I bought a chocolate fountain last year at Sam's Club on a whim when we were grabbing stuff for a volunteer party at our home. It was under $30 and with a gallon container of pretzels and some other dipping items, I soon had a quick and fun dessert.

We do not pull the fountain out a lot, but when we do, it elicits oohs and ahhhs from just about everyone who walks into the house.

Most recently I compiled a quick fruit plate of pineapple spears and fresh strawberries and a bulk box of shortbread cookies and ran the fountain, which takes chocolate thinned with vegetable oil (sounds gross, but really tastes like normal chocolate) for about four hours while we watched all kinds of adults play with their food. And it was fun. At the end of the night, we had a pool left of chocolate, but no more dipping items, and all kinds of happy people with chocolate smiles.

The fountain claims it can also host cheese fondue or BBQ sauce, but I think we'll stick to the chocolate, at least for now, especially since Scott and one of the guests have decided we should thin the chocolate with Chambord raspberry liqueur the next time we host a party. Yum.

My cheap but still dependable and impressive version can be found at Sam's Club in the stores, but is not available online. Sephra seems to be the queen bee of chocolate fountains (chocolatefountainsales.com), but I also found a few more inexpensive ones like mine at Target online for those of you who like to entertain. I have found it to be well worth it.