UPDATE: If you’d like to see part 2 of the Hot Chocolate Bar, click here.
Hey there! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! We had a great time with the family…eating, playing games, eating, talking, eating, laughing…we did a lot of laughing & that burns calories so I’m even. ;p Here’s a picture to show how serious the men of the family take Movember –
I just realized that I gave the guys that had the least amount of hair on their head the longest beards. ;p Love you Dad & Uncle Ken. ;p
Okay…back to parties people. What’s one of the best things about cold Christmas nights? Snuggling up with a cup of hot chocolate! And if you’re planning a Christmas party in the midst of the hustle & bustle you want something easy, fast & not too bad for your wallet.
Enter the Hot Chocolate Bar…
Simple treats, great for adults & kids, self-serve drinks & easy.
This was my menu –
Gingerbread Biscotti (made from Gingerbread cake mix)
Popcorn Cones
Mini Grilled Cheese Croissants
Sugar Cookie Peppermint pops
For the Hot Chocolate, I gave suggestions of drink combinations, giving each a name based on Santas reindeer:
Dasher:
Sea Salt + Caramel + Whipped Cream
Cupid:
Rasberry Syrup + White Chocolate Shavings + Whipped Cream
Blitzen:
Crushed Graham Crackers + Chocolate Syrup + Marshmallows
Rudolph:
Crushed Peppermint + Marshmallows + Whipped Cream
It was really fun & easy to put together. For favors, I made No Sew Sock Mug Jackets & got some cheap white mugs so guests could bring those home too.
But…I’ll show you those next Wednesday morning. I know…cruel. I’ll also tell you how I made the grilled cheese croissants, gingerbread biscotti, popcorn cones & peppermint cookie pops.
One thing I will tell you is that snowball garland strung above the table???
That’s made from cotton balls. I took a needle & ran string through cotton balls.
Let me know if there’s any questions you have so I can answer them next week.
P.S. Sorry about the pictures. It was the gloomiest day ever & I couldn’t get the lighting right. I was hoping I could edit it to look okay but I still don’t like it. 🙁
What a great idea! Love it! Nice to meet you!
Debbie
What a great idea! Love it! Nice to meet you!
Debbie
What a great idea! Love it! Nice to meet you!
Debbie
Thank you so much Debbie! Great to meet you too! 🙂
Thank you so much Debbie! Great to meet you too! 🙂
Thank you so much Debbie! Great to meet you too! 🙂
O.K. I love this idea as my husband is having a party for his work (Dec 10th)at our house with 10 families. So around 30-40 people. There will be kids too that would love this. I need more neat ideas to go with this one…..have anymore??
O.K. I love this idea as my husband is having a party for his work (Dec 10th)at our house with 10 families. So around 30-40 people. There will be kids too that would love this. I need more neat ideas to go with this one…..have anymore??
O.K. I love this idea as my husband is having a party for his work (Dec 10th)at our house with 10 families. So around 30-40 people. There will be kids too that would love this. I need more neat ideas to go with this one…..have anymore??
Such a cute idea! I'm not much for throwing parties, but I love helping others plan them. I really like all of your ideas and will modify some of them to work with my 3K class. (I'm an afternoon teacher at a preschool in Marietta.) And I will definitely pass on the idea to my (much more extroverted and social) friend.
I love your blog (and the pictures that illustrate your ideas). Keep up the awesome work!
Such a cute idea! I'm not much for throwing parties, but I love helping others plan them. I really like all of your ideas and will modify some of them to work with my 3K class. (I'm an afternoon teacher at a preschool in Marietta.) And I will definitely pass on the idea to my (much more extroverted and social) friend.
I love your blog (and the pictures that illustrate your ideas). Keep up the awesome work!
Such a cute idea! I'm not much for throwing parties, but I love helping others plan them. I really like all of your ideas and will modify some of them to work with my 3K class. (I'm an afternoon teacher at a preschool in Marietta.) And I will definitely pass on the idea to my (much more extroverted and social) friend.
