Indulge With Hot Chocolate Inspired Holiday Treats



During the holidays there is nothing quite like cozying up by a fire with a huge cup of hot chocolate topped with whip cream and a candy cane. It is one of those little indulgences that make cold weather worth while. For me, no holiday season is complete without it. For those who feel the same, here are a few creative ways to incorporate it this season.



 

Make your next winter party interesting by offering a hot chocolate bar. Here you can serve hot chocolate and coffee with a variety of toppings. Display whipped cream, cinnamon, chocolate chips, chocolate dipped spoons, and a variety of syrups for your guests to choose from. My personal favorite is a splash of rich coffee and hazelnut syrup in my hot chocolate! This idea is perfect for those who like the idea of a candy bar or ice cream buffet, but want to put a new twist on the trend. 

Loosen up your guests from holiday stress with hot chocolate inspired drinks like a hot chocolate martini served with an olive-esque chocolate drop skewered on a peppermint stick. You can also spike your traditional hot chocolate to give it some kick. Bailey's Irish Cream, Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, are a few liquors that will mix well.

Of course you can have hot chocolate available for guests of in-home parties, but this won't work if you are heading out to a pot luck or taking a treat into your child's school Christmas party. Heaven in liquid form can get a little messy during travel. That's where the deliciously beautiful hot chocolate cupcakes by Chocswirl come in. What could be better than a warm, moist cupcake topped with chocolate ganache, melted marshmallows and cinnamon! Get creative with your toppings to make them more festive for the holidays. Stick in a mini candy cane or you could even bake them in small ceramic holiday mugs or espresso cups! Check out Chocswirl's blog for the recipe for these yummy treats. Lick The Spatula also offers a sophisticated version involving coffee and Kahlua buttercream icing (yum!). 
 Another fun way to incorporate hot chocolate into your holiday is by giving hot chocolate mix layered in clear jars or bags. These make a great craft for kids who want to participate in the gift giving. To keep the mess minimal use a baking funnel or fashion one out of paper. Make your hot chocolate recipe even more indulgent by adding a layer of chocolate chips, instant coffee, crushed candy canes, and mini marshmallows. The mix is best when  presented with tasty extras like chocolate covered spoons for stirring or a personalized mug. Make sure to add a cute tag with cooking instructions.

~ Jenna

Photo Credits: Mug in Snow courtesy of The Little Goat, Cocoa Cupcakes courtesy of Chocswirl, Cocoa Mix courtesy of MyRecipes.com

Ideas for Winter Wedding Centerpieces

The winter months will soon be here and Jack Frost will be nipping at our noses. It is time to start planning your winter wedding and thinking about winter wedding centerpieces. Winter weddings leave you with many color options. You can do the traditional red and green or silver and blue but really any color is expectable as long as you give it a little winter flair. Here are a few ideas for winter wedding centerpieces.

Flowers: Popular wedding flowers for winter weddings are roses, carnations, calla lilies, poinsettias and hydrangeas. With most of the flowers listed you can choose from a large color pallet and make beautiful flower center pieces. Red roses make the most beautiful centerpieces but can also be very expensive. Adding a few white and/or red poinsettias to your tables would be much more cost efficient and with a little ribbon or color stone accessories they can be the most gorgeous centerpieces.

Candles: Using candles of various shapes and sizes on a mirror or large plate is an excellent way to create a unique centerpiece. Candles add a sense of sophistication to any atmosphere and are also very romantic. Position your candles on your table and then you can add different color Christmas tree bulbs to the arrangement to give it a sense of whimsy and also add that winter feel.

Christmas bulbs: I love the variety available when using Christmas bulbs for centerpieces. For a winter themed wedding they would be a welcome part of any centerpiece. Just filling a glass bowl with different color Christmas bulbs can make lovely centerpieces. This is easy and economical.

Pine cones: Pine cones are also a great item to use for center pieces. You can add pine cones to your small trees, flowers or around your candles depending on what kind of centerpiece you decide to use. Placing pieces or pine branches, pine cones and holy pieces around a few small votive candles can make a dramatic and beautiful center piece that will keep your guest talking for weeks.

Pine Trees: I would love to walk into a reception hall that was completely decorated with Christmas trees. This is probably not in everyone’s budget. You can purchase small inexpensive pine tress for your tables and add decorations or simply spray them with a white coating and add twinkle lights. Adding a beaded snowflake ornament to your tree centerpieces can work as your decoration and favor. Simply add a card to each table asking your guest to take an ornament home with them and you have killed 2 birds with one stone.

No matter what centerpiece idea you come up with, just be sure to keep it unique to your winter wedding theme. Happy planning ladies!

Carrie

DIY Winter Wedding Favors To Impress Your Guests

Every bride and groom dreams of a wedding reception that their guests will ooh and ahh over the minute they walk through the door.  Choosing the right wedding favor for your guests will go a long way in making this dream come true.  Your wedding favors are the time to say that heartfelt thank you to loved ones and to capture the atmosphere of your big day.  For your winter wedding favors, make your vision a reality with these unique DIY favor ideas that are sure to impress your guests.

1) Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm...

