Crockpot Hot Cocoa Bar + DIY Photo Booth Backdrop

Warm up the frigid cold months with a crockpot hot cocoa party and simple photo booth backdrop! Stun your guests and your checkbook with these inexpensive party ideas. It may be cold outside, but the party is nice and warm inside! 

January is the hardest month of the year for me. It's cold, at least half the family gets sick, the kids are stuck inside all day at school and at home because of frigid temps and inversions and everyone gets cranky with the holidays over. It's time to warm up the frigid month with a party! This party is simple and easy to throw together thanks to plenty of free printables and simple ingredients. Since we threw the party for my pre teen daughter, she wanted mustaches of course, so this party does have an element of mustache themed decorations. The entire party cost us under $15 to throw together.

Crockpot Hot Cocoa Bar

Making a hot cocoa bar is very simple. Place milk into a crockpot and set to high for one-two hours. Have a ladle nearby to allow guests to place the milk into tea cups. Have a variety of different toppings out including chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbs, crushed peppermints, hot fudge, caramel sauce and marshmallows for guests to place in their cups. See "Food" below for recipe on how to make our hot cocoa dipping straws.

DIY Photo Booth Backdrop

Now that our two year old is getting bigger and doesn't always require the baby gate, it's time to find some uses for it until the grandkids come...way...way...waaaay down the road. This DIY photo booth backdrop is a great idea that you can use for simple party decorations. We used it as a photo booth backdrop. Simply attach your baby gate across your hallway leaving several inches space between the ceiling. Tape streamers, ribbon, flag banners, or pom pom garlands from the gate. Have photo props ready close to the photo booth. For a fun souvenir as guests left, we uploaded pictures taken during the party to our computer and printed them out for guests to take home in a mini takeout container.

 

 

Food

No party could be complete without food! To continue the hot cocoa theme, we served hot cocoa cupcakes with marshmallow frosting. To make the hot cocoa, guests ladled warm milk from the crockpot into tea cups. They then took their choice of peppermint or regular chocolate hot cocoa sticks and stirred them into their cocoa cups. They then were able to choose what toppings they wanted.

To make the hot cocoa sticks: Cut paper straws in half and set aside for later use. In a saucepan or in the microwave, melt high quality chocolate chips. (We used Ghiradelli). Spoon the melted chocolate into ice cube trays, then cover with plastic wrap. Poke holes in the middle of each ice cube square and then place the straw inside. Allow the chocolate to cool and harden completely before removing from trays for serving.

Links:

 Paper Straws: eBay.com

Streamers: Zurchers.com

Ribbon: HobbyLobby.com

Photo Booth Sign: Catch My Party

Mustache Birthday Party Printables: My Sun Will Shine

Damask Mini Takeout Containers: Michaels