By: Kirsten Huebner

I have been in full blown Christmas baking mode for quite some time now. I decorated my house around the middle of November, and have been doing all the Christmas things since. I grew up in a house that decorated the day after Thanksgiving, and never thought I’d be the mom that decorated early... but then I had kids, and I realized I only have so many Christmases with them, and only a handful of them are the SUPER magical ones. So I start early! Then when December 26th comes around, all my Christmas decor is gone. 


Making memories with the kids is my number one goal. Some people say I am extra (cough Sam), but I just really enjoy making things extra fun :) Hot chocolate you say? Make it pretty with lots of toppings! My kids actually don't even like hot cocoa… So this is my way of trying to force it. I just used a bunch of random stuff I had at the house. Here is a list of the things I put on my hot cocoa board:

Whipped cream
Mini marshmallows
Large marshmallows
Candy canes
Peppermint sprinkles
Mini chocolate chips
Peppermint bark pretzels
Molasses cookies

I have never been to Disney, but I hear their hot cocoa is to die for - so I found a copycat recipe ! Guys, it is so, so, so good!! Even the kids loved it (after it was cooler than room temperature)!

Find the Hot Cocoa Recipe here.


My bestie Amy, makes the best molasses cookies and she graciously gave me the recipe. They are honestly the best cookies I’ve ever tasted. After the cookies chilled, I melted white chocolate with a tablespoon of shortening to dip the cookies in. Then I made the holly decorations with red and green candy melts. Greta helped me with all of it while the big girls were at school and August napped. It was the perfect little afternoon for both of us. 

Molasses Cookie Recipe here.

I hope you are all making some sweet memories with your babies this Christmas!