Festive and fun ideas for a Carols, Cookies, and Cocoa Party!
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I was very pleased how our Hot Cocoa and Cookie table turned out this year for our annual caroling party. Last year our table, was just that, a table with goodies. This year it had a little more character. A bit more Pinterest worthy, don’t you think? 🙂
My husband and I really enjoy the Caroling Party we throw each year. Singing Christmas carols is a great way to get into the holiday spirit. It is also such a simple service that we have found many appreciate.
But first a fun story…
Excuse me as I take a slight detour to share a proud mama moment that has to do with Christmas carols…
I started introducing carols to my boys during our morning singing time back in November to prep for the holiday season. Two weeks before Christmas, my boys and I were sitting in the back of our church’s chapel waiting for my husband who was in the choir. They practiced “Silent Night” and then began “Angels We have Heard on High”.
As soon as they did, Boston began singing along with them. Heads started turning our way as the song led into the chorus and Boston began singing more emphatically (the “Gloooo ooooo ria” is definitely his favorite part 😉 ).
During our church service the next Sunday when the choir went up to sing. Boston wanted to go too (hey they did mention that everyone was welcome to join the choir). Before they began, my husband leaned over and asked him to sing just a little quieter.
Boston did a WONDERFUL job singing with the choir!
I’m glad I sat in the middle of the chapel or I wouldn’t have been able to see him since he is only 3. He sang along, gaily smiling out at the audience. It was most definitely a proud mama moment.
Now back to the Carols, Cookies, & Cocoa Party!
The Cocoa
We made homemade hot chocolate ready to serve instead of having hot cocoa packets. This was much more convenient for our guests and less messy for us.
To add variety to everyone’s cocoa, we had a few toppings to choose from: crushed Andes mints, crushed Andes peppermints (I like how these melt quicker than candy canes), mini chocolate chips, marshmallows, candy canes, caramel, and of course whipped cream.
I didn’t go hog wild and label everything on our hot chocolate bar. I figured people could tell the difference between the marshmallows and candy canes. 😉 But I did use a few labels on things that may have been questioned like the caramel sauce. You can download the hot chocolate labels HERE.
And for those of your that enjoy lots of labels, I designed a few MORE hot chocolate labels to choose from with you in mind. 🙂 You can download them for free HERE.
Originally, I was planning to use the tiny chalkboard signs to label every single item. Instead I opted to write Christmas themed phrases on a few of them and I liked the result. 🙂
Mastering the Marshmallow Stir Sticks
My husband and I… well actually my husband, pretty much mastered the art of making coated marshmallow stir sticks. They weren’t difficult to make at all!
He used melted white chocolate to keep the stick in place in the marshmallow. After allowing a little time to pass to let that harden, he also used the melted white chocolate to coat the candy on.
We found the marshmallows stand up A LOT better when the candy is only rolled around the sides of the marshmallow rather than the bottom and sides. This way they are also much more pleasing to look at. You can see in the back a few of the first ones we made.
The Carols
Despite the rain and massive thunderstorms of that night, several families came. Thankfully there was a clearing for a half an hour which allowed us to carol without getting drenched.
Before we went outside to sing to our neighbors, I handed candles to the adults and bell bracelets
The Cookies
Along with the hot chocolate, we had mint brownies and sour cream cookies for all to enjoy. A good thing too because the weather wasn’t very compatible for our party. It was a warm night, so not a lot of people were into the ‘hot’ part of the hot chocolate.
Owell, what I like about this year’s hot chocolate table is all I have to do is change out a few things and my Hot Chocolate display is good for any winter month. 🙂 All I can say is, bring on the snow!
Will you be hosting a Carols, Cookies, & Cocoa party?
Tag @_aspenjay on Instagram or send me a photo. I WANNA SEE!!! 🙂
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
All designs are for personal use only, and cannot be resold or redistributed.
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Hello!
Our ward is doing a hot chocolate Christmas party this year & these are perfect! Thank you for sharing them!
When I go to print the Pres. Hunter quote, there is a large gray square over the top half. I saw other people had the same problem a couple years ago. When I save it to my computer & print it that way, it prints without the gray box but only in a 5×7 size.
Can you help? I’d really love to be able to print it at the 8×10 size without the gray box.