I love your blog (and the pictures that illustrate your ideas). Keep up the awesome work!
oh yeah, and my name is Christina. Nice to "meet" you. Almost forgot my manners there for a minute. 🙂
oh yeah, and my name is Christina. Nice to "meet" you. Almost forgot my manners there for a minute. 🙂
oh yeah, and my name is Christina. Nice to "meet" you. Almost forgot my manners there for a minute. 🙂
Denise…since you're hosting so many people…I'd set up a Hot Chocolate Bar (this will be simple & won't require you spending a ton of time in the kitchen)…a few treats (like popcorn, maybe some cookies) & why don't you have a Gingerbread house making competition between the families? You could include some fun additions…like the Moms of the group can't "do" any of the decorating, they can only advise the husbands. You can set the "time" for how long they have to make the houses by playing a Christmas medley…as soon as they hear Frosty (just an example), they know it's the last song b4 time is up. That would be fun for everyone & probably give a lot of laughter. It's hard when you have adults & kids together at a party…you don't want the adults to feel like they're not getting adult time with too many kid activities & you don't want the kids to be saying "I'm soo bored & tugging on their parents sleeves." This activity or something like it would really help everyone to have fun. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions. I'll be posting the 2nd part of the Hot Chocolate bar with tutorials & how tos next week. Let me know how it goes! heidi@heidirew.com
Denise…since you're hosting so many people…I'd set up a Hot Chocolate Bar (this will be simple & won't require you spending a ton of time in the kitchen)…a few treats (like popcorn, maybe some cookies) & why don't you have a Gingerbread house making competition between the families? You could include some fun additions…like the Moms of the group can't "do" any of the decorating, they can only advise the husbands. You can set the "time" for how long they have to make the houses by playing a Christmas medley…as soon as they hear Frosty (just an example), they know it's the last song b4 time is up. That would be fun for everyone & probably give a lot of laughter. It's hard when you have adults & kids together at a party…you don't want the adults to feel like they're not getting adult time with too many kid activities & you don't want the kids to be saying "I'm soo bored & tugging on their parents sleeves." This activity or something like it would really help everyone to have fun. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions. I'll be posting the 2nd part of the Hot Chocolate bar with tutorials & how tos next week. Let me know how it goes! heidi@heidirew.com
Denise…since you're hosting so many people…I'd set up a Hot Chocolate Bar (this will be simple & won't require you spending a ton of time in the kitchen)…a few treats (like popcorn, maybe some cookies) & why don't you have a Gingerbread house making competition between the families? You could include some fun additions…like the Moms of the group can't "do" any of the decorating, they can only advise the husbands. You can set the "time" for how long they have to make the houses by playing a Christmas medley…as soon as they hear Frosty (just an example), they know it's the last song b4 time is up. That would be fun for everyone & probably give a lot of laughter. It's hard when you have adults & kids together at a party…you don't want the adults to feel like they're not getting adult time with too many kid activities & you don't want the kids to be saying "I'm soo bored & tugging on their parents sleeves." This activity or something like it would really help everyone to have fun. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions. I'll be posting the 2nd part of the Hot Chocolate bar with tutorials & how tos next week. Let me know how it goes! heidi@heidirew.com
Thanks so much Christina! I appreciate your comment & your job as a teacher…one of the most important jobs in the world! 🙂
Thanks so much Christina! I appreciate your comment & your job as a teacher…one of the most important jobs in the world! 🙂
Thanks so much Christina! I appreciate your comment & your job as a teacher…one of the most important jobs in the world! 🙂
Very cute idea! And the cotton balls…ingenious! 🙂
Very cute idea! And the cotton balls…ingenious! 🙂
Very cute idea! And the cotton balls…ingenious! 🙂
Heidi, thank you for this FAB idea!! It was a big hit at our Church 4 Chicks' volunteers' party last night. 🙂 I also added a caramel apple spice option, which was very well-received as well. So fun!! Thanks again & Merry Christmas!
Heidi, thank you for this FAB idea!! It was a big hit at our Church 4 Chicks' volunteers' party last night. 🙂 I also added a caramel apple spice option, which was very well-received as well. So fun!! Thanks again & Merry Christmas!
Heidi, thank you for this FAB idea!! It was a big hit at our Church 4 Chicks' volunteers' party last night. 🙂 I also added a caramel apple spice option, which was very well-received as well. So fun!! Thanks again & Merry Christmas!
I love hot chocolate! This is such a cute party idea!