365: Hot Cocoa Day (feat. Lantern Walk)

December 13 is Hot Cocoa Day. Hot cocoa is a staple in the cold winter months, and while it wasn't freezing today, it was still fun to have.

Before I get to the hot cocoa drinking, I'm going to back up a little bit. On Thursday at Tinkergarten, Jude made a lantern that would have been used for Tinkergarten's community event, Lantern Walk. I started the season late, so they weren't made in time for that. Jude did such a nice job on his that I wanted to do something special with it. I had enough supplies for Jude's cousins to also make lanterns, so I headed over there on Thursday afternoon and sat with them while they created their own lantern. For instructions on how to do it, click here.

We all normally hang out on Fridays, so I left the lanterns to dry with the promise that we would do a lantern walk the next day (today). The kids were so excited to do the walk when I got there today, so Aunt Keke found electric tea lights, we turned the lights off and let the kids walk around (it was too rainy to do it outside). It was pure magic to see the beautiful lanterns they created lit up.

Now, to the hot cocoa drinking. After our walk, we had a special lantern walk treat -- hot cocoa! Jude hasn't had hot cocoa before, which made it extra special. I let the older kids (everyone but Jude) control how much chocolate went into their cups, and they stirred. I knew well it was going to make a mess, but it gave the kids ownership of their own actions, and between their self-made lanterns and hot cocoa, they ended the night happy and proud!

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365: Hot Cocoa Day (feat. Lantern Walk)