How To Style A Bar Cart For Christmas

Not too many more sleeps now until Christmas! I had spent the past few weeks deep in ceramics mode as I prepped for holiday markets, but now that’s all behind me and I’m ready to fully embrace the holiday season. I usually give myself two weeks of PTO (minus the “P”) at the end of the year, and I’m so looking forward to being lazy during that limbo after New Years. I’ll be spending it dreaming about 2026, finishing up a couple of lingering custom ceramic orders, and just generally taking a moment to breathe.

But before I get to that, I’ve got some fun family time planned for the holidays. My sister is coming into town, and we’ll be doing lots of eating and drinking, which inspired me to put together a festive styled bar cart for the occasion. I’m definitely of the opinion that you don’t need to wait for a full-blown event to style a sweet party-ready area in your home. Doing so makes even just a 2-person sisterly get-together feel like a special occasion, and I couldn’t recommend it more.

This little scene on our blush pink bar cart (that I styled for Thanksgiving, if you remember) took maybe 15 minutes to throw together, so don’t feel too intimidated that it’s going to take an overly long time. My advice is to gather your favorite Christmas decorations and accents first, things like tabletop trees, garlands (I personally love felt ball garlands in this instance since they don’t take up as much room as evergreen branches do), and holiday-themed dishes. Place the pile of goodies around you on the floor beside the cart, and then start trying different placement options. Place taller things on the outside ends so they don’t get in the way, and put your most-needed items up top, front and center. More purely decorative accents should go on the bottom where they can be admired without crowding out necessities (but sprinkle a couple up top, too!).

My vision for this setup was a collection of items that my sister, parents, hubby, and I would want to use for a quick holiday brunch at home during the days before or after Christmas. I brought in a pitcher to fill with ingredients for mimosas or screwdrivers (although I also have wine below in case that’s preferred), a vintage utensil caddy where everyone can grab their silverware, napkins rolled and ready to scoop up, plus a tea towel in case there are any drink spills. I filled in any empty areas with decorative accents.

If you saw the post where I shared my Thanksgiving styling on this same bar cart, then you might have noticed that I reused quite a few elements. I wanted to show that just a few key swaps can make the bar cart look so different without having to buy anything new or store an excessive amount of extra seasonal décor. I personally like the idea of styling a bar cart for a party as opposed to a large buffet table because I think I can use fewer things to get the point across, and it’s on wheels so I can push the cart off to the side when it’s no longer the focus of the get-together.

I know bar carts had their heyday, really, back in the early 2010s, but with just a few modern updates to the styling accents (and embracing a “less is more” mentality), I think it definitely still works for 2026. I’ve already reused this cart for lots of different reasons, including everyday wine storage and even pottery production down in my studio. Shop the cart here if you can think of a few good uses for it in your own space, and let me know in the comments if you’ve got holiday decorating tips to share during this final lead-up to Christmas.

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