

        Thank you! Glad you liked it!

        Reply
    2. Donna

      December 17, 2020 at 12:09 pm

      Really enjoyed this post with pictures. Wonderful! Almost makes me want to get out of my LazyBoy and do a bit more decorating!

      Reply
    3. Nana Diana

      December 17, 2020 at 4:43 pm

      That mix idea is fantastic and I love the idea of layering it in small mason jars for gift giving. Great idea. I have a cocoa station this year, too, but haven't gotten around to posting a picture yet. xo Diana

      Reply
    4. Nana Diana

      December 17, 2020 at 4:44 pm

      Pam are you able to add the line where a person can leave their http address? I have seen a couple of people I would love to visit but there is no way to find them and no link when I hit their name. Just curious if you can do it. xo Diana

      Reply
      • Pam Kessler

        December 18, 2020 at 4:39 pm

        I used to have that, but it ended up leading to a lot of broken links or spam links. I'll see if my tech guy has a way to add it back in and maybe have a better way to keep the weird addresses blocked 🙂

        Reply
    5. Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces

      December 17, 2020 at 5:27 pm

      This is just perfect, Pam! I keep a coffee bar year round, but haven't decorated it for Christmas. You've inspired me with your welcoming, pretty setup!

      Reply
    6. Carla

      December 17, 2020 at 5:27 pm

      What a wonderful idea.I think most of us love hot chocolate.The gift idea is quite nice too.I am suddenly craving hot chocolate.

      Reply
    7. mary scott

      December 19, 2020 at 10:28 pm

      So cute! Love the color combination. Pinned.

      Reply
    8. Cheryl

      December 20, 2020 at 6:23 am

      Pam, yours is extra cute with all your vintage items. Love the syrup pitchers and as always your vivid, humorous descriptions! Happy, healthy holidays to you.

      Reply
    9. Barb

      December 20, 2020 at 12:16 pm

      Love your blog! Your cocoa crate is wonderful! I have a love for "everything" old. Good idea incorporating old things to new uses! Holly and a tree ,napkins & ribbon are great texture. Santa mugs are a must, glad I collected them when I did, haven't seen any this year while antiquing this year.
      ,Thank You for a great year. Keep the old coming. Favorite blog! Merry Christmas!

      Reply
    10. Kathy

      December 26, 2020 at 8:55 pm

      Love your hot chocolate bar! Good ideas with not too hard to find pieces. I don't know where you get a barrel lid tray. I wish I had a grocery around here like you have. Again you found a cute crate in that store!
      Thanks for posting,
      Kathy

      Reply

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