As the days get colder and the snow begins to fall, our thoughts turn naturally to the coming holidays and time spent with family and friends. Large dinners of turkey and ham, holiday decorations, Christmas tamales, lighting the menorah, and long winter nights sitting together with the people we love and sharing a hot drink. During this holiday season, spice up your coffee game with these wonderful sipping options with our favorite holiday coffee drinks:

Peppermint Latte

This is the perfect drink to warm your winter wonderland. To do make it you will need:

• 2 shots of espresso or your preference of strong coffee
• 1 cup of milk
• A few drops of peppermint extract or 1 tablespoon of creme de menthe, or a single tablespoon of peppermint schnapps, whichever you prefer
• Whipped cream
• 1 candy cane

Brew the coffee. Add milk to a cup to steam on the espresso machine or to a saucepan to heat on the stove-top, or simply use a mug in order to microwave.

Pour the espresso and milk into a coffee mug. Add your choice of peppermint flavoring. Garnish with whipped cream and a candy cane and enjoy your drink while Uncle Barry tells the story about how he met Aunt Flo for the 19th time.

Christmas Coffee

The perfect drink to gather with friends and family around the Yule log. Firstly, bring together the following items:

• 1 10-cup pot of your favorite coffee
• ½ cup of sugar
• ⅓ cup of water
• ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa
• ¼ cup of cinnamon
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• Whipped cream

Brew the coffee of your choice.

In a medium sauce pan, heat the water to a boil. Add the sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Let boil for about one minute – stirring occasionally.

Add the coffee and milk mixture to your favorite mug while sneaking the chocolate out of your advent calendar.

This wonderful holiday coffee drinks brought to us by mrbreakfast.com, check out the full recipe here.

Candy Cane Cocoa

Make a couple of mugs of this wonderful hot treat for children as they come in from playing out in the cold. First, dig through the cupboards and find:

• 4 cups of milk
• 3 (1 ounce) squares of semisweet chocolate
• 1 cup of whipped cream
• 4 small peppermint candy canes

Chop the chocolate to sizes that will melt easily.

Crush the candy canes.

Heat the milk in a saucepan to where it’s hot, but remove from the source of heat it before it boils.

Whisk chocolate and crushed candy into the milk and stir until melted and smooth.

Pour into mugs and garnish with whipped cream and another candy cane to stir. Makes four tasty cups that guarantee smiles and laughter while you drink it.

This wonderful treat was brought to us by Allrecipes.com. You can view this treat here.