February sucks.
OK, there's Valentine's Day, but other than that it's just a month you have to get through in order to get to the other side of winter and start dreaming of cute little lambs and chicks and bunnies.
So to make my month a little less sucky (spellcheck is telling me that's not a word???), I made myself a cheerful little Valentine's Day Hot Chocolate Bar.
I bought the two-tiered galvanized tray at Jo-Ann's back when it was still in business. I sure do miss Jo-Anns.
Did you spy that little vintage-inspired heart-shaped box of chocolates?
How cute is THAT!
I bought it at Meijer's, a grocery superstore in the Midwest, similar to a Walmart Supercenter or Target, but with a cooler selection.
The candy is made by Elmer's Chocolates, located in Louisiana. I'm not sure if they're sold in your neck of the woods, but I certainly hope so!
They had a few more designs, but I ended up buying the kids on the sled, the adorable little deer and the buckin' horse/donkey/pony.
I actually wanted to be a veterinarian at one point in my life, so I should really know which it is.
WARNING: This vignette is from 2017, so you may not be able to find the exact same candy boxes anymore.
The greenery in the vase is left over from Christmas. I always leave a little bit of generic greenery out after Christmas, so my house doesn't go from a Festive Holiday House to a Gloomy Winter House all in one fell swoop.
I didn't put a ton of toppings out for the hot chocolate, just marshmallows and chocolate chips. The red gummy hearts are purely decorative.
And for eating after you've eaten all things chocolate.
The marshmallow jar is an Anchor Hocking cracker jar from Walmart, and it comes with a silver lid. I simply spray paint the lids for the current season I'm into.
Green for Christmas, red for Valentine's Day, and blue for the 4th of July. This lid is on its 4th coat of paint!
I put the gummy hearts and some stirring spoons into a few cut glass sugar bowls I found at estate sales. And napkins, tea, and low-calorie drink mixes in an old coffee tin.
Low-calorie drinks pair perfectly with chocolate.
So, let's make a list of things you may want to add to your own Valentine's Day Hot Chocolate Bar.
Hot Chocolate Toppings:
- Chocolate Chips
- Marshmallows
- Cinnamon Hearts
- Red or Pink Sprinkles
- Chunked up Andes Mints
- Chunked up Candy Canes
- Caramel syrup
- Chocolate syrup
- Whipped Cream
OK, go forth and get your chocolate groove on. If hot chocolate can't save us from February, nothing can!
Here are some of my other Valentine's Day Posts To Make Your Heart Skip A Beat:
5 Best DIY Valentine Crafts To Make
Valentine's Day Chalkboard Vignette
20 Warm & Cozy Hot Chocolate Recipes
More Valentine's Day Projects And Ideas
And some other fun hot chocolate ideas for Valentine's Day from my friends:
Pink Hot Chocolate from Simply Kierste
Homemade Heart-Shaped Marshmallows from Belly Full
DIY Heart Shaped Tea Bags For Valentines Day from Practically Functional
Linda Clemmer
Hi Pam: I think I read in your email that you have a recipe for chalk paint. I know I saved it,,, but now that I need it I can't find it. An I correct that it was you? If so, would you please let me know the ingredients? Thank you, Linda
Pam
Not me, but Carrie from Making Lemonade has a basic one here - http://makinglemonadeblog.com/best-homemade-furniture-chalk-paint-recipe/ .
Linda Clemmer
Thank you Pam. Now I really need to get painting. Linda
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces
I love your fun cocoa bar, Pam...the valentine candy boxes are so cute!
All of your ingredients look delicious!
Debbie S
Hi Pam,
Love your Valentine display, I have a similar galvanized stand so I may try a similar display. I just happened to pick up those vintage heart candy boxes this week (my Meijer has them on sale for $1!!) For the price I was suprised how yummy the chocolate is, no I couldn't resist! Happy Valentine's Day!!!
Vickie
Well, you've thought of the perfect pick-me-up for the dreary (but short) month of February, Pam. Your little hot chocolate bar would have me stopping 10 times a day to eat the ju ju hearts- my favorite! The good thing is that you get to bring all your vintage red out to play again. Well done!
chris aka monkey
feb is the suckiest month of alllll except there is a lot of chocolate love your tray xx
taryterre
Like that galvanized tray. perfect for displaying so many things.
Melinda
Quite festive!
Love the Chocolates so "Old School."
M : )
Jody Wolski
I will be on a search for the vintage chocolate. I checked the Elmer's Chocolate website and there is a long list of stores that sell their chocolates, and there are several in my area. Wish me luck!
Pam
Hope you can find them!!!
Catherine
Hi Pam - we don't have all that cool stuff here in Ontario, Canada. Was wondering if you could tell me the dimensions of the 2-tiered galvanized stand. Total height including middle pole, length, width, and height of each tray. Thinking I can have our sheet metal guy make me one 😉 Thanking you so much!
Pam
The base is 9" x 12", the middle tray is 6" x 8" and then each tray is roughly 1 1/2" deep. It's 14 1/2" tall (from the very bottom to the top of the pole). It can sit on my kitchen counters and still be able to slide under the upper cabinets which is what I liked about it.
Catherine
Thanks Pam for the additional info - do you happen to have a pic of it without anything on it? That way I can show him that with the dimensions. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful idea. It's what I've had in my head, but was unable to make tangible until now.
Kristine
Love the vintage inspired candy boxes! And sucky perfectly described both January and February in my book!
Donna
Very cute, and fun-ctional, too!
Shelley
what a pleasing setup...and those vintage looking valentine candy boxes..oh my
Kris @ Junk Chic Cottage
Hi Pam,
I love your sweet Hot Chocolate Bar. Super cute, fun and festive. Love those vintage design valentines from Meijers. I am going to check that out. They are really fun and cute.
Have a great rest of the week.
Hugs,
Kris
Bonnie
Ha ha - sucky! Yup, that about sums up the month I was born in. Thanks for the cute bar idea!
Florence
That's cute Pam. Wish we had Meier's here, but I've been in one. They are cool stores. The red lid saga...interesting! Pinned.
Karenann
I love your cheery and sweet Hot Chocolate bar! And those retro Valentine candy boxes are adorable. I doubt they have them here in NY, but I sure do hope I can find them! Have a happy February!