Winter Birthday Party Ideas: Hot Cocoa Bar

Today always marks our official descent into Crazy Town as I think ahead to not only upcoming Christmas festivities but to our two December birthday kiddos. While I've certainly embraced winter-themed party ideas, I try to keep them completely separate from actual Christmas-related items. That makes sense, right?

This hot cocoa bar was one of my all-time favorites. (I think I shared it on the Rose and Ruffle blog, but not here.) It was a cinch to set up and it looked so festive and fun...and it was! Truth be told, you don't have to celebrate a birthday in order to enjoy this party- it's great for any gathering of family or friends throughout the winter season!

You can never go wrong with colorful balloons and crepe paper. This was a big family party for a boy and a girl so we kept it colorful and non-gender specific, which is surprisingly easy to do.

I removed a few of our Christmas decorations in the dining room for the party, but the greenery above the windows and the tree all lit up in the corner add to the festive spirit.

Our Thanksgiving weekend tradition- cutting out snowflakes while watching Elf- also adds a nice touch. =)

You can make your own cocoa mix or simply pour store-bought powder into fun containers like this one. We had several flavored creamers for guests, as well as "shots" of different cooking flavors such as vanilla and peppermint. Candy canes are a must- and they look so fun!- and so is the whipped cream (not pictured). We also had cinnamon and nutmeg to sprinkle on top, which is fantastically yummy.

To add the most color possible, I simply cut pieces of ribbon and displayed them throughout the tables. Just an easy little something which adds big impact. I used all the Christmas mugs I own, and the Dollar Tree came in handy when I decided to grab a few more.

One last look at the whole room- we had such a fun time at this party!

My birthday boy...

...and my birthday girl

This had been her beloved, much-requested hairdo...which lastly about thirty seconds into the big shindig. She's too much of a mover and a shaker for fancy hair, ha. (There's a post about how to make a birthday brooch over HERE if you'd like to see it.)

The pics are so blurry, but one of our birthday traditions for Isabelle is that she can wear a summer dress on her special day. She looks forward to it every year. #winterbirthdayprobs

 I'm not sure why she looks grumpy here because she definitely was not!

 See?

 Our birthday princess :)

Painting some snowflake ornaments to hand out as party favors later...

 I couldn't find the glitter so we used cookie sprinkles instead. Clever? Of course. Sad? Maybe just a little bit.

Since the next day was her actual birthday, Daddy pampered her with pretty nails

She looks like she's in the middle of some grand conversation here while Daddy simply paints away and I just love this picture!!!

Here is the cake that Caleb requested...my Marbled Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust. Good choice, buddy! I need to blog this recipe!

Isabelle got the ol' standby ice cream Snowman cake, ha ha. She will get a special cake in January for her party.  She was SO excited!

Here is Caleb on his actual birthday...

 And Isabelle on hers...

We had a fun friend party for Caleb the weekend before, a winter pool party - you can read about it here.

As usual, we'll have Isabelle's friend party sometime in January...after all these parties, and then Christmas, I need a breather!