DIY Hot Cocoa Bar Ideas
Set up a hot cocoa bar for parties with these ideas for toppings and decoration, plus hosting tips to make it easy. Guests can customize their hot chocolate at this interactive bar that’s perfect for kids and adults alike!

You can set this up for Christmas parties and then leave it up all season for impromptu winter gatherings, or an after school treat for the kids. That’s what I did when I first shared this idea back in 2014.
I set up the hot cocoa mix with some basic toppings on a side buffet table, and let them mix their own treats after school. They absolutely loved it!
Why You’ll Love It
- This self-serve drink station is a fantastic theme party on its own, or an indulgent focal point you can incorporate into any fall or winter gathering. Think birthday parties, a winter wonderland party, apres-ski or post-ice skating party, or any Christmas entertaining you do.
- People love to customize their food and drinks. This is the ultimate way to do that.
- It can double as an easy dessert station that requires no baking. Simply add some delicious bakery or store-bought treats to the table like I’ve done here.
- It’s easy to switch up the details to make this appropriate for other holidays too. For Easter, use Peeps for the marshmallow topping and follow a pastel color scheme. For Halloween or Thanksgiving, switch the colors to autumn tones with themed mugs and ghostly merengues.
- You can add as much or as little to the bar as you like. Go all out with toppings, or simply add the classics with marshmallows, sprinkles and whipped cream.

Where to Set Up
First things first, you’ll need an empty space big enough to hold all the accoutrements. If you’re serving this for a party, you can clean off any convenient location such as these:
- Kitchen island or countertop
- Sideboard
- Folding table
- An open shelf
- A home bar
- Entry hall table
If you want to keep a self-serve station set up for the kids or guests all season, make sure you have the space or utilize one of these options:
- Tray
- Charcuterie board style
- Sideboard
What You Need
You don’t need anything complicated or fancy to make a cute presentation and conversation piece. However, these are some of my best style tips and helpful recommendations.
- Hot milk. Keep it hot in an insulated carafe or thermos. Using whole milk will give you the creamiest, most luxurious hot chocolate, but 2% can also work well. Warm it in a saucepan on the stove, just until steaming. You don’t want it to boil or it can scald. Then transfer it to a coffee carafe, thermos, or electric kettle.
- Hot water (optional). I find that using hot water and then adding in whipped cream gives a similar effect to using milk, in a pinch. Add chocolate pieces so it melts in the cocoa can also give it more richness.
- Hot cocoa mix. Fill an apothecary jar with the mix like I did here, or a large kitchen jar or canister. This way you can set up the bar for an extended period of time, and people can make their own as they wish. You can find large canisters of hot cocoa mix at Walmart to make setup super easy. Alternatively, serve prepared homemade hot chocolate and keep it warm in a slow cooker or insulated server.
- Prepared white hot chocolate mix (optional).
- A coffee pod machine is also an option and makes it easy to prepare single servings. Just fill a jar or bowl with hot chocolate pods.
- Mugs or disposable coffee cups with lids.
- Toppings (see below).
- Stir sticks or spoons.
- Containers to hold toppings. Small jars, bowls, mini bottles, and squeeze bottles.
- Scoop to add the hot cocoa to the mugs.
- Spoons to dish out toppings.
- Small tags and bakers twine if it’s necessary to label some items.
- Decorate with a Hot Chocolate Bar sign if you want.
Quick Tip
You can also use a k-cup machine and run water through the cycle without a pod inside, so you get piping hot water for the hot cocoa.

How To Set It Up
- Use trays to help corral things together or to place your mug on while you’re creating your drink.
- Add lifts in the way of boxes, wood stands, or books to help add height and make it easier to reach items in the back.
- Label the items with tent cards or tags.
- Serve everything in pretty jars, bowls, footed dishes, and decanters.
- Use vintage shakers or pretty modern shakers for cinnamon, nutmeg or cayenne. Make sure they’re labeled as they look very similar.
- Add serving spoons or tongs as needed.
- Stack cups or mugs and add gingerbread men or mini houses to the rim.

