Walk through the motions of making one cup of cocoa before decorating the counter. Where will you set the mug while you pour? Which hand reaches for the marshmallows? Leave that patch of counter empty. Then arrange the rest in the order a guest will use it.
Set up a mug end and a topping end
Start with a row of ceramic holiday coffee mugs, handles turned toward arriving guests. Leave the spot beside them for pouring. On the far side, set out a red striped peppermint candy dish with wrapped peppermints or another favorite topping and a small serving utensil. A saucer beneath the utensil gives sticky spoons somewhere to land.
Give cookies their own spot
The Christmas bookstore cookie jar gives the counter a little street scene and keeps the cookies together. Set it where the lid can lift freely beneath any overhead cabinets. If children are helping with toppings, put the cookies and candy at the accessible end and have an adult handle hot drinks at the other.
For a tiny kitchen, keep just the mugs and hot cocoa on the counter and move the topping dish and cookie jar to the table. Shop the colorful pieces in Merry & Bright Christmas, or bring a little cabin warmth to the coffee corner with Christmas at the Lodge.
Make the cocoa bar easy to refill
Set aside a small refill tray with extra mugs, a clean spoon and another packet of cocoa. Keep it in a nearby cabinet until you need it. If guests choose their own toppings, leave the original ingredient packages handy so anyone with a food allergy can check them. At the end of the evening, the bookstore jar can stay on the counter for tomorrow’s cookies while everything else goes away on one tray.
Explore two more Christmas looks from Rust & Cinder with A Very Vintage Holiday and Gilded Starlight.