Hostess Tip:
Open House Hot Drink Holiday Buffet

Try something new and welcome your guests with a hot drink buffet. This is a fun and simple way to make something special without a lot of kitchen time or fussing over food. Prepare these fabulous drinks ahead of time and enjoy visiting with your guests instead of manning the oven. Also, you gain the added bonus of a house that smells like cinnamon and chocolate.

The following two drink recipes leave a lot of room for interpretation and adaptation for kids and adults.

Velvety Hot Chocolate   VIEW RECIPE
Spiced Hot Apple Cider     VIEW RECIPE

Get creative with your toppings
Whipped cream on a bowl of ice, chocolate sprinkles, cinnamon sticks, rainbow sprinkles or caramel topping. Kids love to build their own special hot chocolate creations. Have a camera on-hand and let them write their own recipes for the perfect cup of hot chocolate and print out the picture for them to glue to a recipe card. For adults, you can add packets of Starbucks, Via instant coffee. It turns hot chocolate into hot mocha with that extra kick.

*Consider adding another carafe of hot water for tea drinkers.

Tips: Serve decorated sugar cookies, bowls of nuts and white chocolate dipped pretzel sticks alongside your dink buffet. The combination of sweet and salty is irresistible.