The hot chocolate bar for a winter gathering.

A slow cooker is the right vessel for a hot chocolate bar because of its warm setting. Make the chocolate on the stove, where it heats quickly and evenly, then pour it into the slow cooker on warm. It stays at drinking temperature for the whole afternoon, and the lid keeps a skin from forming between visits.

This is Crock-Pot's basic 7 quart model: a stainless exterior, a removable stoneware insert, and three settings, high, low and warm. Seven quarts holds a gallon and a half of hot chocolate with room to ladle. The insert and lid go in the dishwasher, and the insert can go in the oven up to 400 degrees, so it also bakes and serves the rest of the year.

The manual dial has no timer, which is fine here; hot chocolate is watched, not left overnight. Anyone who wants programmable control for stews should look at Crock-Pot's timer models, which cost a little more.

Some guests want their hot chocolate topped with foam rather than whipped cream, and a jug frother on the bar makes that a self-service job. Instant Pot's 4-in-1 has four programs: cold foam, light warm foam, dense warm foam, and warm milk with no foam. It is operated with two buttons, which children can manage.

It froths up to 8.5 ounces or heats up to 17, and the outside stays cool to the touch. The lid and whisk go in the dishwasher. The warm-milk setting is useful for a guest who wants a dairy-free cup: heat oat milk in the frother and stir in shaved chocolate from the jars.

Skip it if nobody in your house drinks lattes; for a single winter afternoon, whipped cream in a bowl does the same job.

Hot chocolate is the one hot drink that looks good, and a clear mug shows it off: the dark chocolate, the layer of foam, the marshmallows on top. Bodum's Bistro mugs are double-walled, so the chocolate appears to float and the outside stays near room temperature. That second property is the practical one when children are carrying their own cups.

They are 10 ounces, mouth-blown from heat-resistant borosilicate glass, and dishwasher safe. Ten ounces is the right size for hot chocolate, which is rich; a larger mug goes cold before it is finished.

Double-wall glass is light and thinner than it looks, and a hard knock on a stone counter can crack it. For a houseful of young children, a stoneware mug is the safer choice.

Toppings are what make it a bar: mini marshmallows, shaved dark chocolate, crushed peppermint, cinnamon, a jar of flaky salt for the adults. Each wants its own small container with a spoon, and a lid so the leftovers keep.

Bormioli Rocco's Quattro Stagioni jars are a favorite of Italian home cooks for preserving. These are 5 ounces, about 3 inches square and 3.25 inches tall, with gold screw lids and the embossed fruit motif the range is known for. They are made in Italy and dishwasher safe. Twelve is enough for a bar of six toppings with a second set refilled and waiting.

Afterward they go to the pantry for spices, or to the kitchen for jam and small food gifts, which is the point of buying good jars over party containers.

A round ladle poured into a mug leaves a drip down the outside every time, and on a self-service bar that is a sticky counter by the second hour. OXO's ladle has a pour spout on each side of the bowl, one for right-handed guests and one for left, and an angled head that keeps the liquid in while it is lifted.

It is stainless steel with OXO's soft non-slip grip, which stays secure with a wet or chocolatey hand, and it goes in the dishwasher. The handle is long enough to reach the bottom of a 7 quart slow cooker.

It is a kitchen ladle, polished enough for the table but not a serving piece. A host who wants silver on the bar should look at a punch ladle instead.

The Velvetiser is a modern chocolatière. Milk goes in with flakes of real chocolate rather than cocoa powder, a button is pressed, and a magnetic whisk modeled on the molinillo, the traditional wooden chocolate whisk, heats and froths the two together. Hotel Chocolat says it takes about two and a half minutes, and the result is thicker and smoother than a stirred pot.

The body is double-skinned metal to hold the heat, with a spout on each side and a cast-iron handle. The whisk comes out and goes in the dishwasher, and the jug is cleaned by running water and a drop of soap through a cycle. It comes with two ceramic cups.

It makes a couple of cups at a time, so it is the host's own machine rather than the engine of a party for twenty. Buy it for a household that drinks hot chocolate every winter evening, and use the slow cooker for the crowd.