The holiday season is one of our favorite times of the year full of warmth, laughter, and the joy of hosting friends and family. One of the best ways to enhance your hosting is by setting up a cozy bar area where guests can help themselves to a drink or two (or three!). Whether you're serving brunch, snacks, or dinner, a small and organized bar makes everything feel a little more special. In this post, we share three steps to creating a cozy holiday bar that will make your guests feel right at home and keep the celebrations flowing!
1. Pick Your Basics
If you look up "how to set up a home bar", you'll find a list of 20+ liquors and mix-ins deemed "essential" to have. But if you're setting up a self-serve bar for your party, we believe that less is more. You don't want guests walking up to the bar and getting overwhelmed by too many options. Let's make it easy for all of us and just start with the basics.
Depending on your event, start with a few bottles of wine and/or beer (experts recommend one bottle per 2-3 guests, but every crowd is different). If you're a wine connoisseur, you may want to go all out with wine and food pairings, but for most people, a simple option of red or white wine and one beer choice (if any) is totally fine.
Don't forget to have a few options for your guests who aren't drinking alcohol. We recommend a simple sparkling water, ginger beer, or even a non-alcoholic wine/beer.
2. Pick a Signature Drink
Making a signature drink is one of our favorite ways to elevate the bar, and it doesn't have to be complicated! First, consider the type of event and crowd. If you're having a brunch party, a mimosa bar or bloody mary bar is the perfect choice. If you're having a a dinner party, an old fashioned or margarita could be a good fit. Or if it's a happy hour / post-dinner event, perhaps the classic eggnog!
Don't forget to think of festive flavors for your party-- holiday favorites include cranberry or pomegranate juice, rosemary, cinnamon, etc.
Unless you have a huge bar, we recommend sticking to one (or two) signature drinks because of our next tip:
3. Organize for easy serving
Organizing your self-serve bar is essential. You don't want guests getting confused or embarrassed because they don't know how to make a drink and aren't sure what to pick. Nor do YOU want to be stuck by the drinks serving everyone. Instead, you want it to be easy and quick for guests to walk to the bar, make a perfect drink, get exactly what they want, and continue socializing!
One easy way to do this is to set the bar in a place other than the kitchen so guests don't bottleneck. You can also batch make any mix necessary (or buy in advance) and provide all the tools (glasses, shot glasses, stirring spoons, tongs, etc.) within easy reach.
Our Mighty Susan and Mighty Susan Sidekick make organizing your home bar easy. They're steel reinforced, can hold over 20lbs, and rotate like a DREAM. Shop today and sip tomorrow!