Make Happy Hour Extra Festive and Fancy in Just Minutes

Materials

To take your mixed drinks to the next level, here’s what you’ll need to make these fancy stirrers:

• Wooden dowels
• Acrylic paint and a brush
• Hot glue
• Mini bottle brush trees, colorful bells and other festive baubles

Step 1

Before adding any baubles or bits to the drink stirrers, start by throwing on a bit of color. Using acrylic paint and a brush, paint the dowels however you’d like. You can cover the whole dowel, paint stripes or polka dots, or simply add a pop of color to the end. Pro tip: to paint a clean line, wrap the areas of the dowel you want to remain paint-free in masking tape. Apply the paint and allow it to dry, then remove the tape.

Step 2

All that’s left to do now is add a small trinket to the end of the dowel. Use hot glue to attach a small bottle brush tree, a cluster of bells, a tiny bow, a mini pinecone or an itty-bitty present to the end of each dowel. A small drop of hot glue will go a long way in getting the bauble to stick.

If you’d like to use these drink stirrers long term, you’ll need to add a sealant to the dowels. A food-safe butcher block conditioner applied lightly and left to dry thoroughly will keep your drink stirrers protected for many holiday shindigs to come.

Time to Drink!

Looking for a beverage to pair with your cute new cocktail stirrers? We have plenty of ideas on how you can get your Christmas spirits up.