Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the cocoa is so delightful. Nothing says “cozy” like a cup of heaven in your hands, and today I’m sharing my best hot cocoa bar ideas for the holidays.

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Pinterest Challenge: Hot Cocoa Bar Ideas

It’s here again! It’s another Pinterest Challenge featuring several talented bloggers trying their hands at one inspiring photo.

Cindy from County Road 407 hosts this lovely hop, and I gotta tell you, it’s one of my favorites!

If you haven’t met Cindy, be sure to pay her a visit. I never leave her site without a big grin on my face!

If you’re coming over from Decorate & More with Tip, thanks for stopping by! Terrie is always so creative and craftsy!

The Inspiration: Hot Cocoa Bar

This inspiration for this month’s hop comes from Pen + Paper Flowers and her styling of a hot chocolate bar.

I love the rustic black and white color scheme in Jessica’s hot chocolate station, and I immediately knew I wanted to play with the chalkboard-like elements.

However, I added a bit more (okay a lot more) pops of red and green to set off the black…

I also couldn’t resist adding more calories to complement my “cup of cheer.” I like to have a bite of cheer too!

You can see a video of how I put the whole bar together below in this YouTube video.

Hot Cocoa Bar Ideas: Main Ingredients

For the hot cocoa bar supplies, I focused on the essentials:

• Abuelita’s Mexican hot chocolate mix
• Mini marshmallows
• Candy canes
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate syrup or sprinkles

Okay, so I understand Abuelita’s hot chocolate is not a holiday staple in many households, but if you’ve never tried it, you really must! It has the flavor of cinnamon baked into the powder, and you mix it with milk instead of water. We’re talking rich!

Cookies and Candies For the Sweet Tooth

While I know this is all about hot chocolate bar ideas, I like to have some snacks to support my main star.

Three sugary snacks made the cut:

• Yogurt covered pretzels (for a dash of salt)
• Chocolate covered almonds (for a nutty crunch)
• Chocolate chip cookies with cherries (just because)
• Homemade white chocolate nutcrackers (because they’re cute)

You would not BELIEVE how many times my twin boys asked me if they could eat one of the candy canes on display. Oh, the torture they endure while mommy photographs!

DIY Hot Chocolate Bar Sign

The first two elements you’ll notice are my DIY pennant banner and the mini chalkboard sign perched on the upper right corner of my sideboard.

After making a fall pennant banner with my Cameo machine, I decided to do the same for this hot chocolate bar.

I found the chalkboard font for my banner in my round-up of 21 free Christmas fonts, and I loved it so much, I used my Cameo to sketch individual ingredient labels, too.

You’ll notice my freehand skills are somewhat lacking in the handwritten chalkboard sign, but I’m all about adding a touch of “authenticity” to my beverage stations!

Hot Chocolate Bar Decor & Servingware

For the remaining decor, I used a combination of place card holders, a mini Christmas tree and decorative letters and ribbon. A little baker’s twine and pretty farmhouse ribbon go a long way.

Would you guess that the table linen is actually a wrap from the Target dollar spot? It didn’t exactly meet the $1 criterion, but I’ll let this one slide, Target.

To echo the wooden box in Jessica’s original post, I used a wooden tiered tray that I use every season for decorating and entertaining.

The white cake stand is actually two stacked together. You may recognize the smaller one from my ultimate charcuterie board post. It’s perfect for mixing and matching!

My sweet mom loaned me the pretty Christmas plates, and they bring back “all the feels” from Christmases long ago.

The mugs were also a Target find last year. I couldn’t resist the fact that they came in a large and small size…perfect for our family of four.

A Final Look

Here’s a look at the finished hot cocoa station waiting to entertain our guests this holiday season. Not even the little soldier nutcrackers will be able to defend the attack.

Shop the Look

Pin it for later!

Happy Holidays, and enjoy your cup of hot chocolate!

More Hot Cocoa Bar Ideas

Be sure to check out more delicious hot chocolate stations from my other friends below, starting with our host, Cindy from County Road 407.