A cocoa bar is the easiest holiday setup in the kitchen: it takes one corner, it is useful every single evening from November onward, and children treat it as an event. Build it once in early December and it earns its counter space all season.
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Cocoa, marshmallows, spoons and sachets in four compartments means the bar sets itself up and puts itself away. This is the piece to buy first.
Bottles behind bottles are bottles you forget. A stepped rack shows all twelve at once and keeps the footprint the size of a cutting board.
Once the mugs are out on the counter, you do not need any other holiday decor in that corner. A set of four in seasonal glaze does the whole job.
Small wooden signs are what turn a tray of ingredients into something that reads as a bar. Keep it to one or two — more starts to look like a gift shop.
A nutcracker mug works on the counter through December and wraps as a present in the last week, which is a useful property in a season of last-minute lists.