These easy DIY hot cocoa gift sets are a hit with everyone! A great gift idea for kids, teachers, neighbors, and friends! Over 40 kits were even sent out by NellieBellie for kids participating in the Holiday Baking Challenge.
Featuring cute test tubes full of toppings, a mini bag of mini marshmallows, a peppermint spoon, and different cocoa flavors, this DIY cocoa set is extra fun and special. Each with a cute printable card inviting the lucky recipient to treat themselves!
Key Materials (links included):
- Plastic Test Tubes (25ml) for the sprinkles.
- Clear Piping bags (12 inch) for the cocoa mixes & marshmallows.
- Red & White Twistie ties to close the clear bags.
- 3 varieties of hot cocoa. I recommend milk chocolate, peppermint, and white chocolate.
- Peppermint spoons. You can find these much cheaper at most dollar stores, as well. Be sure to account for some that might be broken!
- Variety of sprinkles. Use 1 variety per test tube you intend to include in your kit. I used chocolate, red, rainbow, and vanilla sprinkles. The test tubes fit a little less than 2 tablespoons in each.
- Dehydrated Marshmallows.
- Shipping boxes. 7x5x2 in size. The boxes linked are the perfect size to create a kit like mine. Also, the boxes are sturdy and great for shipping.
- Printable cards. -free, print from home..
- Tissue paper.
- Optional: dairy-free hot cocoa mix.
Pricing for materials :
That’s $7.54 per kit! A cute, inexpensive little gift. Of course, the way to get the best bang for your buck is to make lots of these boxes so you can purchase the materials in bulk.
Tips & Tricks for Assembly:
- Utilize a funnel to help fill the test tubes without making a mess.
- Follow the directions on the hot cocoa mix for how much mix each cup of cocoa requires and use that amount to fill your piping bags.
- The piping bags are too large and will need to be trimmed down after they are filled and twistie-tied.
- I used about 1/4 cup of mini marshmallows for individual kits but filled the bag for entire family kits.
- Be gentle with the peppermint spoons…they break easily.
How to fit everything into the box…
Putting everything into the box in a certain way helps it look pretty when it’s opened AND keeps everything secure during shipping. Check out the video instructions for how I put the items into the box to have it pretty and secure.
Fun ways to improve your Hot Chocolate Gift Set…
Turn it into a hot chocolate flight gift set…
What is a hot chocolate flight?
Sit down for this: a hot chocolate flight is not code for an airplane made of chocolate flying in the tropics nor an airplane trip with all-you-can-drink hot chocolate. (Though that last one sounds like a great idea…) Similar to a beer or wine flight, a hot chocolate flight is a selection of sample-size servings of a variety of types of hot chocolate served together. It’s like a little hot chocolate sample session.
Gift one box to an entire family…
Instead of one person having various kinds of hot chocolate to try, the family each gets a bag of hot chocolate for a fun family hot cocoa night. Be sure to include a peppermint spoon for EACH family member and put the entire family on the gift tag!
What about dairy-free friends & family?
Check out the materials list for a fabulous dairy-free/vegan hot cocoa mix. We use this one in my house and LOVE it. Make sure to write a note to tell your friend the mix is dairy-free (maybe even mention the brand) so they won’t be concerned. And be sure to send LOTS of toppings…those are usually dairy-free, as well.
What is the cost of shipping?
If you create the kit the same way I did (this might be different if you change yours up), the boxes are 12 ounces each and came in on average at $4.44 for shipping via USPS. I sent out over 40 so have a fairly good feeling yours will be similar if use use the same box and materials.
