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January 31st, 2022
At Over the River, we’re always looking for fun ways to celebrate and bridge the distance with our grandkids. This year we’ll continue our random holiday series. What exactly is a random holiday?
Each month we select a ‘National Holiday’ that may not be on the calendar but is definitely worth writing in.
We’re kicking the year off with some plans for National Hot Chocolate Day on January 31st.
According to ’13 Things You Might Not Know About Hot Chocolate’ by Jeff Wells, this delicious treat has a lot of history. “It’s been on the frontline of wars, stirred up controversy with the Catholic Church, and seen empires rise and fall.”
Jeff’s post is a great read. It’s full of history, education and fun facts to learn and talk about with your grandkids. If you’re looking for some hot chocolate-themed conversation starters it’s a great place to start.
If you’re nearby your grandkids pick up hot chocolate supplies and enjoy having them over! Grandkids love hot chocolate and sipping on some together is a great way to connect with them. Even at a distance, I’m still very much looking forward to celebrating this “holiday”!
Here are a few ideas on our list of ways to celebrate:
- Send a note or text wishing your grandkids a Happy National Hot Chocolate Day. Let them know how being their grandparent just warms your heart. You can download this free postcard here if you’d like!
2. Invite them to join you for a short time on Facetime or another video device to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate together. If you aren’t sure if they have a hot chocolate mix in the pantry send a packet by mail. You can also make your own mix with this simple recipe from momables.com.
3. If you prefer that amazon does the shipping for you and you want to celebrate a little more elaborately, here are some hot chocolate-related items to check out.
- Hershey’s Instant York Peppermint Hot Chocolate Mix (I’m a huge fan of the candy, so I had to include this option!)
- Hot Cocoa Bar Kit – send them the materials to host their own Hot Chocolate Bar. OR you can also download our free kit below! Then send the printouts with some ziplocs containing the ingredients (chocolate chips, peppermint candy, marshmallows etc…).
4. Starbucks. They make great hot chocolate. A gift card to enjoy a cup on you would be a great treat in the middle of winter.
We know we’re celebrating hot chocolate, but if your grandkids aren’t into the hot drinks there’s no judgment because it’s really all about connecting with them!
5. Just pour yourselves a nice glass of chocolate milk and celebrate away. Get yourself and the kids some silly straws for extra enjoyment and some truly great photo ops!
6. If any form of chocolate just isn’t their thing (this would have been my daughter as a child), we’ve still got you covered, at least if your grandkids are younger. There’s nothing like a dance party to warm you up mid-winter.
The song? Tom Hanks “Hot Chocolate” from Polar Express of course! If you are an Amazon prime member you can stream it for free. You can also purchase it for under two dollars. I’m pretty sure this will be the favorite way to celebrate for my granddaughter!
Most importantly remember that whatever you choose to do, be it a text that takes a few seconds, or something that takes a bit more time, the goal is to create connections with our grandkids.
We hope you have a ton of fun with one or more of these ideas. We look forward to connecting with you throughout the year as we continue on this journey of bridging the distance together!
