Hot Cocoa Bar Ideas (With Free Printables)

A printable hot chocolate bar sign and labels are just what you need to have a fabulous winter party complete with a crowd-pleasing hot cocoa bar.

Nothing says winter better than a mug of hot chocolate, and when it is dressed up with delicious toppings, it is even better. These printables will help you easily throw together a hot chocolate bar so you can enjoy time with your friends.

Jump to:

• What is a Hot Cocoa Bar?
• How to Set up a Hot Cocoa Bar
• Hot Chocolate Topping Ideas
• How to Keep Milk Warm in a Hot Chocolate Bar
• Ideas on how to set up the Hot Chocolate Bar Signs
• Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools for Printables
• Download the Free Printable Hot Chocolate Bar Sign and Labels
• Printable FAQs
• Additional Winter Fun

What is a Hot Cocoa Bar?

I got the idea to do a hot chocolate bar after visiting a friend’s house when she was serving up a waffle bar. It got me thinking that offering my guests a table of toppings could work for a lot of different things.

A hot chocolate bar is simple. It is a station set up with a crockpot of hot chocolate and a big variety of additions that people can add to their hot chocolate.

It is a fun way to spruce up any party during the holidays or cold winter months.

How to Set up a Hot Cocoa Bar

When you are setting up a hot chocolate bar it helps to have a dedicated table or bar area for all the toppings. Guests want to be able to browse the toppings and decide what they want without having to walk to another area of the party to see all the choices.

In addition to the table, you’ll need some other items. Here’s what I suggest:

• Hot Cocoa: You can provide packets of hot cocoa mix or make your own using cocoa powder and sugar. Or, you can make up a big batch of hot chocolate.
• Hot Milk and/or Hot Water: If you’re letting your guests mix their own cocoa, you’ll need ample amounts of either milk or water (or both).
• Mugs: You can buy matching mugs with a party theme or just use whatever you have at home.
• Spoons: If you have enough spoons on-hand, no need to buy more. Chocolate stirring spoons are a nice touch if you want to splurge. If you’re hosting a large crowd, disposable wooden spoons are a good choice.
• Toppings: I’ve listed over a dozen in the next section to give you plenty of ideas
• Topping Containers: If you have small bowls or candy dishes on hand, use those. Mason jars also work well. If you don’t have enough, consider these serving containers — the ones that come with scoops and tongs are especially nice.
• Trays: These aren’t necessary, but they do make it easier to organize the table and to clean up afterwards. If you have a smaller table, a tiered tray can help you save horizontal space so you can fit more.
• Cookies: I always like to have cookies at the bar too — don’t worry, you don’t have to bake them. Guests love the Pepperidge Farm cookies. Milano, pirouette, and the Montauk milk chocolate cookies are always a hit.
• Sweet Treats: You can also choose other sweet treats. I recommend keeping them to finger foods though to make them easy to grab and eat without requiring extra utensils.
• Signs and Labels: You can find a variety of designs on Amazon that are very affordable or scroll down to get a free set you can print right at home.

Hot Chocolate Topping Ideas

If you have never done anything more than put some marshmallows in your hot cocoa you may be surprised to know that there are TONS of fun toppings out there that are delicious.

Here are some great ideas for things to put on your hot cocoa bar:

• Chocolate chips in a variety of flavors like milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate or mini chocolate chips
• Caramel chips
• Cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon
• Whipped cream
• Sprinkles
• Marshmallows and/or mini marshmallows
• Marshmallow creme
• Shredded coconut
• Candy canes in a variety of colors and flavors
• Peppermint sticks or homemade peppermint spoons are delish
• Flavored syrups in squeeze bottles
• Bailey’s liqueur or irish cream syrup
• Kahlua
• Peppermint Schnapps
• Vodka or whiskey
• Chocolate bars

How to Keep Milk Warm in a Hot Chocolate Bar

I like to keep my hot chocolate in a slow cooker on warm so that it stays nice and toasty during the whole party. Just remember to stir it occasionally and have a ladle on a spoon rest next to it so guests can get their hot chocolate.

