Oh Christmas. The most magical, cheerful, coziest time of the year. I love Christmas. (Shocker, I know.) And I look forward to it ALL YEAR LONG. But this year? This year I feel like I could use some Christmas Cheer more than ever… and I bet you do too. All year, I’ve found that on the days when I was the saddest and the weight of the world was just too heavy, scrolling through pictures of my house decorated for Christmas and Trev and I doing all my favorite Christmas things brought me a sense of peace and the warmest, fuzziest feelings.
I’ve been counting down the days until December 1st since March. I’ve been ready for twinkling Christmas lights, cheerful vinyls spinning in our record player, baking Christmas cookies, wrapping presents and drinking all the hot cocoa. These (and many more) holiday traditions are so special to me. Being with the ones I love, doing all the things that make this time of year so magical and making memories that last a lifetime is something that I look forward to year after year.
While most of our traditions are the same that families around the world partake in every December, I’ve found that every family seems to do something that is uniquely their own around the holidays. Maybe it’s hiding the pickle in the tree or maybe it’s a big Christmas breakfast. For us, it’s making homemade hot chocolate.
Every year before we start decorating our Christmas tree, my family whips up a batch of homemade hot chocolate. It’s a literal cup of “feel good Christmas cheer”. One sip takes me back to being six again, and gives me all the feelings of Christmas at home.
If you’re looking to add to your list of holiday traditions, you’ve come to the right place! This year, I’m teaming up with my friends from Hudsonville Ice Cream to share a few of my favorite Christmas traditions, and bring you the perfect holiday drink to pair them with.
How does taking my family’s classic hot chocolate and turning it into a dreamy, creamy way to warm up this holiday season sound? Delicious? I think so too! Turns out hot cocoa + ice cream is the actual dream team. (That’s right. BETTER than hot cocoa and whipped cream!)
Hot Chocolate Floats have long been a favorite holiday treat of mine. Usually I’d top with vanilla and add a candy cane and call it good. But this year I wanted to try something new, using Hudsonville’s Limited Edition Peppermint Stick ice cream. Before I even started to make this recipe I KNEW this was about to the best hot chocolate float ever!
So grab your Christmas jammies, turn up the Buble and let’s mix up a cozy drink!
Homemade Hot Chocolate Floats
Ingredients
- 2 cups 2% milk
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 Hershey bar (You’ll only need about 4 little squares, grated.)
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Limited Edition Hudsonville Peppermint Stick Ice Cream (Or any other Hudsonville flavor you might like! I LOVE their French Vanilla for this recipe too!)
Directions
Pour milk and heavy whipping cream into a medium saucepan. Place on medium-high heat and let it begin to warm. Be sure to watch it closely, you do not want to bring your milk to a boil!
While your milk mixture is getting toasty, grab a large mixing bowl. Mix together cocoa powder, sugar and grated chocolate. Slowly add this dry mixture to your milk mixture.
Stir until well combined. Reduce heat to low, and add in sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Stir then let simmer for five minutes.
Remove from heat and pour into mugs. Top with a scoop (or two!) of Hudsonville Ice Cream’s Limited Edition Peppermint Stick Ice Cream and enjoy!
Have I inspired you to make a cozy drink this weekend? Let me and Hudsonville Ice Cream make your holiday a little bit sweeter. Because sometimes, the sweetest packages aren’t under the tree, but in the memories you make… and in the front of your freezer!
Hudsonville Ice Cream is offering my readers a gift you can unwrap early this year! A FREE recipe ebook filled with ice cream recipes and a holiday coupon! You’ll get $2 off your next ice cream purchase. Can you say give me all the Peppermint Stick and Deer Traxx, please? Head to Meijer NOW before it sells out! (Click here to use the Scoop Locator to find it at a grocery store near you!) Can’t find it anywhere close to you? Hudsonville Ice Cream recently launched an online store so you can buy your favorite flavors right from your couch! Not only can you buy their delicious ice cream, you can buy my ice cream scoop or the apparel you saw Trev and me rocking all summer long!
And if you’re looking to add a new tradition to your holiday season, check out a few of my favorites below!
Christmas Movie Day. Every year, we try to plan one Saturday where we do NOTHING but sit and watch our favorite movies. From classics like A Christmas Story and A Christmas Carol to Elf and Love Actually, we munch on Christmas cookies and enjoy our lazy day together. (I also love binge watching Hallmark Christmas Movies with my Mama!)
Jammie Cocoa Christmas. This was an idea I got from one of my favorite bloggers and it is one of the things I look forward to most every year! One Friday night, after dinner, we put on our Christmas jammies and go to Starbucks to pick up peppermint hot chocolates before riding around and looking at Christmas lights. In her version, you HAVE to go inside in your PJs, but we decided to wait to add that to our tradition until we have kids!
Baking Cookies. It’s not Christmas if you don’t make Christmas cookies. I love to make my Aunt Tammy’s recipe and Trev loves to help me decorate them! (And by decorate them I mean eat them while I frost.)
Christmas Stockings. Instead of elaborate gifts at Christmas, Trev and I choose to fill each others stockings! We spend the entire month looking for the perfect stocking stuffers for each other and then one night, before Christmas, we sit by our tree and open them. This is a tradition we started when we moved into our first apartment and had zero extra money. I still think back to sitting in our tiny apartment that night and being SO happy looking through our trinkets, eating popcorn and listening to Christmas music. It’s the perfect reminder that you don’t need money and things to be happy… just someone that makes you really, really happy.
Sending Christmas Cheer. Every year we send Christmas cards to our loved ones. Ever since I was a little girl, my family has sent funny Christmas cards and Trev and I carry this tradition on!
For more tradition inspo, check out my 2020 Christmas Bucket List!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to snuggle up by the fire with my hot chocolate float and dive into a new book before hopping into a day full of Christmas fun! I’m talking Christmas errands, a DIY and cookie baking! I hope you all have the most wonderful weekend. I’ll be back on Monday!
Xx.
Savannah
*This post was sponsored by Hudsonville Ice Cream. But as always, all opinions are my own! Thank you for supporting the brands I love that help to make Savannah Said It possible.
Savannah Said It 