Hot Chocolate Bar at Home

[ParadiseLaundry]

I know this is the kind of twee Christmas shit mumsnetters typically hate but here goes!

Who has one, is going to have one and what sort of things will you have on it? Also I'd love to see some pictures for inspiration!

I've got some mini marshmallows and candy canes in a Christmas mug but really fancy a nice sign or some other little touches to make it a bit nicer.

Following for inspiration as I just drove to Costa for a hot choc to lay in the bath with! Other that I only drink tea so nothing fancy needed for that!

Flavoured syrups?

Home made chocolate squiggles (I don’t know the right name for this - pour warm melted chocolate onto greaseproof paper, a circle with lines of chocolate poured back and forth to make hatch pattern) peel off when hard, store for later use. To use float on top of the drink and watch it melt or put on top of ice cream).

Squirty cream.
Fresh cream.
Chocolate buttons.
Biscuits to dip in the hot choc.

I’m starving now, off to make a hot choc and scoff a biscuit.....

Home bargains have small bottles of flavoured syrup for £1, I got the hazelnut one to add to hot choc because it's like Nutella hot choc 🤤 they also have the snowflake marshmallow toppers and hot chocolate stirrers. I got mini gingerbread man and chocolate penguin biscuits from Tesco to put on top of our hot chocolates

I would look on instagram for inspiration. Set it up like a coffee bar.

Do you have a hot choclate maker like a velevtizer?

I'd clear dedicated space on a counter top / cupboard and set it out with lovely mugs, kilner jars with chocolate buttons x 3 types (dark, milk, white), marshmallows in jars large and mini, candy canes in a jar, syrups if you're into them. A decorative 'twee' container for the hot chocolate itself

Squirty cream in the fridge.

Fairy light or / and bunting hung around the space
Sounds fun!

Ah thanks for the great ideas and lovely responses, I was expecting to be flamed although there's still time yet

Love the chocolate squiggles idea, DS1 was just complaining we hadn't baked for a while and that definitely counts as baking! I'll get him to do it! We have some Christmas sprinkles to put on so could add those before they dry too!

Mini syrups from Home Bargains is a good shout too, I love any excuse to go in there!

Love the fairy lights idea (in my head I'm thinking lights that look like candy canes if such a think exists!) I put a little Xmas Garland with lights on top of the above counter units so it's framed in a nice Christmassy way!

We already have the coffee machine there so it will be around that.

Look up hot chocolate bombes.....thank me later

I’m going to have one this year. I have lovely glass jars stashed up in my attic that I can use and I’m going to grate up different types of chocolate bars into them. I have some Aldi snowmen, some caramel stirrers, squirty cream, candy canes, mini marshmallows and a bottle of Baileys for me. I might dip mug rims in melted chocolate and sprinkles too. I have extra Christmas mugs so I can spare a few plain ones and do them all in one go. I’ve ordered a bottle of cherry syrup too so we can have Black Forest hot chocolate. And I have a big glass jar to put cookies in as well.

I’m usually much more restrained but feck it!

Baileys. That is all!

I managed to get a tired tray to do one this year. We’ve got the Tesco Christmas hot choc selection box, sprinkles, candy canes, Aldi snowman hot choc bombs and I’m looking out for the biscuits that hook in the edge of the mugs.

We’ve been doing this for a few years. I have a 3 shelf trolley which is decorated with tinsel and fairy lights. On the bottom shelf are all the Christmas mugs. The middle shelf has tiny gingerbread men, festive friend biscuits, and other chocolate curls etc to out on the top of the hot chocolate. The top shelf has numerous types of hot chocolate and syrups. There is squirty cream, candy canes and sprinkles. We have 3 types of marshmallows ( standard, halal and vegan) to cover our family and any visitor needs ( if only).

8pm is hot choc time in our house - be there or be square.

I’ve just ordered a mould to make some hot chocolate bombes too.

Aldi are doing a version of the Hotel Chocolat velvetiser for £40

@Angel2702 what is this hot chocolate selection box you speak of? I've searched but I can't find it & it sounds like something I NEED!

There’s a hot chocolate selection pack of four in home bargains. Under a fiver. They also have the gingerbread hook on mug biscuits, with Santa or elves etc iced in them. Think there were four in that pack too. Again great value, two quid or something.

I was perfectly happy to put a few cups and jars on the counter and now I need to cobble together a tiered tray, consider the mood lighting and bake gingerbread house mug huggers

I'm now also considering if I can fit one into our kitchen too!
I think teen dd would LOVE it. I have ordered a Hotel Chocolat velvetiser but it's for Christmas. In the meantime I could set up a station and buy a load of the chocolate spoons and get it going that way and add the velevtiser once it's opened.....

hmmm....will google images later for inspiration! I'd like a 3 tier trolley though

Put smarties in the hot chocolate. The shell holds together but the chocolate inside melts. It’s amazing.
Oh and Cointreau!

Every christmas I make hot chocolate dippers using layers of different chocolates, ie white , dark, milk and ruby in a silicone mold

like this Might attempt the little alcohol ones this year

Fab idea OP!

I did a Hot chocolate stand at my daughters fourth birthday last year. It was extremely popular! I laid out fake snow and made a vat of hot chocolate in the slow cooker! I put candy canes whipped cream cinnamon and chocolate sprinkles on the side. I also ordered personalised cups with snowflakes on but that's only because it was a party!

Amazing inspiration here everyone thank you! DS1 was in the living room eating a petit filou and I've just ran through to tell him not to put the pot in the recycling! Those stirers on Good Food look amazing!

Smarties in the hot chocolate

I need to buy some more Xmas mugs I think... anyone seen any nice cheap ones? I feel like they must be red and very over the top festive!

Off to google the velvetiser...

I always used to like this recipe from Jamie Oliver for Christmas hot chocolate www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate-recipes/epic-hot-chocolate/

But I think stirers are so much less hassle and look nicer displayed. I do like how thick and lovely the mixture is though.

I ordered a velvetizer for dd for Christmas and it arrived today and I am SO tempted to just put it out!

I have hidden it for now, but it's so tempting....

I also need some more festive mugs!

Bits of broken up honeycomb or Oreos to sprinkle on top!

Paradiselaundry
Last year i did some stirrers that were half filled with ruby chocolate and then white chocolate on top, decorated with a sprinkling of dried raspbery powder, they were really nice.
Cake sprinkles with tiny bits of fudge and gold stars etc also go well

Put 2 or 3 in cellophane bags with miniature marshmallows and mini gingerbread men biscuits, mcvities do little packs of them

We’ve been talking about getting this M&S chocolate cream for the top of our hot chocolate www.ocado.com/products/m-s-collection-chocolate-cream-533203011

If you want the best chocolate drink buy cocoa, make in a pan with a little sugar to taste, it is amazing compared to hot chocolate. For extras mini marshmallows, squirty cream, shaved chocolate curls (dark chocolate and a vegetable peeler) or Cadbury flake crumbled work well