Toppings
This is where creativity begins! Adding delicious stir-ins and toppings to your hot chocolate takes it to the next level. Choose whichever toppings appeal to you most.
The key is to have a variety of choices in both flavor and texture. Let the size of your gathering guide you; the bigger the group, the more toppings. Here’s a list to choose from.
- Shaved chocolate or chocolate sprinkles.
- Whipped cream – homemade is great but Cool Whip holds up better over time, and canned whipped cream is easy to use and tastes similar to homemade.
- Marshmallows – include various shapes, sizes and flavors. Find gourmet varieties online, or make them homemade.
- Mini chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
- Stroopwafels or Pizzelles – if you place one on top of a filled hot mug, the heat will help melt and soften the caramel inside. So good!
- Crushed cookies – Oreos, graham crackers, meringues, gingersnaps.
- Crushed Butterfinger bars or Reese’s Cups.
- Peanut butter chips or Reese’s Pieces.
- Toffee bits or Butterscotch chips.
- M&M’s.
- Flaked or shaved coconut – lightly toast them to add crunch and deepen the flavor.
- Crushed nuts – Chopped peanuts, pecans or sliced almonds; lightly toast the pecans and almonds beforehand to bring out their flavor.
- Crushed peppermint or starlight candies.
Stir-Ins
For liquid items, use pretty bottles with pour spouts, or mini pitchers. For sauces and syrups, pour them into squeeze bottles that are easy to use without making a mess.
- Caramel sauce
- Strawberry syrup
- Chocolate sauce
- Flavored syrups
- Eggnog
- Chocolate bombs
Add-Ins for Adults
A little shot of spirits in the form of flavored liqueurs makes this an excellent drink for grownups. Add 2 or 3 options from the list below.
- Bailey’s Irish Cream
- Kahlua
- Amaretto
- Vanilla vodka
- Rumchata
- Peppermint liqueur
- Spiced rum
- Cinnamon schnapps or Fireball

Stir Sticks
Consider these your edible stir sticks. They can double as a treat and to help blend flavors together.
- Peppermint sticks, candy canes
- Chocolate spoons or peppermint spoons
- DIY chocolate sticks
- Cinnamon sticks
- Pirouette sticks
- Rock candy sticks

Garnishes
Finish off your masterpiece with a sprinkling of spices or a cherry on top!
- Cocoa powder
- Cinnamon sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Cayenne pepper
- Luxardo cherries or maraschino cherries

Make it a Dessert Bar
Serve finger food treats on the bar to really amp up the sweet factor and it becomes a dessert table. I suggest hand held or bite-size desserts rather than cakes or pies. That way it’s easy to eat with one hand while holding the cup in the other. Here are some favorites.
- Gingerbread Cookies and other varieties (lace cookies, crunchy amaretti, peanut butter double chip cookies, etc.)
- Snowman meringues
- Chocolate dipped pretzels
- Chocolate truffles or Oreo balls
- Biscotti
- Donuts
- Chocolate bark
- Cracker toffee
- Brownies or bars


Quick Tip
Turn your hot chocolate into a cold treat. Let it cool slightly and then add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to it. It will be divine!

Decorations
- Santa Claus mugs are so cute for Christmas. For other times of the year you can simply use white mugs.
- Disposable hot beverage cups with heat bands can be good for a larger crowd if you don’t have enough mugs. They’re also good if you’ll be outdoors.
- Cake stands and tiered stands add height to the display and make things in the back row easier to reach. You can even stack two stands of varying sizes, on top of one another.
- Jars, shakers, bowls, small bottles for holding the add-ins.
- Wire baskets
- Trays and platters
- Tags and twine, or place cards to label anything that needs identifying.
- Backdrop or decoration above the table, such as the wreath I’ve hung here. Other great options are chalkboard, empty frame, hanging banner or garland, balloon arch, seasonal art canvas or wall fringe from the party store.
- Hot Cocoa or Hot Chocolate sign
- Cute napkins

