by madison smith, guest contributor

There’s nothing like getting in the holiday spirit with festive flavored lattes and hot cocoa. With the holidays just around the corner, budgets tend to get tighter which means less stops to your favorite coffee shop. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have your share of delicious holiday drinks that look just as good as they taste.

Take your drink to the next level with these easy-to-follow drink design tutorials and topping inspiration for you to try out with your friends and family this season. These fun designs are perfect for sprucing up your everyday morning coffee, adding creativity to hot chocolate movie night with the kids, or even impressing your guests while they stay with you for the holidays.

When you are all about the design etching or fancy toppings, your holiday beverage creation will be worthy of becoming a new holiday tradition.

How To Etch Designs on Your Drinks

What You’ll Need:

• Drink of choice (coffee, hot chocolate, chai tea, etc.)
• Whipped cream or foam
• Syrup (chocolate or caramel)
• Toothpick
• Squeeze bottle
• Pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

Spoon Foam or Whipped Cream Onto Your Drink

Spoon in a thick and even layer of foam or smoothed whip cream onto your drink. If using canned whipped cream, first spray it into an empty cup or bowl. Then stir the whipped cream so it’s smooth. 

Prepare Your Syrup

To add a design to your drink, you’ll need to choose a syrup like chocolate or caramel. Make sure they are added to a squeeze bottle so you’ll be able to accurately draw your designs. If you don’t have a squeeze bottle handy, adding the syrup to a plastic bag with the corner snipped will also work. Don’t forget to refrigerate your syrup the night before so it’ll be thick enough to create solid lines that won’t fade on your foam.

Create a Design

Use one of these fun and easy-to-follow designs to add to your holiday drink so it’ll be the star of your morning coffee or evening hot chocolate cravings.

1. Flower Design

Start by creating a small circle of syrup in the middle of the foam or cream. Then use the syrup to draw two larger circles surrounding it. Take a toothpick and drag it from the center of the cup to the side. Repeat this movement until there are eight even lines, removing the toothpick and wiping it off between each movement. 

Then, in between the current lines, drag the toothpick from the edge of the cup towards the middle. You’ll add eight new lines going inwards. This will create a beautiful flower pattern.

2. Spice & Vine Design

Start by covering half the cup with a piece of paper. Sprinkle cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice on the foam. Remove the paper and draw a squiggly line with the syrup. Use the toothpick to draw a line through the center of the squiggle to form a vine-like design.

3. Zig-Zag Line Design

Use the syrup to draw three parallel lines in the foam. Use the toothpick to create alternating lines, perpendicular to the syrup lines you originally created. Remember to remove and clean the toothpick after each movement.

If syrup art isn’t your thing, try some of these fun and unique toppings to make your drink stand out. From sprinkles to heart-shaped marshmallows, here are some easy ways to wow any guests or family members.

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