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How to Set Up a Hot Cocoa Bar | An Easy DIY Cocoa Party

January 2, 2017 by Jennifer 8 Comments

At first I thought hot cocoa bars were only something you saw on Pinterest. That real people in real life didn’t actually have time to put one together. Then my friend (the one who actually inspired me to start this blog) threw a sledding party at her house, and had a hot cocoa bar. It was so fun, and didn’t seem too difficult! (This post contains affiliate links. Most of the words in orange are Amazon links that will take you to the products we used to create this party.)

This cute and easy hot cocoa bar is the perfect addition to any winter party!

It turns out that “bars” of any sort are actually easier than coming up with one thing that all your guests will enjoy. We did a sandwich bar at my son’s construction themed birthday party, and that was so much easier than putting together perfect little sandwiches for everybody. Customization is “hot” these days, and I’m pretty sure isn’t going anywhere. At least I hope it isn’t!

Back to the topic at hand though, hot cocoa… not sandwiches… not nachos… not pizza… not bloody marys (oh the possibilities are limitless). We ended up doing this for my son’s first birthday party. It was a “Winter Onederland” theme with snow and snowmen and such. The hot cocoa bar fit in perfectly.

How to Set Up the Perfect Hot Cocoa Bar

We set ours up on a buffet table in the dining room.

  • First thing you’ll need is a package of cheap batting. One bag will do.
  • Next, take a string of white Christmas lights and place them randomly around the table.
  • Now spread the batting over the lights to look like snow.
  • When the lights are plugged in the bar will look twinkly and magical.

Lit Up Cocoa Bar

Create Some Height

The great thing about using the batting as snow, is you can hide various props here and there. For instance, see how the second row of mason jars is higher than the first? Simply set them on top of an upside-down bowl to give them height.

Hot Chocolate Bar

Toppings and Mix-Ins

Now for the fun part. Pick your add-ons. Some of the classic toppings are:

  • Marshmallows
  • Crushed Peppermints or Candy Canes
  • Peanut Butter Candy
  • Sprinkles
  • Mint Chips
  • White Chocolate Chips
  • Crushed Oreos
  • Whipped Cream

These chalkboard labels made for the perfect signs to tie around the mason jars. Then we used soap dispensers like these to put caramel syrup and peppermint syrup in.

Syrups and Toppings

Then I got some cute swing bottles with chalkboard labels to put some adult mixers in. Irish creme and coffee liquor are always yummy in hot cocoa. In hindsight I would have done peppermint schnapps as well.

Cocoa Liquor

For the cocoa, we heated up a big batch in a pot on the stove. We put it in a stainless caraffe on the bar, and kept the pot on the stove warm for quick refilling. Try this yummy dark chocolate hot cocoa recipe!

Finally, since it was a kids party we used white paper hot cups with a set of markers next to them so kids (and grown ups)  could decorate and personalize their cocoa cups.

See how easy that was!

Here are some other awesome party ideas!

Construction Themed Birthday Party

Wild West Birthday Party

Animal Shelter Donation Party

Related

Filed Under: Homemaking, Party Planning Tagged With: cocoa bar, hot chocolate, hot chocolate bar, hot cocoa

Previous Post: « 10 Best Cheese Fondue Dippers That Every Fondue Party Needs
Next Post: Dinner Menu Week 52 – Best of 2016 »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Megan says

    January 4, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    Can we just do cute parties for our jobs?!
    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      January 4, 2017 at 9:38 pm

      Right?!?!? Someday Megan... some day.
      Reply
  2. Babyspun says

    January 12, 2017 at 6:51 pm

    OMG! That sounds like heck of an idea. You have inspired me to hold a family and friends union especially to make the hot chocolate bar like this. Wonderful.
    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      January 22, 2017 at 9:21 pm

      That's great, thanks! It really is fun.
      Reply
  3. Kristi says

    December 26, 2018 at 4:21 pm

    love this idea. I didn't see a link to the " yummy dark chocolate hot cocoa recipe!" is it posted somewhere? Always looking for a really good solid hot cocoa drink. thanks for the inspiration
    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      December 27, 2018 at 10:45 am

      Glad you enjoyed it! Sorry I don't know why the link came out... here it is: https://dinnerwiththerollos.com/happily-homemade-dark-chocolate-hot-cocoa/
      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Throw an Animal Shelter Donation Birthday Party says:
    August 4, 2017 at 7:49 pm
    […] How to Set Up a Hot Cocoa Bar | An Easy DIY Cocoa Party says: May 29, 2017 at 5:19 pm […] How to Throw an Animal Shelter Donation Party for Your Kid’s Next Birthday […] Reply […]
    Reply
  2. How to Throw a Construction Themed Birthday Party says:
    October 9, 2017 at 10:06 pm
    […] Hot Cocoa Bar Party […]
    Reply

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Welcome, I'm Jen! I'm here to offer realistic (sometimes semi-green) parenting, eating, and homemaking tips so that you can embrace life and let go of perfection. Because if I can do it, you can do it! Get to know more of Jen →

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