Molly Schoneveld is a PR and marketing guru. Her firm, SW PR Shop, has just rebranded as The Storied Group, offering personal PR for talented people and beautiful spaces. The firm represents actors, experts with personal brands, designers and hotels — and to accompany this, she’s launched The Sought After, an inspirational digital destination for hospitality, design, and attainable luxury. “The topics are very much aligned with the types of clients I represent in my PR biz,” Molly told us. As you’d expect, Molly leads an inspirational life herself, and is a bit of an entertaining expert to boot! Just in time for holiday parties, Molly is sharing her top tips for the bar cart, from cocktail ideas to holiday decor:
It only took one holiday cocktail party for me to realize that there is one key thing you need to do if you want to actually have fun at your own party: set up a DIY bar (or hire a bartender). The first time I entertained over 30 guests in my home, my husband and I spent the entire night refilling glasses. Fool me once! If you don’t want to splurge on hiring help, a great alternative is decking out your bar cart so that it is not only festive, but also functional. Even if you don’t have an actual cart, you can still create a designated space on a buffet table, or even a card table. These are the 5 key things you need to create a big impact:
- A DIY cocktail: My favorite offering is a simple champagne bar, where you put a bottle of sparkling wine on ice and then offer flavored liquor and fruit juice for some added zing. We keep other types of spirits on the bottom of the cart so guests can feel free to mix their own drink. Just make sure to put out a recipe card so guests aren’t left wondering what to do.
- Decorate with objects that are already in your home like this adorable peacock spoon rest, the Roger Moore print (I keep propped up all year on my cart), black and gold Jonathan Adler coasters, a hand towel from Amber Interiors, and the vintage black milk glass candle holder that I used as a vase—just add a bright flower. I’m a huge fan of pink at Christmas!
- Splurge & Save: For a splurge, I ordered custom napkins from Paper Source (be smart and leave off the date so you can reuse them next year!) and then to save, I DIYed the swizzle sticks by buying pom poms at a craft store and hot gluing them to wooden sticks, which add some extra flair to your glasses.
- Decorate the cart or designed bar space with the same attention you would give your tree: Felt garland makes an impact, creating a separate cocktail space. A bird ornament adorns the decanter, gold trees add some sparkle to the bottom along with the Nest Holiday candle (my favorite!).
- Don’t forget the glasses! I change up the glassware on my bar as often as I do throw pillows on my sofa (every other day, ok?!). It’s the easiest and most cost effective way to change things up and get a different look. Not to mention, glasses are a very key ingredient in making a cocktail! Put the glasses for your special cocktail on top and some tumblers down below so your guests have options. If you are entertaining more than 10 people, consider some of the beautifully designed disposable glasses—some even come with a gold rim! (SHOP: Plastic Gold Rimmed Champagne Glasses // Old Fashioned Glasses // Gold Rimmed Champagne Flutes)
