DIY Soda Shoppe Sign and Holiday Beverage Bar

This post for a Soda Shoppe Sign contains affiliate links. I make a small portion when these links are used, at no additional cost to you.

This DIY Soda Shoppe Sign and Holiday Beverage Bar were so much fun to put together. They came together to create the perfect spot for guests to enjoy a drink and bite anytime.

In our previous home, our red buffet acted as a beverage station. Since moving into this 1970s ranch home, we have a bit more space, especially in the kitchen. This little corner has worked its way into becoming a drink area, no matter what the season (and our buffet is a little more at home in the dining room here). I made the homemade “Santa’s Soda Shoppe” sign and then grabbed some of my vintage trucks and trees for the holiday look for this space. Check it all out below.

Holiday Beverage Bar Ideas

The complete tutorial for this vintage-looking sign is below. I think it adds a really fun element to this space. I’m also sharing all of the other components of the Holiday Beverage Bar, too.

Beverage Bar Essentials:

The beverage area is close to the refrigerator, too. During the holidays, when family are in town (and in some cases, spending the night), I want them to feel free to help themselves to anything and everything in the kitchen. With holiday meals, there are always loads of leftovers, too. Keeping paper goods at the ready are perfect for everyone to grab a plate of leftovers with...or just a few cookies from the cookie jar. Keeping them out and on the beverage area means nobody has to shuffle through a cabinet looking for a plate.

One spot on the beverage bar is for the paper goods...within easy reach and everyone knows where they are.  This basket can sit here for casual use or be put on the table/buffet area when we set a meal out.

Other Items to Include:

• cookies or treats of some kind.
• sodas and/or bottled water.
• straws
• fun decor

And what’s Christmas without a jar full of cookies, right? Let me also say that I never stack Oreos like this...it was purely for this post and photos. I got made fun of by my family for this one! They were almost too pretty to eat. Never again!

Lots of sodas to sip on!

Couldn’t resist putting a few bottles into one of my old trucks.

Santa's Soda Shoppe Sign

I feel like this sign really brought this entire area together. Below is the tutorial, if you'd like to make your own.

Supplies:

• 12"x12" wooden canvas
• white chalk paint (I used Annie Sloan)
• red chalk paint (I used Annie Sloan)
• vinyl lettering (I used my Silhouette to create mine, but you can look for precut lettering at craft stores)
• sanding sponge 
• dark wax (I used Annie Sloan)
• painting tools: paint brushes, wax brush, towels, etc.

Directions:

• I painted my wooden canvas with the white chalk paint. I only needed one coat.

• I used my craft cutter to cut out vinyl for my sign.
• The fonts used here are Lolly Script and Bebas Neue.
• Again, if you do not have a craft cutter, pre-cut vinyl lettering is available at most craft stores.

• After my vinyl was in place, I used the same white chalk paint to paint over my lettering. This probably seems odd, but it’s actually sealing the letters so there isn’t any bleed with the final paint color that will go on top.
• Let this dry completely.

• I then did two coats of red chalk paint and let it dry completely.
• After it was dry, I peeled off my vinyl to reveal the white lettering...with nice crisp lines!

• I then sanded the edges of my canvas with a medium-grit sanding sponge to give it that fun, vintage look.

• I used a dark wax to age it even further. I just worked it into the wood with a wax brush.

What do you think? Is this something you’d ever make? I love making my own holiday decorations...it makes them all that more special when I pull them out from year to year.

Y'all come by for a drink anytime.