How can we serve something hot and keep it hot, yet it still be pretty?

Hey. My family is having a 50th wedding anniversary party for my grandparents next week, and we wanted to be able to serve hot apple cider, but are worried about it getting cold. My mom had the idea of serving it in a crock pot, put the rest of the family was afraid it would be tacky. Keep in mind, this is a hot drink alternative for the punch we will also be serving on the other end of the table, so the arrangements sort of have to complement each other and look balanced. Any ideas on what we can do?