Hot Chocolate-y Goodness

I wrap the needed items for our Advent Calendar and put them on our mantle
so we can enjoy our adventures each day! 

   As a part of our family Advent Calendar every year we do different things to help teach our son that Christmas is about so much more than just Santa and gifts. It is about family, helping others, and (most importantly) about Jesus. One of the ways we encourage family time is with our favorite Christmas movies. We all pile on the couch with popcorn and Hot Chocolate and Nache food and we enjoy watching a good movie together. But let's face it...hot chocolate out of the pouches is pretty bland and no one wants to spend a lot a time making hot chocolate from scratch on the stove. So I spent some time researching hot chocolate recipes and found one on Pinterest (shocker, I know :D) that I printed out. I haven't been able to find it since then though so I'm going to include for you a PDF as well as the recipe here. 
   The original is from FamilyFun.com and is called Best Hot Cocoa Mix. They suggest using it for gifting mainly but I find with a few tweaks and additives it becomes quite delish and amazing for both family time and gifting! 
              Homemade Hot Chocolate

   ~2 Cups Nonfat Dry Milk Powder ( I prefer a higher milk content)
   ~3/4 Cup Sugar
   ~1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa
   ~1/2 Cup Mini Semisweet Chocolate Chips
   ~1/2 Cup Powdered Non-dairy Creamer (french vanilla flavored is pretty good too!)
   ~1/8 Teaspoon Salt

Mix everything together until evenly blended. You can split into fourths at this point and put into Ziploc baggies or you can store in an airtight container for individual use. 

To make one cup: Mix 8 oz of boiling water with 3-4 tablespoons of mix. Stir well.

Additives: Candy Cane Stirrers, Mini Marshmallows, Big Marshmallows, Homemade Whip Cream, Liquor (if your old enough), Chocolate Straws, etc. Let your imagination run wild!

I find that boiling water in the coffee pot and adding to the mix in the cup works best. Everyone's tastes are different so you may like a little more or less mix so play around with it a little.

Christmas is crazy regardless of where you are and how you celebrate. Sometimes taking a moment and just relaxing with a steamy cup of Hot Chocolate surrounded by family is just the thing to take the "Christmas Crazy" edge off. I hope you enjoy this great little way to cut the work out and get straight to the family time!

Warning: Hot Chocolate may cause extreme Sugar High's that
produce Parental Silliness and Toddler Laughter.

Best Wishes,

Jules and Monkey