Milk + Bookies Christmas Playdate

Last week my sister-in-law and I hosted our first annual Christmas playdate.  My December calendar has been full since Halloween.  With all the parties we get to attend, why not create a little fun at home for the kids?  I began researching party themes in the beginning of November and was seeing hot cocoa bars popping up over the blogosphere.   There they were at birthday parties, weddings and nearly every winter party in between.  When I saw the Snowman Soup set designed by Kori at Paper and Pigtails, I was sold.  She designed the perfectly modern and festive look I was after and kindly donated the set to our party.

Aside from having a fabulously designed party, I also wanted to encourage the joy of giving.  Working with Milk + Bookies, we were able to collect and donate books to benefit the children at Cooks Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, an organization that has touched our lives as well as the lives of so many of our friends and family.  Milk + Bookies is a nationwide organization that encourages children to pick out and give books to their peers, whom otherwise may not have access to them.  Milk + Bookies parties range from birthday parties, to library activities, to full classroom projects.  To find out more about Milk + Bookies and how to host your own party, visit their website.  The kids and I had such a fun time shopping for books for the children at Cook's.  Vivi selected a few of her favorite bedtime stories and was excited to give them to other kids.  It feels so good as a parent to watch your children learn how important it is to think of other people and give back to your community.

Of course our schedule blew out the window on the day of the party.  Food not ready on time.  Kids taking short naps.  Babysitters late.  You name it, it happened.  So, I was unable to get the number of shots I had hoped for.  As I said before, this was the first annual.  Surely next year I can learn to get the pictures done ahead of time.  And, that not everything needs to be made from scratch.  I am sure the kids would have been perfectly happy with Swiss Miss hot cocoa.

 

I made hot cocoa from scratch using this recipe.  While it was most definitely delicious it was also very rich.  I think next time I will use premade mix or a simpler recipe.  The hot cocoa bar was complete with peppermint hot chocolate stir sticks, peppermint and chocolate marshmallows, mini marshmallows, whipping cream, and sprinkles.  We also offered hot coffee from Starbucks, and used the child's sized Starbucks cup for both the hot cocoa and coffee.  I found the snowman beverage dispenser at Target.  Isn't he cute?!

The mommas sipped on Pomegranate Prosecco punch that was festive and refreshing.  I highly recommend this recipe for a holiday soirée.  We nibbled on elf cookies (cheerios), strawberry santa hats, snowman cupcakes, and cheddar jalapeno dip and chips.

All of the kids were sent home with snowman glitter cups that I found at Target and a note that said "Thank you for donating!"  We had such a great time catching up with friends and watching our kids play together.  I am already thinking about themes for next year!