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If you're looking to make your own popcorn bar, here are some great ideas to get you started – all from the Dollar Tree!
Make Your Own Popcorn Bar with Items from The Dollar Tree!
If you're looking for a fun way to serve snacks at your next party, or just want to add some extra magic to your next family movie night – try making your own popcorn bar! The best part is you can grab all the supplies from the Dollar Tree and things you already have in your kitchen to make this unique, memorable snack bar.
Who doesn't love popcorn and candy?! You can put your own spin on your DIY popcorn bar and include all of your favorite goodies. It's super easy to size-up and feed a crowd at your next gathering (how fun would this be for a block party, New Year's Eve get together, or graduation party??).
Here's all of our popcorn bar ideas from Dollar Tree and beyond!
Having a family movie night? Here are some other ideas to make it special!
Popcorn bar supplies
I grabbed these adorable large red buckets at the Dollar Tree and they are just perfect for holding lots of popcorn. But, any large bowl or bucket will do! I also grabbed plastic scoops from the kitchen section – they work perfectly for pouring.
Next, choose your toppings and grab enough bowls to hold them. I grabbed these cute silver buckets in the craft section of Dollar Tree. They worked great for some of the larger toppings like Twizzlers and chocolate-covered pretzels.
For the candy toppings, I used bowls I had on hand but you can grab small, glass bowls like this near the dishes at Dollar Tree or use disposable bowls from the party section (this is the most cost-effective route because you can get a multi-pack). You could also use a muffin tin for all the toppings instead of individual bowls.
To give my popcorn bar some height, I took my spice rack and stacked the toppings. You can grab a tiered spice rack like this also at (you guessed it) Dollar Tree! I love how it looks to have all the toppings together and it's a great set up for entertaining. If you're just making a popcorn bar for family movie night, you can totally skip this step.
Finally, I grabbed these popcorn bags that came in an 8-pack for $1.25. They're a great size (almost too big) and store flat. You might find plastic popcorn containers at your store as well, they are especially cute for family movie night or game night!
How to make a DIY Popcorn Bar
Once you've grabbed your popcorn and toppings, fill all your containers with the food and start placing! I left my set up on the kitchen counter since we were doing a game night, but you can set up a popcorn bar anywhere.
If you're hosting guests, make sure to have scoopers, spoons, or tongs available so there's no need to touch the food directly. If you're setting up a popcorn bar at a large party, I'd even put a bottle of hand sanitizer right by the popcorn! 🙂
What do you serve on a popcorn bar?
The possibilities are endless for your popcorn bar set up. We went with kind of a “movie theater” theme and grabbed our favorite candy to go along with the popcorn. (I also grabbed some cotton candy at the dollar store because it looked fun and fit nicely in a vase I already had!)
If you're feeding a crowd, you could also include other salty snacks like Pub Mix, crackers, pretzels, etc. Or make it sweet and add some cookies or baked goods.
And, don't forget the seasoning! I set out Sour Cream & Onion, Ranch, and White Cheddar but pick your favorites.
Popcorn Bar Topping Ideas
Warning – this section will make you hungry.
There are so many different toppings you can include on your popcorn bar. Pretty much any combination of salty and sweet is a winner, right?!
Here are some ideas for toppings:
Sweet
- Chocolate candy – M&Ms, peanut butter cups, Sno Caps, mini Kit Kats, Whoppers, Raisenettes
- Chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips
- Mini marshmallows
- Gummy candy – Gummy worms, Swedish fish, Nerds clusters, gummy bears, jelly beans, licorice
- Crushed cookies like Oreos – yum!
Salty
- Pretzels
- Nuts
- Bacon bits
- Goldfish
What kind of popcorn do you use for popcorn bars?
Depending on the size of your gathering, you can use microwave popcorn or bulk bags of popped corn.
If it's just you and your family or a small gathering, you can pop individual bags in the microwave. But, to save time and energy, bulk bags are great option! You can find these at stores like Sam's Club or Costco.
Different flavors of popcorn is a fun touch to your menu. You could include traditional butter, Kettle corn, caramel corn, white cheddar, etc – all yummy!
Note: I grabbed these cute little chalkboards at the Dollar Tree to identify the popcorn flavor. They came in a pack of 4 and clip right onto your popcorn bowl.
Ready to make your own popcorn bar? I can't wait to see yours!
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