Beautiful Bars for Holiday Entertaining

When I entertain during the holidays, I like to set up a beautiful bar in my foyer so I can greet guests at the door with cocktails and appetizers. Photo by Bryan E. McCay in Nell Hill’s Feather Your Nest (Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing).

So, I’ve struck a compromise with myself: When I throw a party, I only have to get the main level of my home show-ready. The upstairs can look like a Kansas twister barreled through, with dirty laundry, piles of paperwork or stacks of books strewn about.

To protect unsuspecting guests from wandering upstairs where they’ll be assaulted by the indelicate state of my second level, I developed a crafty way to corral them in the presentable rooms of the house. I set up a beautiful bar at the foot of my staircase that acts as a barricade.

Not only did my guard tower of a bar keep innocent victims from entering Disaster Central upstairs, it also solved my age-old dilemma of where to serve the sprits when I entertain.

Since I don’t have a built-in wet bar, I’ve tried to create a bar in different areas of my home, with limited success. Once I set up a bar in front of the window seat in my living room. While the bar looked great in this little nook, it gobbled up too much seating space. I’ve also tried to set up a bar on my front patio, but all I have to do is think about having an outdoor event, and the storm clouds gather.

Now that I had the perfect spot, it was time to create the perfect bar. First, I zeroed in on the two-tiered serving cart I use as a bedroom nightstand, hauled it downstairs and positioned it right in front of the steps. I protected each tier with an oversized linen napkin, then brought in the bar essentials, like a pitcher of water, bottles of spirits and scads of glasses. I used the stairs like shelves and filled them with extra bottles and glasses.

Instead of using a traditional ice bucket, which I knew would have to be refilled often, I cleaned out a striking blue and white porcelain planter, filled it with ice, tossed in a silver scoop and placed it atop the cart. As I stood back and examined my work, I was pleased. The instant bar was working.

Since then, I’ve had fun checking out how my friends serve drinks at their parties. Amy, whose husband is the president of a local college, entertains frequently. For formal events, she sets up a bar in the built-in bookshelves next to her fireplace. By placing her bar supplies on a handsome silver tray, she gives her simple bar a stylish presentation and protects her wooden cabinets. When Amy entertains casually, she sets up a bar on the center island of her kitchen.

If your home doesn’t have a wet bar, have fun creating an ad hoc serving station in an underutilized but easily accessed spot. How about in your little-used formal living room? A library? Your screened porch? The foyer? A passageway between your dining room and kitchen?

Then, pull out some of your most treasured serving pieces to give your bar a little pizzazz. Store ice in a crystal bowl. Place wine bottles on a gorgeous serving tray. Display glasses on a tower made from stacked cake plates or trays placed atop vases or compotes. Chill beer in an iron urn, large porcelain bowl or terra cotta planter.

If you have time, trim your bar with seasonal decorations. How about a swath of pine boughs woven through the stand of bar glasses, a hurricane filled with tree ornaments or a silver vase holding a sprig of holly?

When you’re all done designing, step back and raise a glass to your beautiful holiday bar!

Written in collaboration with journalist Micki Chestnut.