If you’re having a family get-together or a party for friends, almost everyone will enjoy at least one of these hot drink recipes.
The hot crock pot cocoa is one of those effortless recipes that looks work intensive, but isn’t, and brings real elegance to a traditional treat.
Having hot drinks on hand, keeping warm in a crock pot keeps out cold weather chills and also makes the entire house smell like the holidays.
I hope you all enjoy these and wish you a wonderful Christmas.

Hot Crock Pot Cocoa
2 cups whipping cream
6 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips
Garnish:
Whipped cream
Candy canes

Stir together the whipping cream, milk, vanilla, and white chocolate chips in a slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot and chocolate chips are melted. Stir again before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and candy canes, as desired.

Hot Mulled Cider
1/2 gallon of fresh, unfiltered apple cider
1 orange
15 cloves
4 3-inch sticks of cinnamon
15 allspice berries
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
7 pods of cardamon
1/4 cup brown sugar

Pour apple cider into a 3-quart saucepan, cover, turn the heat on medium-high. While cider is heating up, take a vegetable peeler and peel away a couple thick strips of peel from the orange.
Press about half of the cloves into the peeled part of the orange. (You can also just quarter the orange and add the slices and cloves separately. Place orange, orange peel strips, the remaining cloves, and the rest of the ingredients into the sauce pan with the cider.
Keep covered and heat the mulled cider mixture to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes on low heat.
Strain to remove orange, cloves, and other spices.. Serve hot. Add a cinnamon stick to each cup if desired.

Wassail
1 can (1 qt 14 oz size) pineapple juice
1 quart orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
5 tea bags
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks

Combine fruit juices. Steep tea in 2 1/2 qts boiling water for 5-10 minutes. Remove tea bags. In sauce pan combine remaining ingredients with 1 qt cold water – bring to a boil and boil 3 minutes. Strain. Just before serving combine juices, tea and spiced water and bring to a boil.

Old-fashioned Hot Buttered Rum
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 cups vanilla ice cream
Rum
Water
Nutmeg

Combine sugar, brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted (6-8 min).
Combine cooked mixture with ice-cream in a large mixing bowl, and beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until smooth (1-2 min). Store refrigerated up to 2 weeks or frozen up to one month.
For each serving, fill one-quarter of a mug with mixture, add one ounce rum and three-quarters of a cup of boiling water. Sprinkle with nutmeg.