One of the greatest joys of the holiday season is hosting your friends and loved ones at your home. Sure, some people might find this stressful, but many find great pleasure in it. Whether you’re a seasoned host with the most or this is the first time opening your home to loved ones for the holidays, there are always areas we may overlook. One such area may be your bar cart. As cocktails (or mocktails) and spiked eggnog are a staple of the season, you want to keep things festive, all the way down to your bar cart. Here’s some inspo to do just that!
Choose A Theme
The first thing you want to nail down is the theme you wish your bar cart to be. You can go full glam with tons of sparkling lights, garland, and glitter. You could also go traditional, with pine garland, red ribbons, and gold bows. Wherever you decide to land on your festivity spectrum, make sure you go with one cohesive theme. You don’t even have to stay committed to a holiday theme if you don’t want to. If you and your guests all share a common interest (maybe you’re in a trivia league together), you can go a fun route like that too!
Elevate Your Accessories
If you regularly use your bar cart, you probably have various glasses, mixers, and stirrers you use. You want to pare down to a cohesive set to keep the look elevated. Investing in antique stemware or an antique ice bucket could be a great present to yourself this year too. Especially if you’re hosting an event that will be more upscale than your usual get-togethers – keep the bar cart put together and elevated. After all, either you or other guests will be returning to it often for refills.
You May Have To Relocate
Depending on where your cart is located in your home or apartment, it may make things easier and keep the festivities smoother if you relocate the cart for your party. Some people keep their cart tucked away in a nook in the dining room, while others keep it on full display in their entertaining room. Just make adjustments as you see necessary – that’s one of the beautiful things about bar carts – they’re generally on wheels – so moving is a breeze.
Stock With Essentials
Make sure you stock your cart with any essentials you may be running low on or anticipate being consumed in large amounts. Sure, Campari may be used in small splashes, but the same can’t be said for your Stoly. So, run to the ABC ahead of time to make sure you’re not running out of the perfect ingredients for your favorite cocktails – a host’s worst nightmare!
Curate A Signature
It’s worth it when you’re hosting to have one or two signature drinks that you’re serving from your cart for the party. Obviously, if you have people staying for several days or a week, things can stay casual. But, if you’re hosting a large dinner or party, you want one or two drinks on the menu for guests to request. Play around with your own recipes or simply rename traditional drinks with festive names. And as always, don’t forget fun garnishes!
Decorate Your Bar Cart
The devil is in the details, as they say – and with good reason. So, after you’ve done the things mentioned earlier, take a step back and assess the situation. If she’s still looking a little sparse, consider decorating your bar cart more than you usually would. You can get creative as you want here. Some people stack books on their bar carts, and others add a simple plant on the top. A miniature Christmas tree could do just the trick here. Just make sure that after everything is said and done that you accessorize where you need to.
Hosting holiday events is a fabulous time to reconnect with friends and family and do what the holidays are about – spreading love and making memories that will last a lifetime. So, make sure you check off the “most fabulous bar cart ever” off your holiday to-do list this year with ease. Cheers!