Thanks so much!
C. Walker
mncwalker@msn.com
Hi C!
How fun! That’s awesome you are able to have a Christmas party in the mist of all this craziness! I’m so sorry you are having trouble printing the quote! That’s no good! Did you try printing it from a different printer? Or opening it from a different computer and then printing it? Did you download it first before printing it? I double checked printing it from mine and it didn’t have a problem. Let me know if any of those options work!
Best of luck with all the Christmas party preparations!!!
Cheers,
AJ
I love these ideas, especially those marshmallows! I am planning a hot chocolate bar for our family Christmas next weekend, and I’ve added them to our list! Thanks for linking up to Funtastic Friday
How fun! I’m glad to have helped a little with your chocolate bar. 🙂 Thanks for hosting the party and for the kind comment! Merry Christmas!
What a lovely idea – and what a great way to warm up after carolling! Your Hot Chocolate Bar would be a great party centrepiece for any holiday occasion. Thank you for sharing it with us at Hearth and Soul. I’ve featured it at this week’s party – hope to ‘see’ you there!
Thanks for hosting the party April! 🙂
That looks so delicious and sounds like such a fun holiday tradition!
Oh it is! 🙂 We look forward to it every year and so do our ‘regulars’ who attend. 🙂
What a neat idea!
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Thanks for hosting the party Jess!
What a creative and delicious set up! I have such fond memories of caroling with family and friends when I was growing up. This is a great idea for making the whole evening quite the event. Thanks for sharing your wonderful ideas.
Thanks Melanie for your sweet comment! So do you and your family still go caroling?! It seems to be a lost art to so many.
No, our family hasn’t continued that tradition, unfortunately. It does seem to be a lost art.
AJ, your hot chocolate bar is absolutely stunning! I want one just like it. I love all the props you use the wood rounds and the wooden box. The mason jars are filled and the spoons with the tops decorated. All the little touches are just gorgeous. We have not gone caroling for many years, perhaps next year I will steal your hot chocolate bar ideas and print off a few songs for us to Carol around the neighborhood. Sounds like a great evening. Happy holidays!
Thanks for taking the time to write such a sweet note Nikki! I hope you do throw a caroling party next year (or you still have time this year 😉 ). I cannot wait to see your pictures from it! I know your neighbors will appreciate it. 🙂 Thanks for hosting your link party!
I love this so much. Great suggestion on the Andes mints and how to roll the candies on the sides of the marshmallows. Great party!
Thanks Cathy! I LOVE the Andes mints because they melt fast changing a cup of hot chocolate quickly to mint hot chocolate or peppermint. 🙂 Oh so good!!!
So cute and festive! I love this idea! Pinning now…
Thanks Anne! Super easy party to throw too!
this is so adorable! I love the idea of this for the holidays!
Thanks Tianna! It’s such a fun party!
This is gorgeous! I would be proud to invite anyone in with this set up in my foyer. I love the chalkboard lettering. Just amazing.
Thanks Amy!😊
Yummy! It all looks so delicious. I hope you’ll stop by to share it with us at The Crafty Corner link party!
Thanks for hosting the link party Antonella!
I love your hot chocolate bar AJ, so much fun and so festive!!
Katrin!!! Hi! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I love this!!! Such a great idea – so festive 🙂
Sarah Bell
Trendy & Tidy
Thanks Sarah! It’s such an easy party to throw!
So festive! Loving everything about this dessert bar. Stopping by from the Let’s Be Friends party.
Hi Christine! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
a-dorable!!!! I love the whole caroling party idea too! Did you write all those chalk board signs? You’ve got true talent girl! Absolutely fabulous!!
Thanks Chellie! I did write out the chalkboard sign. Let me tell you I always have a hard time erasing my ‘artwork’ -if you can call it that. 😉 Thanks for stopping by.
Where did you find bells? What a great party!!
Thanks Natica!
I found the bell bracelets at Michaels. 🙂 All the kids loved them!
AJ,
This is definitely Pinterest worthy! Everything looks so cute! I love the story of Boston with the choir too. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.
Carlee
Thanks Carlee! 🙂 Besides a little sickness that struck our home, we did have a wonderful Christmas. Hopefully you did too!