You can also use a large thermal coffee carafe. If you want to make it easy to dispense choose a carafe where you just have to push the lever on the top. You can also get one that you pour to dispense that is not as expensive, but it usually holds less liquid.

Ideas on how to set up the Hot Chocolate Bar Signs

There’s 21 pages of printables for you to use at your hot chocolate bar. Here are some ideas of how you can use them:

• Individual letters: There are individual letters that spell out the word “Hot Chocolate” that can be cut out and hung on a ribbon or string to make a banner that can be hung above your serving table. There are also 2 snowflake designs that you can add to the banner to make it more decorative.
• Decorative signs: There are 4 signs you can place around the table to add festive winter decor. The signs are “Warm up at the hot chocolate bar,” a mug of hot cocoa, “Hot chocolate,” and “Warm up.”
• Toppings signs: The “Add some toppings” sign could either be hung on the wall above all the toppings or on the table near the toppings. There’s also 8 different signs for some of the individual toppings — chocolate chips, marshmallows, coconut, sprinkles, white chocolate, whipped cream, cinnamon, peppermint.

One of my readers who have already used the printables at their hot chocolate bar, suggested that the signs can be kept up during the winter months for your own winter decor, along with some snowmen (or some people have a coffee bar in the house, you could have a hot chocolate bar).

Another reader suggested you can also use these for a kids’ party — kids love spending time with their friends in the winter too and would love having a hot chocolate bar.

Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools for Printables

Printer: This one is a great budget printer. If you’re willing to spend just a little more though, this is a better option. And if you’re looking for an all-in-one home office machine, this one does it all, has high reviews and includes 2 years of ink.

Ink cartridges: Speaking of ink, this is where the cost of using printables can really add up! To save BIG on ink, buy it from CompAndSave.com. It’s substantially cheaper than anywhere else and they carry ink for all major printer brands and models.

Printer paper or cardstock: If you’re printing for one-time, quick use, print on regular printer paper. If you need the printout to hold up to being handled often or if you plan to laminate it to use it multiple times, choose cardstock.

Laminator: Laminating your printable is an inexpensive way to use it multiple times. Just use dry erase markers and wipe off when you’re done so you can use it again!  Alternately, you can cover the printable with clear contact paper to achieve the same thing or place the printable in clear page protectors.

Cutter: If you want nice, clean cuts, a paper cutter is a must-have. This is a great one if you plan on using it a lot. But this one is totally sufficient if you want something solid and reliable for occasional use.

On a tight budget? Go with this one. Or, use a good pair of scissors and a sturdy ruler.

Download the Free Printable Hot Chocolate Bar Sign and Labels

You can download and print off these free hot cocoa bar printables for your own personal use.

Just fill in the form below to get the Printable Hot Chocolate Bar Sign and Labels.

Printable FAQs

Additional Winter Fun

Keep the winter fun going strong for you and your family with these other free ideas, recipes and printables.

• Sugar Plum Hot Chocolate: Warm up this holiday season with Sugar Plum Hot Chocolate. This cozy, kid-friendly drink combines rich and fruity with a sweet twist, making it the perfect festive treat for all ages.
• Christmas Hot Cocoa Cookies: Christmas Hot Cocoa Cookies are the perfect mix of chewy and rich chocolate cookies. They’re the perfect wintertime treat.
• Hot Cocoa Chocolate Dump Cake: Hot Cocoa Chocolate Dump Cake is a decadent dessert that’s simple to make. This dump cake is packed with chocolate and marshmallows.
• Family Winter Bucket List Ideas: Ready to make magical memories this winter? Check out our Family Winter Bucket List and embrace the cozy season with fun activities that everyone will love.
• Winter Word Search for Kids: Get ready for a frosty adventure with our Winter Word Search for Kids. Challenge your little ones to find hidden words and spark their love for winter adventures.
• Indoor Games For Kids, Teens, And Families: Indoor games are not only awesome activities for kids, but they’re also great for parties and for date nights or family nights at home.