How to Style a Bar Cart for the Holidays: The Anatomy of a Holiday Bar Cart

How to Style a Bar Cart for the Holidays was written in November 2017 and updated in November 2019.

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Tis the season for holiday parties and cocktails! It’s finally time to break out the Christmas decor and get festive all-around your home. In this post, I’m sharing some bar cart styling ideas for the holidays, and everything you’ll need on the bar cart, aka the anatomy of a holiday bar cart.

Even though at the time, I lived alone in my apartment I really wanted a bar cart.I’m not sure why, but it seemed like the adult thing to do, and I just knew it would look great. I got my bar cart for Christmas one year, and absolutely love decorating it for the different seasons (see fall here, and summer here)! I’ve decorated my bar cart a few different ways over the years, but the anatomy, or necessities, always stay the same.

How to Style a Holiday Bar Cart

To be honest I went to Target and started picking up sparkly things here and there to add to my apartment decor. I bought even more than you see here because I wanted to experiment! I think that’s the best part about a return policy, you can buy more than you need and see what works where! It is so different from clothing so you can’t try it out in-store. I loved the little bird on the bottom, but it didn’t even make it 24 hours before my dog, Elie decided it was a new toy! If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen it on my story last week. I linked some of my favorite picks from online below!

Shop My Holiday Bar Cart

Anatomy of a Holiday Bar Cart: Bar Cart Necessities

Something Living

While I don’t actually use oregano in my drinks, my bar cart has been a great place for my oregano plant from Gardenuity! They have tons of great herbs and really help you maintain them! The best part is they won’t even sell you something that is out of season. I love the life it gives to such a static area of my apartment. I also typically keep limes on the cart when I’m planning on the company, but these photos were taken right before I left for Thanksgiving.

Mixing Tools

I’ve accumulated several mixing tools in the last few years. I have a lime squeezer (I couldn’t find a more official name for one), a mixing spoon, a wooden and a metal muddler, and a jigger. Surprisingly I’ve used them all!

Snacks

I went to a bar in Dallas one night for a friend’s birthday and with bottle service, they served Sugarfina treats all night! From then on, I’ve been determined to keep them on my bar cart but Kale and I eat them so quickly!

Drinkware

Moscow Mules are one of my favorite drinks possibly just because of the mugs! I had them on my Christmas list last year, and I was so happy to get them and add them to my cart! This year I was really hoping to get in the Christmas spirit, so I found these adorable snowflake glasses to add to the mix, and they will be great for our non-moscow mule drinks.

Drink Shaker

I actually have 2 drink shakers in different sizes. I got them both as gifts, but I really appreciate the large one since I can make more than one drink in there. It comes in handy when I am making them for more than one or two people! The small one is what I use most often, though since it’s typically just Kale and I.

Adornments

I love to keep straws on hand to add to drinks, I also keep dried oranges, extra Sugarfina candies, fruit and herbs to use as adornments to my drinks! Delivering something beautiful is half the battle, right?

Mix-Ins

For the Jack and Cokes, or vodka sodas you’ll need to keep mix-ins on hand, but in addition to the obvious, I keep bitters, simple syrup, and La Croix.

Bar cart styling should be fun, and there is no one way to do it. Definitely play around an add/subtract as you see fit! Also, as things fit! My bar cart is relatively large. I wanted one that I could fit a lot on to, and wouldn’t look too dinky in my apartment. That may sound counterintuitive for a small space, but since it is one of the main pieces of furniture, I wanted it to match the size of the rest and take up the full space allotted for it.

Suffice to say, no matter what your bar cart looks like regularly, there is always room for some holiday cheer on it! I decorate a bit differently each year, and love being creative with the space season to season.

Do you have a bar cart to style for the holiday season? Tell me in the comments below!