6 Tips for Holiday Bar Cart Style

Bar carts have become a fun items for styling year-round, but during the holiday season they truly have a chance to shine. Bar cart style can even become a fun part of your overall holiday décor. All you need is a few tips and tricks to make them blend shine along with the rest of your home during the holiday season.

We have a small, vintage bar cart that was one of my first purchases when we moved to the farm. It only has two shelves and it’s all wood. In all honesty, it was probably more of a vintage breakfast cart or tea cart than a bar cart. However, when buying vintage items I like to make sure I’m really going to use them and this cart works perfectly for my purposes.

That said, if you’re styling a cart with three shelves, don’t worry. These tips will work for all of us. In fact, yay! You have more room to play with.

Make the drinks the centerpiece

When thinking about bar cart style for the holidays, make sure you don’t fill it with too many things outside of it’s true purpose. All the alcohol that you’re serving for the holiday or the small gathering should be included on the cart. Even if you only have room for a couple bottles, make sure they’re in there taking up some quality space.

Add the main choice (in my case this was wine) to the top shelf of the cart. You can find my Wine Chiller {HERE}. Include additional choices on the bottom of the cart. This is where I often add the harder alcohol choices. This depends on who is at your gathering, but for me, most people I know drink wine.

Don’t forget the glasses

Like having the liquor within reach, make sure there are glasses available there too. If you’re serving wine, include the wine glasses on the top tier and any extras on a middle tier or the bottom if styling a two-tier cart.

On my cart I have the wine glasses for my main drink option plus a few Moscow Mule mugs and added harder liquor below in case anyone wants to make a drink. If my bar cart were larger, I would also add in additional mixers like club soda and flavor options. I decided to add them here since I don’t have a middle tier and had some room.

Add in some snacks

Life isn’t really complete without snacks and neither in your bar cart style. If you have a small cart like mine, add in some mixed nuts and maybe some pretzels. If you have a larger cart you might even be able to get away with serving some small appetizers on it like these Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates {HERE} or these Prosciutto & Brie Crostini Toasts {HERE} or these Crispy Garlic Smashed Potatoes.

If you decide to make this a dessert bar cart, you can also add in these Cranberry Shortbread Cookies {HERE} to make it complete!

Add in the holiday cheer

Warm up your bar cart style by adding in a few personal items and some personal cheer. This can be anything from ornaments to a nutcracker, pinecones, etc. If you have the space, you can also add in a little greenery. I clearly didn’t and that makes me a little sad. Greenery is important whenever you’re thinking about how a space (or food) should look. So if you can add it in, do!

For my cheeriness, I used a nutcracker and some ornaments to brighten my display. If you have a personal ice. Also, because mine is so close to my tree, I feel like that gives it a big heap of greenery and holiday happiness. Additionally, on the right of it is a peace plant, which helps to add a little green to the sparkle too.

Use risers to give yourself levels

I love adding in levels to offset anything or raise things up that might be behind the glasses. It gives interest to the cart by adding height and dimension. Whenever you add those two things, it helps you eye kind of bounce around the space and take in additional details.  In this case, I used a cake stand to help raise the snacks up above everything else. I also used some books on my lowers shelf to give the cart some interest and make the cart look cozier.

Don’t forget the functional items and garnishes

Speaking of the garnishes, don’t forget about them when thinking of your bar cart style. Yes you want it to look pretty, but you really need it to be functional too if you’re planning on using this for a party or even just a small gathering.

In my case, I’ve added my ice bucket, which you can find {HERE}, a wine bottle opener, some lime wedges for the Moscow Mules and some rosemary sprigs that can go with the mules or even go in the wine. For mixed drinks you might want to offer lemons, limes, oranges and maraschino cherries.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, friends! I hope you enjoyed this piece on bar cart style and that you enjoy your holiday season! Also, if you want to know how to make the Paper Stars hanging above my cart, click {HERE}.