Christmas DIY

How-To Make a Hot Cocoa Bar | DIY Gift Idea

November 15, 2021 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

For the past several years I have been making a DIY Hot Cocoa Bar and a personal friend asked me to share what I use for my hot cocoa bar, so today I am going to share how to make a hot cocoa bar. This hot cocoa bar is also a great DIY Christmas gift idea that would be perfect as a Christmas gift basket.

How To Make a Hot Cocoa Bar

I slowly collected things over time, mostly from the Target Bullseye Playground (a.k.a Dollar Spot) but will link as many items as possible below.

Hobby Lobby Items:

Tier Tray (but linking from Amazon for a great price!)

Gingerbread galvanized signs

“Hot cocoa box”

“Hot chocolate” sign

“Cuddle in a cup” sign

Hot cocoa spoons

Santa espresso cups

Target Items:

“Hot cocoa” sign

“Cookie house” cookie jar

“Believe” ornament

Tea towels/Decorative towels

Gingerbread mug

Mrs. Claus ceramic trivet

“Mrs. Claus” ornament

“Mrs. Claus Bakery” ornament

Paper straws

TJ Maxx Items:

Santa bowl

“Gingerbread” cookie jar

Walmart Items:

Sugar canister

Gingerbread measuring spoons

Gingerbread measuring cups

“Cocoa” canister

Gingerbread house candy jar

Cocoa mixes, syrups, Cocoa Hershey Kisses, K-Cups, and Marshmallows

Dollar Tree Items:

Peppermint edible spoons

Family Fare Items:

Holiday tea

Meijer Items:

Holiday mini whisk

Shop

Have you made a cocoa bar? What is your MUST-HAVE item?

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GLITTERY CHRISTMAS STOCKING HOLDER DIY

November 19, 2015 & 4 Comments

Hi there! Happy Wednesday!

I am in full on Christmas mode, and yes I will pause for Thankgiving next week, but I know that I need to get going on Christmas now because otherwise when we get back from Disney it will be 10 days of stress! And I absolutely love the holiday season, so I want to spread it out and savor it, and prepping ahead means I can do that and limit the stress. Last year I shared a DIY Holiday Wreath Tutorial and I was happy to get that out again this year. We do not have a fireplace, so no mantel to hang the stockings, and every year Santa has just found them laying out on our loveseat, which is fine but not very special. I had seen some adorable stocking hangers on Etsy, but decided that I would make my own. I was able to do this DIY for only a few dollars, and it didn’t take too much time either. If you’d like to see part of the process you can on my Daily Vlogs day 107-110. What I love about this is you can completely make it your own depending on your personal style or home decor. I hope you enjoy it!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

-1 Piece of wood to be the back of your stocking hanger (*Tip: I bought all of my wood in small pieces at Lowe’s!)

– 1 piece of wood for each stocking you want to hang (I used 5 because our family has 5 people)

-Screws

-Heavy Duty D Rings

-Various Spray Paints or Acrylic Paints (I used white spray paint, silver spray paint, gold glitter spray paint)

-Decou-Page or Mod Podge

-Mod Podge Glossy Acrylic Spray Sealer

-Gold glitter

-Gold Hooks (I found mine at Lowe’s and bought one for each stocking)

STEP 1:

Using screws attach the pieces of wood to the piece of wood that will be your backing. I wanted mine at various heights, so mess around with it until you’re happy with the look.

STEP 2:

Attach your D hooks to the back of the stocking hanger

STEP 3:

Spray paint the entire front and sides of your stocking hanger white and let dry.

STEP 4:

Spray your silver paint focusing on the bottom of your stocking hanger and releasing as you go up to create a gradient or ombrélook. I promise this is much easier than it sounds! You can do a few practice strokes if you want, but it doesn’t need to look perfect.

STEP 5:

Spray the very bottom of your stocking hanger with gold glitter spray paint. I did several layers because I wanted it to be opaque. Once again let it dry.

STEP 6:

Mix some Mod-Podge or Decou-Page with your gold glitter. I went heavy on the gold glitter, because I wanted it to be super sparkly, but be sure to add enough glue so that it spreads and sticks. I applied the glitter glue to only the very bottom of the stocking hanger.

STEP 7:

Spray with a glossy spray to seal the glitter and paint. I used one from Mod-Podge.

