'TIS the season - host a holiday hot chocolate party!

And tonight we bring you the first of our holiday season posts. We are getting a head start so we can share our holiday inspirations early and in time for you dear readers!  In fact, we will toggle between our holiday season and regular programming since we have so much to share!

Have temperatures dropped in your neck of the woods yet? We had our first real snowfall last night and this morning it was beautiful outside! Nature had painted an idyllic canvas in winter white! No, I don’t have a soft spot for winter. Not after last winter! And yet, there is so much to look forward to this time of the year – twinkly lights, sleigh bells, snowflakes and hot chocolate, it is hard not to get excited!

For those of you planning to host a holiday party – this post is essentially a Holiday how–to!  Here’s a fun idea for a winter party – a hot chocolate bar! Whether you want to include one in your holiday party this year or just set one up for a few friends on a cold wintry night – it is super fun and easy and as the host you can set it up without breaking a sweat. Of course, you can make it as elegant or as elaborate as you want or keep it low key, like I did.  With temperatures dropping, your guests will love a crackling fire and a mug of warmth and this is a great way to indulge in the spirit of the season!

Here’s what you need for your cocoa station!

1)    I wanted to use what I had and so I used my regular coffee cups (I know!) but I gave mine a holiday twist by embellishing it with holiday themed stickers (from the local craft store) and they worked perfectly. Alternately, you could just buy holiday themed mugs.

2)    Hot chocolate+ toppings + stirrers. Again, I kept it simple and stuck to the basics – milk chocolate, marshmallows, whipped cream, peppermint candy cane and dark chocolate pirouline. If you are setting up a fancier bar, you could offer your guests more choices with the mix–ins and the add –ons (sprinkles, coconut flakes, dried berries, flavored marshmallow, chocolate chips are all game!)

3)    You could even spice things up a little – no really! How about some cinnamon?

4)    Add a twist for some extra fun! A friend of mine baked some cookies and together we decided we would let all our guests wear their creative hats and decorate the cookies in holiday colors and what fun it was too!

5)   Get in to the holiday spirit– Write something fun on a chalkboard! I love festive signboards! I also used  red gingham ribbon on my mason jars and a matching runner to anchor the decorations. I also used a floral arrangement that included some red berries and pinecones for a seasonal feel. A shiny bauble in a gorgeous red and sparkly gold completed my décor!

6)   End on a sweet note! I included a heavenly chocolate butter cream marshmallow cake, which was a nice compliment to the hot cocoa.

And there you have it - a simple and easy holiday party idea! Well I hope this post makes transitioning into the colder months a little easy and inspires you to start planning your own fun holiday activities. As always, we love to hear from you and in fact if you know of any fun holiday party themes do let us know and we can share it with the Aalayam community.

And now, an announcement-We picked a winner for our TJ MAXX home goods gift card giveaway (which we had announced in our Diwali post). Initially, we were going to limit it to new members or existing members who introduced new members to the Aalayam community but since the response was limited, Supriya and I decided to include readers who commented in the last 4 posts as eligible entrants.

Congratulations, Radhika Thampuran!! You are the winner of our giveaway. Please email your contact details to aalayaminspiration@gmail.com so we can mail you the gift card.

  Cheers!

~Deepa

P.S: All images in this post are from my home and taken by my husband. Please do not use without permission.