How a Hot Chocolate Bar Can Inspire Your Winter Party

As a child, one of the hallmarks of the holiday season was when it would finally be cold enough to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. Usually our hot chocolate tradition would start the day of the first snowfall, when after my sister and I would come inside from playing with the neighborhood kids, my mom would help us warm our fingers by making large mugs of hot chocolate for us to wrap our hands around.

When Johnson & Johnson and The Motherhood asked me to share my own holiday traditions, I realized that now that my husband and I have children of our own, we are navigating our way through developing our own special family moments. Sometimes we are successful (driving around to look at Christmas lights) and other traditions have been flops (the elf on the shelf who is wearing a mask, is mysteriously bound in string, and has never moved from the same spot on our tree). However, one new tradition that we have started is to ring in the holidays with friends, family, and a hot chocolate bar.

To say our first hot chocolate bar was a hit would be an understatement. At first guests were tentative to approach the bar, so I dug in to model what to do. Soon afterwards, guests excitedly lined up at our two coffee machines to brew their own delectable treats.

Each guest got a disposable cup with a DIY jersey fleece snowflake cozy to brew their drinks. We added cold milk or ice to the kids’ drinks to make sure it was the right temperature.

After brewing their hot chocolate, guests added toppings. We had chocolate-coated spoons, chocolate chips, toffee chips, white chocolate, sprinkles, candy canes, candies, marshmallows, and caramel syrup.

Using little wooden scoops, guests added toppings to customize their drinks. It added a fun, creative twist to the party and created lots of opportunities for laughs!

I prepped for my guests with a quick application of my favorite #HealthyEssential from Johnson & Johnson, the NEUTROGENA^® Healthy Skin^® Liquid Makeup. I have been using this liquid foundation for quite a while because I like how it is easy to apply and gives me a natural look while smoothing out my skin tone and texture. It also includes Broad Spectrum SPF 20 – a perk for a product that makes my skin look so naturally luminous.

Want to save $1 on this foundation or save more than $35 on other #HealthyEssentials to make your holiday entertaining easier? Johnson and Johnson has loads of coupons for products that are (likely) already staples in your house!

DISCLOSURE: This post is part of the HEALTHY ESSENTIALS^® 2014 program by Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and The Motherhood, who sent me a box of products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are all my own, and I hope you enjoy them.