Homewood Sisters Honor Tradition, Hot Chocolate Stand In 19th Year

HOMEWOOD, IL — Two Homewood sisters whose mother helped them start a hot chocolate stand when they were just 4 and 2 years old will continue to keep the toasty tradition alive another year. Kayla and Mara Winfrey, now 23 and 21 years old respectively, hope to build on the success of prior years, enabling them to buy and donate carts full of toys to Toys for Tots.

"I came up with the idea by driving around and thinking of lemonade stands in the summer," Kayla Winfrey told Patch, remembering how it got started. "Why don’t they have hot chocolate stands in the winter?"

Not much has changed since their first stand in 2003; the girls were bundled up and smiling behind a table then, and they're still the face of the operation nowadays. Back then, they were asking for 25 cents a cup, and used the money to buy toys for donation. Today, they'll take any donation amount—no minimum donation—with hopes of purchasing as many toys as possible.

Over the years, their brainchild has raised $25,000, Winfrey said.

Grown now, Kayla is a graduate of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Mara a senior at Notre Dame. The operation might have become a bit more "official" over the years, with professionally printed signs and specially decorated cups, but the heart behind it is still the same. And the hot chocolate is still homemade by their mom, inside on their stove.

"Honestly, I think both my sister and I don’t really remember the early years," Winfrey said. "And we couldn't even imagine what it would turn into."

The hot chocolate stand is a family affair, and has traditionally been held in the driveway of their home. The location is the same this year. They'll welcome visitors Friday, Dec. 16 from 4 to 8 p.m., at 1323 Hillview Rd.

The sisters will then take the proceeds to purchase toys, often filing into checkout with several carts full each.

"We’ve been very thankful for the success of it," Winfrey said, of how many toys they've been able to purchase.

The girls selected Toys for Totes because of its ties to the United States Marine Corps, also honoring their grandfather who was a Marine.

"It’s such a great feeling to know you’re helping out," Winfrey said. "This is honestly my favorite part of Christmas, being able to think of the impact we’re having.

"Words can’t describe how lucky we are to live in such a great community, and have such great family and friends that have been so supportive for 19 years."