Better Homes & Gardens Crossmill Bar Cart Weathered Finish

A bar cart or drinks trolley allows for a fun and unique focal point in the room and makes for a great Instagrammable moment – especially at Christmas.

Christmastime is the season for entertaining after all, and while the festive season will be different for many us this year, our humble abodes will still be the centre of all hosting activities (up to three households can form a Christmas bubble from 23rd to 27th December, see gov.uk for further guidance).

Additionally, lockdown restrictions and quarantining at home over the past eight months has shone a light on the art of cocktail making and at-home cocktail hours (who watched Stanley Tucci's viral cocktail series?!), so to get us prepared for hosting duties at home, Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin of The Home Edit has partnered with Cointreau to share some holiday bar cart tips.

Clea and Joanna – Hollywood's favourite home design and organising duo, and more recently stars of Netflix show, Get Organised with The Home Edit – speak to House Beautiful UK about styling and organising your bar cart like a pro during the festive season.

The Home Edit

'This year more than ever we need to find ways to come together and be festive and have happy memories, even if some will be virtual and on Zoom,' says Clea. 'We're all about trying to make homes more liveable, comfortable and happy places, and what makes a home happier than cocktails?'

Colour theme

When it comes to styling a bar cart, Clea and Joanna like to lean in to a colour and theme. 'This year, when we styled my bar cart we did a really pretty gold theme with barware and decanters, it just warms everything up and makes it look more festive,' says Clea. 'We've all been in our homes for so long and a slight change in décor, pattern or colour will mark a shift in the season. I think it just makes it a happier place to be.'

For inspiration, the duo suggest using the same colour palette as your signature cocktail.

'The cosmopolitan is such a beautiful blush shade, that it's the perfect colour to use within your bar cart, and for accessories, flowers, and everything else,' explains Joanna. 'A bar cart in itself feels like an intentional special moment and bringing in a beautiful cocktail like a cosmopolitan just adds to that too.'

Accessories

When it comes to styling a drinks trolley, Clea and Joanna says you should incorporate linen napkins, coloured straws, candles, a floral Christmas garland and decorative glassware.

Plan ahead with guests

You may be hosting a smaller number of people than usual this year, but plan ahead and get their drink requests or preferences in advance.

'We love stations and we love zones so if you know in advance what your guests are going to like, set those stations up on the bar cart,' advises Clea. 'Make a cosmopolitan station, make a margherita station, make your plain vodka station with lime wedges, and other individual set ups.'

modern festive decorations sophisticated and chic, with a touch of sparkle against moody palettesart deco style circular drinks trolleyclockwise, from top left triangle garland on wall, £895, funky frills at notonthe highstreetcom drinks trolley, £325, graham green wine glasses, £1995 for a pair, marks spencer champagne bucket, £48, rockett st george champagne, £26 per bottle, marks spencer gold bauble, £2, marks spencer 'milk' bottles, £10 each, anthropologie paper straws, £299 for 25, pretty little party shop pineapple ice bucket, £40, oliver bonas decanter, £58, lsa confetti filled balloons, £399 for a pack of six, pretty little party shop copper cocktail glasses, £75 for a pair, tom dixon atselfridges hazelnut chocolates, £999 for 250g gold foil dark chocolate nougat, £1599 for 250g, both bonieri at selfridges cocktail shaker, £1950, marks spencer grey embossed glass, £650, rockett st george tray, £48, christiane lemieux for house of fraser large gold votive, £625 small copper votives, £425 each all raj tent club lantern, £1795, graham green led rope light inside, £2199 for 8m, lights 4 fun sea salted caramel truffles champagne truffles, £1350 each, fortnum mason

House Beautiful/Kristin Perers

COVID-19 precautions

Even if you are hosting the smallest of gatherings, gather all the garnishes like lemons and citrus, and lay them out, along with cocktail napkins. And, as Clea suggests, 'this year put toothpicks in each one so that no fingers have to mingle and touch other things.'

Additionally, keep the glassware together to minimise the amount of rustling around, and importantly, label all items on the cart so that guests don't have to pick everything up.

Maximise space

With a drinks trolley, 'find one that has three tiers as it lets you optimise space that much more,' says Clea. 'A bar cart really is about utilising vertical space that normally wouldn't be there.'

3-tier trolley units

Black Steel Bar Trolley

Ella James notonthehighstreet.com

£195.00

Large Round 3 Tier Drinks Trolley

Santoro Bar Unit

marksandspencer.com

£199.00

Gatsby Drinks Trolley

BB Home iamfy.co

US$274.00

Easy accessibility

Clea and Joanna suggest taking full advantage of all available space. 'You can use acrylic risers and turntables too,' they suggest, which is great for creating depth and height.

In fact, it's something Clea has on her own bar cart: 'I have a turntable on my bar cart to hold the different bottles of liqueur so that I can spin it around and avoid reaching over to find bottles.

'You can organise the liqueur that you use the most to the front of the bar cart. And it helps with organisation to have taller bottles behind shorter ones, so you can have a tiered approach.'

Declutter and edit

It goes without saying, only include what's needed on the drinks trolley. 'Remove things that aren't essential,' says Joanna. 'Don't let it get cluttered with things that don't need to be there.'

And finally, Clea and Joanna issue one final reminder – make sure there aren't any bottles running on empty left on the bar cart, it's taking up valuable space!

The Cointreau x The Home Edit Holiday Guide features sophisticated cocktail recipes and curated tips to help elevate your home for the holidays. Download it for free exclusively at CointreauCocktailHour.com and TheHomeEdit.com.

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16 festive Christmas tea towels to buy

Best Christmas tea towels

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anthropologie.com £20

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Bright and playful, this graphic print Christmas tea towel by textile designer & illustrator Eleanor Bowmer is sure to brighten up festivities in the kitchen.

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STUFF IT - Tea Towel

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marksandspencer.com

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Festive Poem Set of Two Tea Towels

cathkidston.com £14

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Breakfast With Santa Dish Towel

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Homescapes homescapesonline.com

£4.49

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Cotton Tea Towel - 12 Days of Christmas Design

Sophie Allport amazon.co.uk

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This lovely, deep green Christmas tea towel features the 12 days of Christmas printed in large numbers. There's also a handy hanging loop.

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Field Robin & Christmas Berries Cotton Tea Towels, Pack of 2

John Lewis & Partners johnlewis.com

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Keep it traditional with John Lewis & Partners' robin and berry print tea towels. These colourful designs will bring plenty of festive cheer to your kitchen and dining room.

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Set of 2 Pure Cotton Woodland Tea Towels

marksandspencer.com

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Embrace the festivities with these wintry tea towels. One features a large stag among Christmas trees and the other has an all-over stag print. The set comes tied with a bow, making it an ideal gift.

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Personalised Christmas Gift Tea Towel

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We love a thoughtful personalised gift, and this Christmas tea towel would be a welcome present. Made from natural linen fabric, it's designed with custom embroidered initials.

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Christmas Brussel Sprout Tea Towel

notonthehighstreet.com £14

US$14.00

Calling all Brussel Sprouts lovers! Printed on 100 per cent cotton, this vibrant tea towel is perfect for helping you prepare festive feasts.

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Set of 3 Robin and Holly Tea Towels

Crafted from 100 per cent cotton, this pack of three tea towels feature stylish robin and holly designs.

Olivia Heath Executive Digital Editor, House Beautiful UK Olivia Heath is the Executive Digital Editor at House Beautiful UK where she's busy uncovering tomorrow's biggest home trends, all whilst delivering stylish room inspiration, small space solutions, easy garden ideas and house tours of the hottest properties on the market.

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