Over the years, friends have asked if I’d ever consider packaging and selling my hot chocolate station. I have not (!) but I get that life is so wildly busy and the small things add up. To make it a little easier, below are the elements I used to build my hot chocolate station. Hope it helps you create a new winter tradition in your own home.
Step 1. Establish the base
Remember to customize your station with your own vessels, decorations and ingredients. Get nostalgic. Use old canisters from your grandparents or reuse old jars. Be sure to use the spices and flavours you and your family love.
Here are a few of the basics I used to create my own hot chocolate station:
- My vessel of choice to house each ingredient is the mason jar. These are my favorite. I recommend a mix of the taller jars along with the little ones so you have a nice mix of heights to match ingredient size and volume.
- I placed name place card holders (typically used at the dinner table) on top of the jars for extra bling.
- Affix fun wrapping tags you love or already have (these ones are cute) into the place card holders.
- The magic starts when you add the bottle brush trees. I love these natural tones or go full colour.
- Mix in a few tea lights (real or faux candles) to give the station a warm, flickering, hygge glow.
- The snowballs are fun – I cut up the garland and spread around the tray.
- Mix in whatever ingredients you love. Chestnuts fill my little heart mug.
- All station ingredients are best contained by a tray. I used a silver one but I love this brass beauty too.
Step 2: Shop your station staples
- Head over to Bulk Barn (or anywhere you can get ingredients in bulk) and grab whatever speaks to you.
- The hot chocolate station mainstays I pick up every year are:
- Hot chocolate powder
- Crushed candy cane (this is THE best part)
- Whipping cream (buy 35% and get the large size given it stays good in the fridge for a long time)
- Allspice (I ground mine and added it to the station last year. Admittedly not a single person has asked for this yet but I’m ready for when it happens, people!)
- Cinnamon sticks
- Full candy canes (to use as festive stir sticks)
Step 3: Choose optional toppings to your heart’s content
You want a mix of colours in your jars (like the Christmas M&Ms or Frosty’s forest candy), something chocolate (like my fave rosebuds or these magical treats) and some mini marshmallows (the colourful ones add a fun pop).
I do have to say the effort does yield a really lovely result. It’s almost universal that folks love hot chocolate. Below is my hot chocolate process to make the best drink (that’s right I HAVE A PROCESS).
THE HOME MEDICINE HOT CHOCOLATE PROCESS:
STEP 1: PUT TWO HEAPING SPOONFULS OF HOT CHOCOLATE MIX IN THE BASE OF YOUR MUG. NOTE: I USE THE BASIC BULK BARN HOT CHOCOLATE MIX. FOR THOSE JUDGING ME (I ALREADY KNOW WHO YOU ARE), YOU CAN CREATE THIS JAMIE OLIVER HOT CHOCOLATE MIX FROM SCRATCH.
STEP 2: BOIL WATER AND FILL ABOUT HALF YOUR MUG UNTIL IT DISSOLVES THE POWDER WELL.
STEP 3: THIS IS THE FUN PART. USE A NESPRESSO FROTHER TO MAKE A WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING FOR YOUR HOT CHOCOLATE. FEEL FREE TO FROTH THE MILK OF YOUR CHOICE. I LOVE THIS TECHNIQUE TO MAKE FRESH WHIPPED CREAM BUT YOU CAN ALSO USE A MIXER TO WHIP THE CREAM.
STEP 4: POUR THE FROTHED WHIPPED CREAM INTO THE MUG TO TOP YOUR COCOA AND WATER.
STEP 5: ADD ANY/ALL THE TOPPINGS YOU WANT. MY FAVE COMBO IS THE CRUSHED-CANDY-CANE-PEPPERMINT-Y PERFECTION WITH A FULL CANDY CANE TO STIR EVERYTHING.
I USE THIS PROCESS BECAUSE BOILING MILK IN A SAUCEPAN IS NOT MY THING. THIS MAKES IT EASIER AND IS HANDS DOWN THE BEST HOT CHOCOLATE IN TOWN.
p.s. My sister created a hot chocolate station for the kids in her school (the family tradition widens!). Three things I learned from her experience that I had never considered and wanted to share:
- Kids from all religious and cultural backgrounds love it given it’s a winter treat (not specific to Christmas alone) so everyone can partake and it’s beautifully inclusive. Hot chocolate for everyone!
- I live for the crushed candy cane in my hot chocolate. However, my sister said the kids got SO excited and put TONS of it in their drink and then grimaced at the taste. Moral of the story: monitor the amount of candy cane administered or leave it out entirely. My sister swapped it with cookie stir sticks instead this year.
- My sister explains the hot chocolate station family tradition to her kids and asks each child what their family traditions are. It’s a great way to connect and share. Which is the whole darn point.
I love all of you bunnies in your bunny snowsuits.