STEP 8:

Attach the hooks to the bottom of your stocking hanger once it is COMPLETELY dry! My sweet hubster did this which was a nice surprise : ) Make sure that you put the hooks as far apart as possible intead of in the middle of each board, it may not look perfect because it won’t look perfectly even, but once the stockings are hanging it will look better because they won’t be quite so close together.

STEP 9:

Hang your stockings and wait for Santa : ) : )

I really hope that you enjoyed this DIY project! I think you could do something similar to hang your house keys and that would be adorable year-round! Please send me pictures or tag me on social media (all linked at the top of this website or at the bottom of every blog post!) because I would *LOVE* to see them! Don’t forget to subscribe! Thank you!! xo

Easy Reindeer Candy Cane DIY and Elf On the Shelf Ideas!

November 26, 2014 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Wednesday! And Happy Thanksgiving Eve (that is SO a thing! promise) : )

My 3 year old, Hailey, and I have so much fun making crafts together, and during the holidays it seems extra special. Today I want to share a very simple and very fun craft that we did last week together on one of her snow days home from school.

Because Thanksgiving is TOMORROW (already!!!), I know a lot of homes will have their Elf on the Shelf returning to visit on Friday or soon after, so I have enough Elf-y ideas for Black Friday through Christmas Eve to get you ready! Our elf, McJingle Toes, was VERY popular in our house last year, and now that our oldest is really into it, we have to up our game this year ; )

EASY REINDEER CANDY CANE DIY:

What You’ll Need:

Candy Canes

Pipe Cleaners

Tiny Googly Eyes

Small Red Pom Pom

Glue

Step 1:

Wrap the pipe cleaner around the top of the candy cane and shape into antlers.

Step 2:

Glue on the googly eyes and red nose.

Step 3:

Enjoy your cute little craft! These make great add-ons for holiday gifts or baked goods, and you can really make them your own! I think next year we will add some ribbon, brown noses for some of the reindeer…who knows what else!

ELF ON THE SHELF IDEAS:

1) “I’m Back” sign with door decorated like a present or balloons and if it’s your first year doing it have your Elf ask for name!

2) Elf head first into a holiday M&M bag

3) Googly eyes on fruit with “I’m watching you” sign that Elf is holding

4) New toothbrushes as gift with a note or smile written in toothpaste by Elf

5) Red noses drawn on picture frames with dry erase markers or small pom poms

6) Mustache on frame with dry erase marker and paper mustache on Elf

7) Elf hanging off Keurig or coffee pot to help make mom or dads coffee

8) Elf in a rocket ship made out of toliet paper tubes

9) Elf making a micro marshmallow (in hot cocoa section of grocery stores) or mini marshmallow snow angel

10) Make “Elf Milk” with green food coloring in fridge

11) Sled going down the coffee table

12) Elf playing Candy Land or similar game with “friends” like Barbie or stuffed animals

13) Make “Super Elf” with cape and badge

14) Elf inside a “snowglobe” made from Pyrex bowl and mini marshmallows

15) Elf hanging from a slinky

16) Elf with supplies to make Jesus a birthday cake or birthday party

17) Elf with directions for a shoebox donation or similar charity project for kids

18) Elf making a snowman scene out of marshmallows, frosting, tooth picks, etc

19) Elf being a pointsettia in a flower pot with construction paper around face to make him the flower

20) Elf setting up a fun craft project for kids like a gingerbread house kit

21) Elf making a pancake breakfast! This one is great for weekends. Make snowmen pancakes with bacon scarf, blueberry eyes, marshmallow snow, etc

22) Elf on a sleigh made out of 2 DVDs and 2 plastic candy canes filled with candy

23) Elf sitting on canned goods and a note to take them to a food bank or collection center

24) Elf with paper to write a letter to Santa

25) Elf laying on the beach with sunglasses, sun, and water made out of paper and sand made out of brown sugar

26) Elf in sink with water dyed blue with food coloring and aluminum foil boat or fishing in the sink for Goldfish Crackers

27) *Note: If you started the day after Thanksgiving and did it everyday this day #27 would be Christmas Eve

Put Christmas Eve PJs into a box with candy, popcorn, and Christmas DVDs to watch as a family that night and a goodnight note or sign from your Elf.

As always, if you have found this post helpful, interesting, or liked it PLEASE share it and “pin” it to your Pinterest account! All the buttons you need are at the bottom of every post!! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with loved ones! Please travel safely! Oh, and be kind to people on Black Friday, especially the retail workers!!

MUAH!