One of my favorite things to do after dinner on winter nights is to make myself a nice cup of hot chocolate. It is the perfect after dinner treat. For years, our family tradition is to open gifts Christmas morning at my parent’s house while sipping hot chocolate and enjoying my dad’s homemade cinnamon buns. It’s not just any kind of hot chocolate, it’s heaven on earth, made from scratch hot chocolate.

As you may have read, this year, I wanted to create a station dedicated solely to this decadent drink. I’d purchased the hot chocolate sign for our housewarming party and knew it would be the cutest addition to the station. I broke out my trusty Dollar Tree silver tray, arranged some cinnamon and peppermint sticks, added in some mini marshamallows and these gorgeous Nicole Miller cups and saucers from T.J. Maxx. I moved our electric kettle from the kitchen to the station for the time being, even though I usually make my cocoa with milk (either way is great but I just love the creaminess the milk gives it.).  The last step was to make the mix.The recipe is below and makes an ENORMOUS batch. Like 100, 1 cup servings, enormous. Make sure you have a very large bowl to mix everything in if you’re doing the full recipe.

Styling Harvard’s Hot Chocolate Mix

1 – 16 oz container of quick chocolate drink mix
1 box (8 quarts) non-fat dry milk
1 – 8 oz jar non-dairy coffee creamer
1 cup confectioner’s sugar

Mix ingredients well in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container for freshness.

For serving, mix 1/3 cup of cocoa mix with 2/3 cup boiling water or milk. Garnish, serve and enjoy!

XO,