DIY Donut Stacker Party Idea

Hi guys! It’s Amy from My 3 Monsters. Are you ready to think about food yet, so soon after feasting like crazy yesterday?! What if I told you donuts were involved? You’re listening now, aren’t you? I am thrilled to be here today sharing my new favorite creative way to serve dessert when you’re entertaining this holiday season. Whether you’re hosting a crowd or just your immediate family, this fun donut server will leave you thinking , “I donut know how I ever survived without one!” *insert groan here* For only about a $10 investment in wood, this little beauty will be a welcome guest at all your holiday get-togethers. It can easily hold 3 dozen+ donuts and looks super-stinkin’-cute on your dessert {or breakfast, or brunch} table now and all year long! DIY Donut Stacker Party Idea

Looking for a creative way to serve dessert this holiday season? This DIY Donut Stacker from my3monsters.com is exactly what you need. Your guests will love it!

DIY Donut Stacker Party Idea

In my mind, steaming hot cocoa piled high with marshmallows and glazed donuts go hand in hand during the winter months. Are you a donut dunker? My sons are dunkers and it kinda’ grosses me out. I am an avid non-dunker, but to each their own! After skiing or caroling, shoveling snow or just about anything outside in the cold, there is nothing better than cozying up in the warm house with hot cocoa and donuts.

DIY Donut Stacker Party Idea

To make your own Donut Stacker you will need:

1 piece of 2×6 pine cut 24 inches long
decorative trim molding {Get a piece at least 4 feet long so you have extra room for the miters}
(4) ½-inch dowels, each cut 18 inches long
wood glue
miter saw or miter box
½-inch drill bit and drill
Painter’s tape and paintable caulk
Optional: small finishing nails, hammer, nail set, primer and paint

Begin by sanding your 2×6 pine to remove any rough edges and splinters. Find the center of your piece of wood and draw a line in pencil. Mark the points where you want to have your dowels inserted. I put my first two 4 1/2″ away from the ends of the board and spaced the dowels 5″ apart as shown below:

{Do you like my quick sketch from when inspiration struck at work one day?} Use a ½” drill bit to drill holes almost all the way through the board. You want them to be deep enough to hold the dowels in place securely.

Next, cut the trim molding to fit around the base of the board on all four sides, mitering the corners for a nice clean look. Attach the molding around the base of the 2×6 using wood glue. I applied a small amount of glue to each piece of molding and used painter’s tape to hold it in place while the glue dried. You could add a few small finishing nails to make sure it’s really secure.

Caulk all the gaps, set the nails {if you used them}, and fill any holes with wood putty. Once the caulk and putty are dry, give it another quick once-over with your sandpaper and it’s all ready to paint. I primed my wood before painting because it had a few knots that I didn’t want to bleed through, but priming is optional. Paint the base and all 4 dowels.

Finally, insert the dowels into the base. I chose not to glue my dowels in place because it is so much easier to clean and store if the dowels are removable, but if gluing is your thing, by all means glue away.

The only thing left to do is rack up the donuts!

DIY Donut Stacker Party Idea

I’m loving the way it looks, but it is also super practical because it only takes a tiny bit of space on your dessert table. More room on the table = more treats, amiright?

DIY Donut Stacker Party Idea

Because it’s the giving season, I also designed a fun printable you can use a backdrop for your donuts-and-cocoa dessert table. It can be printed as a 16×20 as I’m showing here or as an 8×10. It was the perfect finishing touch to cozy-up my little display! Download the “Baby it’s Cold Outside” printable files here.

We have already filled up the donut stacker a couple of times for family movie nights, and I plan to use it at least once more when we go caroling with the kids I teach at church. My youngest son, who was born in January, always has donuts instead of birthday cake and I’m sure he’ll request it for his 15^th birthday party as well. We’ll make this little serving piece earn it’s keep around here, for sure!