Nothing says from the heart more than an edible homemade treat.  Great winter treat ideas are items like hot cocoa mixes, gift wrapped cookie trays, chocolate covered peppermint sticks, or Russian tea cakes (a.k.a snowballs).  When making edible treats for guests, be sure to do your research on the ingredients included in your recipe.  Find out how long your ingredients will hold and if they will freeze well.  This way you will know how far in advance to start your baking.  It is also best to leave out any extra ingredients associated with common food allergies like peanuts.  Be sure to clearly write out your ingredients on a label for your loved ones.  Russian tea cake image courtesy of ohhowposh.com.  Get the recipe here.

2) Tree Saplings

Great for a more rustic winter wedding, tree saplings are eco-friendly and are a unique twist on the everyday wedding favor.  For winter, give your guests a pine tree sapling so they can plant it in remembrance of your special day.  Such a wonderful story for your friends and family to tell others, your loved ones will think of you as they watch their tree grow over time. Don't forget to plant one yourself and watch as your tree blossoms right along with your marriage.  Image via Nancy Gould Photography.

3) For the holidays

Holiday themed winter weddings are becoming increasingly more popular and have opened up a whole new can of adorable favor ideas.  Think ornaments, extravagantly wrapped gifts, Christmas trees, and stockings.  Be creative and play off of common holiday songs and poems like the The Twelve Days of Christmas or Favorite Things from The Sound of Music.  One great DIY holiday favor idea uses the poem The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Assign each guest table with one of the days from the poem.  At your guest place settings for that table leave them the gift for that day (ornaments are a great way to pull this off and are reusable).  For the first day/table, you would give your guests a partridge in a pear tree.  For the second day/table, leave your guests a turtle dove, etc., etc.  (If you do not have assigned seating you could always opt to use all the days of Christmas at each table instead of splitting up the days but that choice is yours).  12 Days of Christmas Ornaments courtesy of Crate and Barrel.

To see other winter favors ideas, check out our collection of winter wedding favors and as always....

Happy Planning!

Allie

Creating a Formal Table Setting

Photo Courtesy of DesignPublic.com

With Thanksgiving only a month away, now is a good time to become familiar with all the little nuances for setting a formal table. Formal table setting is often considered stuffy and outdated. I admit to be one who likes the freedom to put my soup spoon and salad plate where ever I wish. However, with my love of the vintage and Victorian styles has also come a new respect for the formal table setting. Seeing everything lined up exactly where it should be gives me the giddy feeling of being a little girl playing tea party. There is still plenty of room to be creative with linens, table decor, colors, and the dishes themselves. Rules will vary depending on culture and personal preference. Also, you want to create a beautiful table so sometimes the rules need to be bent for the best overall effect. With this in mind, here is a general guideline for setting a formal table.

• The service plate or charger (or dinner plate in my world) will be centered in front of the chair.
• Soup bowls and salad plates are generally stacked on the service plate. These are sometimes brought out later.
• Depending on your school of thought, cutlery should be one - two inches from the edge of the table or aligned to the bottom edge of the service plate. Items are placed in the order they will be used, beginning from the outer edges and working in toward the plate. Spoons will be placed on the right. Forks are placed on the left with the exception of small cocktail or oyster forks. These will be placed to the right of the dinner spoon. The dessert fork and spoon are placed above the service plate pointing in opposite directions, with the fork tines pointing right.
• Knives are placed to the left of the dinner spoon with the cutting edge facing the service plate.
• Water glasses go above the dinner knife while the red wine glass is placed to the right and slightly below the water glass. The white wine glass can be placed to the right and below the red wine glass or centered above the water and red wine glasses. A cup and saucer for tea and coffee can be placed on the right, after the spoons.
• A bread and butter plate, if offered, has a place above the forks on the left. The bread knife is laid across the bread plate.
• Your napkin and place card can be placed to your preference. The most common place for the napkin is on top of the service plate or to the left of the forks. Place cards can be set on top of the service plate or at the top of the table setting.

Use this diagram to help you set a lovely table.



Diagram Courtesy of The Class Woman

 ~ Jenna

Wedding Unity Ceremony Ideas

Are you looking for a unique way to incorporate a Unity ceremony into your wedding as a symbol of ‘two lives joining as one’? There are endless ways to integrate your wedding theme, combine your family traditions, religion, or wedding colors into your Unity ceremony.

One increasingly popular unity ceremony includes the blending of colored sand, water, or beads with two or more small glass containers and one larger container. The unity sand ceremony begins after you’ve exchanged your wedding vows and rings. First, the bride lifts her small container followed by the groom and each pours their colored sand, water, or beads into the larger container symbolizing the blending of two lives. This also works well for couples who are bringing children into the marriage. Including your children in the unity ceremony will give them a sense of belonging and will signify the beginning of your new family.

The tradition of lighting a Unity candle has recently been modified to work in two situations. The first is for couples that want to stress their individuality and keep the taper candles burning along side the Unity candle showing that they are united, but also individuals. The second and more traditional candle ceremony includes the bride and groom blowing out the flame of their individual taper candle to indicate they are extinguishing their old lives to be united as one in marriage.

A wine blending ceremony includes a glass of white wine and a glass of red wine. The bride and groom drinks from each glass, then pours their wine together in a separate glass. The new mixture of wine will look like rosé and symbolize the blending of their hearts together to become one.

Consider inventing your own unity ceremony set either by altering one of the ceremonies mentioned above or take one thing from your individuality and blend it together. From personalized candles and vases to colored sand and beads, you are sure to create a treasured keepsake in remembrance of your commitment to each other.

Renee'