Do this!

[trailerparkmedic]

You also forgot the part where you add Bailey's and/or Peppermint Schnapps and get completely trashed off your hot chocolate.

That part goes without saying!

What is a frother?

[RecoveringKinkoid]

They sell hot chocoate frothers where they sell french coffee presses.

In fact, they are the same exact thing.

A frother/coffee press consists of a carafe with a lid, and through the lid is what sort of looks like a modern version of a butter churn dasher. It's a fine screen that you push through whatever is in the carafe. If you are making coffee, you use it to strain the grinds. If you using it to froth milk or hot chocolate, then you put your whatever into the carafe, fit the lid on, and then plunge the dasher up and down quickly several times. This whips air into your drink so that it develops a frothy head. You an also do with with coffee and milk.

I don't know if skim milk will froth, I have never tried it.

So...making coffee, push the dasher down slowly.
Making anything frothed, give it a good, vigorous series of pumps.