Part of the fun of going out with the family for a holiday stroll, sledding, or a snowball fight, is coming back in to a warm house for a little treat.

Over the holidays, I like to set up a drink station in the morning and afternoon so family and friends can fix themselves a nice warm mug of cocoa, coffee, mocha or tea.

You can have a lot of fun setting up all treats. I put out giant marshmallows for the hot cocoa, and made chocolate spoons to stir into hot cocoa or coffee to make it a mocha.

To set up the station, I use some trays and bowls. A thermal carafe is great for keeping drinks hot and I love an electric percolator for a crowd.

I try to put out herbal and black tea and a variety of sweeteners to meet everyone’s preferences.

Chocolate Spoons

What you need

• 8-10 spoons, I like to use compostable bamboo spoons
• 1 piece of waxed paper or parchment paper 8×13 or so
• 1 bar of dark chocolate
• 1 bar of white chocolate
• 1 TBSP of egg nog or cream
• optional: orange zest, crushed mint candies, mallow bits marshmallows

Directions

1. In a microwave safe mug, break up the chocolate bar into small segments. Keep one small square aside.
2. Microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds at a time, mixing the chocolate every 30 seconds until melted.
3. Add the last piece of chocolate to the bug and mix until silky, shiny and melted.
4. Do the same with the white chocolate. This tends to be thicker and my need up to 1 TBSP of cream or egg nog to make it smooth.
5. Dip the spoon in the chocolate and let the excess drip off. If you want the spoons extra chocolatey, let the spoon hold more chocolate and lay it carefully flat.
6. Sprinkle with orange zest or crushed mints. Drizzle with white chocolate using a fork. Or, leave the spoons covered in pure dark or white chocolate.

Here are some items that you can get from Wayfair to help with your hot beverage bar:

• compostable spoons
• fabric napkins
• a placemat for the mugs
• a thermal carafe
• a tray for toppings & sugars
• a glass cookie jar for giant marshmallows or holiday cookies
• holiday candles and little details like an evergreen snowflake