*This post is in partnership with Christmas Tree Shops andThat! a brand I love.  As always all opinions are my own.

Hey Friends!! Today I’m so excited to partner with one of my favorite stores for finding great deals on seasonal decorating products Christmas Tree Shops andThat!. I’m also joining a fabulous group of home decor blogger to share our summer outdoor entertaining ideas with you. Now that outdoor Memorial Day is coming up and BBQ season is here I want to show you how I turned a potting bench into an outdoor bar, with the help of all the amazing and affordable summer items out now at Christmas Tree Shops andThat! Guy’s what is better than an ice cold beer or iced beverage on a warm summer day? A fun bar to set up all those refreshing drinks on! This cute little outdoor bar I’m about to show you, will completely improve your outdoor entertaining game.

The decor selection at Christmas Tree Shops andThat! never disappoints and this shopping trip was no different. I knew I wanted to stock my outdoor bar with accessories that are safe for outdoor use (non breakable) additionally that will make hosting outdoor parties easy & effortless. What I love about using a potting bench as a bar, is that it’s the perfect size and it has such a fun outdoor vibe, plus lots of storage. The potting bench I have came in a natural wood finish that I painted with an exterior white paint. However you could stain or event paint yours in a pop of color. This potting bench also comes with a cabinet and drawer, so it’s great for storing all of our new outdoor dishes, table linens and the cutlery caddy from Christmas Tree Shops andThat!. The best part is all of their summer melamine dishware is affordable and stylish! I was so excited to see a variety of prints, colors and styles, many of which match the colors of my outdoor color scheme; win, win! Plus, the prices can’t be beat.

My must have items for the perfect outdoor bar:

• Tub for ice and can/bottled drinks
• String lights
• Drink dispenser
• Cocktail shaker
• Outdoor safe cups (tumbler, wine and margarita)
• Cutlery caddy
• Pitcher
• Napkins, straws, paper cups
• Small cutting board
• Fun Dish Towels

Here is how I took my simple potting bench and with some fun colorful entertaining accessories, turned it into a bar.

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How fun do all these colorful accessories look displayed on our new bar? Thanks to Christmas Tree Shops andThat! for having such great selections of outdoor dishware and bar accessories. I added in some pops of yellow to break up all of the blue tones I was using and I love the yellow in these fun pineapple tumblers. They are super tropical and cute!

I’ll be honest- I completely forgot to grab lemonade or fruit punch mix for the kids to put in the drink dispenser (somehow managed to remember the margarita mix though haha) So I improvised with this completely crazy and also slightly genius idea. I took all the different assortment of juices we had in our fridge, mixed them together and then added some seltzer. I basically created my own fruit punch with fizz, so that’s what it’s called Fruit Fizz. I was really looking for any excuse to get all these half empty bottles out of my fridge. Just promise not to tell the kids my secrets, ok? Shockingly, it wasn’t actually as bad as I thought it would be!

I’m using the pretty blue rimmed pitcher for keeping out ice water, to cut down on bottle water use. If some of the kids see right through my use -up -all- the- juice- in- the- fridge- concoction there is always ice cold water available 😉 Just be sure to keep a sharpie in the drawer, out of their reach, so you can write their names on them, then they can easily identify their own.

This little bar is such a fun addition to our patio. Before we used a random old cooler for all our beverages and all our mixed drinks inside the house on the counter. I love this hammered metal tub with blue which was a steal at Christmas Tree Shops andThat!, it brings such a fun pop to the bottom of the bar, and I like that it ties in the metal from the top of the bar. It’s so fun to have an area to make drinks outside and keep all the entertaining stuff organized. Now if we have an impromptu cookout with family or invite neighbors over for an evening cocktail, we have the perfect spot to entertain outside! Plus it’s all within arms reach- ready to go at a moments notice.

Now let me show you guys how the bar looks on our patio from further away. There it is tucked against the side of the house, it fits perfectly there and is central between our sitting area and dining area. I was so excited to also set up our outdoor dining table. I knew I wanted some pretty outdoor wine glasses. I grabbed these blue colored ones from Christmas Tree Shops andThat! and they look so festive with these fun pineapple straws in them. The teal lanterns I already owned but Christmas Tree Shops andThat! has a wide range of lanterns as well, which I think are so pretty as a table centerpiece, especially if entertaining in the evening.

Our table and chairs we already owned, however I needed some outdoor safe plates. I grabbed this set from Christmas Tree Shops andThat! I purposely mix-matched the designs so they had different combinations of patterns, which I think add’s so much interest to the table! I also layered underneath the plates these outdoor woven placemats in Navy also from Christmas Tree Shops andThat!.

Here is a close up of the adorable white metal cutlery caddy with rope handle also from Christmas Tree Shops and That!. I LOVE how the yellow pops off the blue and white! I plan to leave the Caddy in the bar cabinet so it’s so easy to grab forks/knifes/etc when guests come over. The best part of the potting bench turned bar is that cabinet and drawer. I can easily tuck the place mats, plates, and put all the straws, etc… in while we are not using them. It make’s entertaining so easy!

I just love how this all came together. I’m so excited to host our next outdoor party! What do you think of the potting bench turned into a bar? Are these items you could see yourself using at your next BBQ?

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to Christmas Tree Shops andThat! for another great seasonal shopping experience. I’m always so impressed with the stylish pieces I find at great prices. Be sure to head over to the other blogs linked at the bottom of this post! They all share so many amazing summer decor ideas!

Jordan

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Southern State of Mind    |   At Charlotte’s House   |  A Tufted Life   |   Jor Decor   |    Aratari at Home

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