More Fun Ideas
- Send guests home with a personalized mug.
- Put the homemade hot cocoa mix into jars to make guests favors to take home.
- For Christmas, make this party a mug gift exchange using White Elephant gift rules or Secret Santa rules.
- Create a hot chocolate board for a trendy display. Fill the board with a jar of hot cocoa mix, and your chosen add-ins. Refer to the traditional charcuterie board design for placement ideas.
Set Up For Everyday Use
These tips will work for an afternoon snack where kids can serve themselves. And if you keep a mini hot cocoa bar set up throughout the season, you can change up the offerings each week!
- Use a large mason jar to hold marshmallows, and a large glass canister to hold the hot chocolate mix.
- Add a scoop to the mix and make sure the children know how many scoops to use per 6 or 8 ounces of water.
- You can print out the instructions and place them in a frame if you like.
- Keeping things on trays keeps everything neat and tidy.


I simply made space on a table that’s against a chalkboard wall and put out the basic supplies, including:
- Disposable cups
- Glass measuring cup (for measuring and microwaving water)
- Large jar of hot cocoa mix from Walmart
- Mini marshmallows
- Chocolate chips
- Chocolate & peppermint spoons
Use a large silver tray to hold all the items together and keep spills contained.
More Drink Station Ideas
Setting up a DIY hot cocoa bar is just one of the fantastic party ideas where guests serve themselves. Here are some other drink stations you can create.
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DIY Hot Cocoa Bar
Customize a mug of hot chocolate with this interactive hot cocoa bar with toppings, mix-ins and garnishes. This makes the perfect drink station for parties and holiday gatherings, and appeals to kids and adults alike.
Ingredients
- 8 cups whole milk or hot water
- 1 large container of hot cocoa mix (homemade or find large canister at Walmart, or use pods with machine)
Toppings
- Marshmallows, Whipped Cream, chocolate chips or sprinkles, crushed cookies, crushed candies, M&M's, toffee bits, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, crushed peanuts, crushed peppermints
Stir Ins
- Caramel sauce, Strawberry syrup, Chocolate sauce, Flavored syrups, Eggnog, Chocolate bombs
Adult Stir Ins
- Bailey’s Irish Cream, Kahlua, Amaretto, Vanilla vodka, Rumchata, Peppermint liqueur, Spiced Rum, Cinnamon schnapps or Fireball
Stir Sticks
- Peppermint sticks, candy canes, Chocolate spoons or peppermint spoons, chocolate spoons, Cinnamon sticks, Pirouette cookie sticks, Rock candy sticks
Garnishes
- Cocoa powder, Cinnamon sugar, Ground cinnamon, Cayenne pepper, Luxardo cherries for maraschino cherries
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, heat milk (or water) over medium heat just until steaming (about 140 degrees). Don't let the milk boil or it can scald. Transfer to an insulated carafe.
- Choose a couple of items from each category and place them in jars, bottles, or bowls along with spoons or scoops.
- For hot cocoa, mix 2 tablespoons of powdered mixture with 6 to 8 ounces of hot milk or water in a mug, and stir until dissolved. Top with your choice of toppings.
Notes
If serving whipped cream from a can (like Reddi Wip) place it in an ice bucket as you would a bottle of champagne, to keep cold.
Add hand held dessert treats like cookies, brownies, bars, and meringues, to snack on with the hot chocolate.
This is the perfect little nook to keep up all winter!
Kim, my kids have already asked me, “where’s the hot cocoa bar” for this year. LOL
Chris, this is very interesting. Somehow I missed this post, but I’m glad I see it now. I may reproduce this idea at home. Cheers!
What a wonderful idea. My daughter married in December, and we had a hot chocolate bar set up in one of the rooms – so cute and such a hit!!
Love this, Chris!! I just might have to do something like this!
Do it, Michelle! 😉