Create Your Own Christmas Coffee Bar

Christmas coffee setup with star cookies, mug, and whipped cream
  • 1-3 hours
  • Beginner
  • 20-100
What You'll Need
1 or 2 cans spray paint in a festive color
1 can chalkboard spray paint
1 large picture frame
Chalk
Coffee mugs
Coffee pot
Fun containers for cream, sugar, cinnamon sticks, marshmallows, K-cups
Christmas decor
What You'll Need
1 or 2 cans spray paint in a festive color
1 can chalkboard spray paint
1 large picture frame
Chalk
Coffee mugs
Coffee pot
Fun containers for cream, sugar, cinnamon sticks, marshmallows, K-cups
Christmas decor

A Christmas coffee cart or bar takes your caffeine obsession to a whole new level and is something you can enjoy the entire holiday or winter season. The best thing about a DIY coffee bar is that you can do anything you want to make the actual bar, whether you build one from scratch, upcycle a vintage item, set it up on your kitchen counter, or leave the DIY part to the details and purchase a brand new cart.

Step 1 - Paint the Cart

You can skip this first step if you have a bar cart you don't want to paint. If you constructed one from scratch or want to revamp a cart you already have, spray paint is the perfect fix. Use any color; gold is flashy and fun, white is muted and elegant, black is bold, and red matches the holiday theme.

To spray paint your cart, take it outside. You'll need proper ventilation and a large drop cloth you don’t mind getting messy. Remove any piece you don't want to paint (such as the shelves), or cover them with paper and tape if you can’t. Put the cart onto the cloth, and start spraying paint onto the top of the piece, moving downward. Work slowly, using even motions to ensure thorough coverage. If one coat doesn’t do the trick, repeat the process with another. Let your new work of art dry for a few hours.

Step 2 - Paint the Picture Frame

What you’re going to do now is dismantle your picture frame and spray paint the sheet of glass. Take the glass out of the frame, place it on the same cloth you already sprayed your cart with, and spray the side facing you with chalkboard paint.

The exterior of your frame needs a little love, too. You can spray it the same color you used to spray your coffee bar cart, or you can get creative with another color. Once it’s dry, you’ll need to rearrange it to ensure all the edges are sprayed evenly, which takes a bit of time since you want every side to dry completely before you move on.

Step 3 - Decorate Your Signage

Now that your frame and your glass are dry, it’s time to reassemble them. Once it’s all together, you get to bring out your inner creative. Pretend you know calligraphy, or you’re exceptionally artistic (bonus points if you are) and decorate your chalkboard. We love sayings such as “All You Need is Love and Coffee” or “I Like Big Cups and I Cannot Lie” for this fun frame. Coffee sign inspiration is all around you, and you can be as elegant, fun, or hilarious as you see fit. Don’t worry about being perfect. (We hear it’s overrated.)

coffee supplies

Step 4 - Set up the Cart

Now that everything is dry, it’s time to set up and decorate your Christmas coffee bar. Find a small empty wall to place your cart against. If you’re not quite ready for something permanent, you can set your frame on the cart itself instead of attaching it to the wall over the cart. (If you want the coffee area to be permanent, hang the frame on the wall and add some fun hooks for your mugs.)

Put your coffee pot or Keurig on the top shelf of the cart, and find yourself an outlet to plug it in. Use your second shelf for cute coffee mugs. This is not the place for your formal, fancy mugs from Tiffany & Co., especially if you have little ones running around. It’s the place for the fun mugs with creative sayings displayed for everyone to see on Christmas morning.

Add a darling mug filled with mixing sticks or straws next to your pot. Add sugar to a pretty bowl, and don’t forget a vase of fresh flowers. Since it’s Christmas, we think some gorgeous poinsettias will do the trick in a stemless wine glass. Maybe add a touch of mistletoe on the edge of your coffee frame. You get extra points for having all your little containers labeled.

Don’t forget the cinnamon sticks to add a bit of holiday cheer, and throw in a clear container of marshmallows so the kids can use your coffee bar cart to brew their hot chocolate. Toss in a glass of candy canes for stirring hot chocolate, and you have a Christmas morning coffee bar you can enjoy throughout the season.