Best DIY Projects For Home Decorating: Hot Chocolate & Coffee Bar

A Hot Chocolate and Coffee Bar is a great to welcome guests over the holidays!

I’m excited to be part of this Home for Christmas event from Hometalk and Country Living.

hot chocolate coffee bar, christmas decorations, seasonal holiday decor

When I was thinking about creating my perfect Hot Chocolate and Coffee Car, I knew my first stop would be my home. With a quick mosey around the house, I found almost everything I needed. First stop– my project room where I grabbed two vintage thermos. I scored them at a flea market years ago, and I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to put them to use. Hiding in my laundry room… a wooden tray. I think it’s at least 15 years old and long overdue for a fresh look with some paint! The vintage red shade is Americana Decor Romance and the Warm White Acrylic Paint from DecoArt were already in my paint stash. The masking tape was waiting for me in my kitchen junk drawer. I also had a couple of chalkboard tags from Michaels that I bought not knowing what I would be using them for.

The jars are new. They’re the 32 oz Cracker Jars from Fillmore Container. The silver lids they come with are so pretty, but for this project I used Black Metal Lids. After the holidays are over, my plan is to reuse these stylish jars in the pantry– with the silver lids. To round off my project, I did a quick scan of my Christmas decorations and put anything I thought might work in a pile.

My first task– tackling that tray! I wanted to give it a festive yet rustic look.

I gave the tray a quick coat of Warm White, purposely letting the dark wood show through.

Next, I used my trusty masking to make diagonal stripes. I wanted to mimic the look of my favorite holiday treat… candy canes.

I lined the tape up across the tray and then removed every other tape strip while the paint was still wet

Then I gave it a light swipe of Romance.

So I had the tray, the two thermos and those fabulous jars. I figured some cheery Christmas printables would help tie everything together.

I am a huge Norman Vincent Peale fan. I probably reread my great-grandmother’s original copy of his book The Power of Positive Thinking once a year. I decided to use a quote from Peale to make some printable Christmas art. I also wanted labels for the jars and a little sign for the beverage bar.