Skip to Content

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays

This post was sponsored by Keurig Green Mountain®. Thank you for supporting
the sponsors that 
help make The Sweetest Occasion possible!

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

When I think about entertaining during the holidays, I like things to feel really fun and special for friends and family, but not at the expense of my sanity. We have a huge family and a lot of obligations this time of year, so time can be limited and throwing extravagant parties just doesn’t make the cut on my list of priorities. What I love to do instead is have one really fun self-serve feature that feels festive and merry, and makes our guests get excited, without taking me all day to pull together. Enter this super fun spike your own hot cocoa station, which I created in collaboration with Keurig Green Mountain® as a nod to the holidays and National Hot Cocoa Day, which is today! We’re talking an epic hot cocoa bar with every kind of garnish and topping imaginable that will have your friends talking about your amazing holiday party long after the season has come and gone.

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

The star of the show here is the Keurig® K55 brewer, which makes brewing the perfect cup of hot cocoa quick and easy! I stacked a bunch of Swiss Miss® Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa and Swiss Miss® Peppermint Hot Cocoa K-Cup® pods on a cake stand and set out an assortment of mugs to make it really simple for guests to create their own cocoa concoction. I poured spiced rum, peppermint schnapps and Irish cream into simple glass carafes (which is prettier than setting the bottles out, but still really easy to pull off) and set out a jigger so it’s easy to spike at will. Then it’s all about the toppings and the stirrers and the dunkers! We’re talking loads of marshmallows in two varieties, candy canes, shredded coconut, sprinkles, chocolate covered pretzel rods, cookies, peppermint patties, and candy galore. A big bowl of homemade whipped cream was the final finishing touch, but you could just as easily set out a can of whipped cream and call it good!

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

My favorite part about doing a hot cocoa station like this is how simple it is to cater to every guest’s flavor preferences without a ton of effort. The peppermint lovers can brew a mug of Swiss Miss® Peppermint Hot Cocoa, add a shot of peppermint schnapps and garnish everything with pink peppermint marshmallows, whipped cream, sprinkles and a candy cane. The chocolate lovers can opt for Swiss Miss® Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa with a big splash of Irish cream and a dollop of homemade whipped cream with a chocolate chip cookie or two for dunking. (Um, that’s my personal favorite if you’re wondering!) The candy lovers can spike their cocoa with spiced rum and then load it up with marshmallows and a big handful of candy toppings. The possibilities are endless!

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

A Spike Your Own Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays | Christmas party ideas, hot cocoa recipes, Christmas party recipes and more from @cydconverse

If you’re still on the hunt for great gift ideas (like I definitely am), the Keurig® K55 brewer also makes a perfect gift for someone you love this year! It brews the perfect cup of cocoa, coffee or tea every single time with the touch of a button so it’s a really thoughtful way to treat someone. I personally love that I can easily make a cup of coffee while I’m juggling a baby on my hip and a dog circling my feet. Plus, then they’ll be able to create their own hot cocoa station and what could be better than that? For more sweet ways to show someone you love them this holiday season, be sure to check out the Keurig® gift guide!

post-line-before-credits

[Art direction + styling by Cyd Converse | Photos by Alice G. Patterson for The Sweetest Occasion.]

This post was sponsored by Keurig Green Mountain®. I received compensation for this post, but all opinions are my own. Read more about our editorial policies

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Breanna

Wednesday 14th of December 2016

This is my kind of hot cocoa station!

Cyd Converse

Thursday 15th of December 2016

Me too, Bre! xoxo

Lindsay - Shrimp Salad Circus

Wednesday 14th of December 2016

This is such a smart party idea. And I'll take #allthespicedrum for mine, please! ;)

Haeley Giambalvo

Wednesday 14th of December 2016

I love making hot cocoa in our Keurig. So easy to whip up a cup of coffee or cocoa when guests come over too! Love this party idea!

Cyd Converse

Wednesday 14th of December 2016

Yes, Haeley! That's exactly what I was going for here. Just quick, easy and totally fun for guests. Thank you! XO

Laurel

Wednesday 14th of December 2016

Yummmm I love hot cocoa and this sounds amazing!!

Cyd Converse

Wednesday 14th of December 2016

Thanks, Laurel! Hot cocoa is made especially tasty with a splash of Irish cream! ;-)

Sarah

Tuesday 13th of December 2016

Such a great idea for the holidays! I have a Keurig but haven't tried the hot cocoa, I'm going to have to!

Cyd Converse

Wednesday 14th of December 2016

The cocoa is really really good, Sarah! We've been drinking it almost daily since it showed up in the house. Oops! ;-)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.