Teddy Sourias and Craft Concepts Group announce the return of Tinsel Christmas Pop-up Bar at 116 S. 12th Street, Philadelphia. The mad elves from Tradesman’s, BRU Craft & Wurst, Blume, U-Bahn, Uptown Beer Garden, Kontrol, Sueno and Finn McCool’s Ale House have spent months decking the halls bringing back this holiday sensation. Look for all new designs, new artists, more decor, extra twinkle, added glitter, festive holiday tunes, new cocktails, custom cups and ornaments, and much more bling. There are tons of new surprises to share this year – including the largest amount of original art pieces and installations ever in the history of the space.
Merry-makers will find 10,000+ twinkling lights, 2,000+ glittering ornaments, thousands of ribbons and bows, 100+ giant hanging presents and packages, dozens of naughty and nice elves, and a record number of Santas! Must-see new installations include a snowman made from spinning disco balls, a new augmented reality holiday light show, a holiday tug-of-war between Santa and the Krampus, a giant advent calendar with surprises to be discovered, a giant naughty and nice list, a gingerbread village and a Gritty Santa. Tinsel is first come, first served and standing room only. There are no reservations accepted. Admission to Tinsel is 21 years old and up, with valid identification. Tinsel is free except Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00pm and after, when the cover is five dollars. Tinsel opens Black Friday and runs through New Year’s Eve. Hours are Monday to Thursday, 4:00pm to Midnight, Friday, 4:00pm to 2:00am, Saturday, 2:00pm to 2:00am, and Sunday, 2:00pm to Midnight.
For the 2022 holiday season, Craft Concept Group and Owner Teddy Sourias wanted to surprise and delight with the most Christmas decorations ever brought into the existing space – every nook and cranny is blinged out with twinkling lights, santa hats, stockings, elves, candy pieces, rows, ribbon, trees, Gingerbread houses, glowing fireplaces and a ornaments. The decorations feature more original pieces designed just for this space than ever before, with many whimsical surprises scattered throughout the festive displays.
“Tinsel Christmas Pop-up Bar is all about the details this year,” said Sourias. “The design team and artists went above and beyond to take the experience to all new levels. We wanted to take everything we designed and learned over the last six years and create something more elaborate, more original and more festive. We have back several signature pieces, like Santa’s thrown room, but with a new and fresh make-over. I am really proud of the new installations, like our giant advent calendar, new holiday light show and our spinning disco snowman.”
For the season’s theme, Tinsel is truly in a tangle as it has been overrun with mad elves, krampus, a sassy nice list, Santa Gritty and other sweet surprises. Outside, look for a brand new Gingerbread façade that leads into a Gingerbread Village guiding you on your way to the main Christmas bar experience. Down the hall and through the woods make sure to look up as you experience the magic of the northern lights and beautiful snowy clouds that mimic a cold winter night. This year Tinsel has added a giant Christmas advent calendar that has been taken over by elves on the shelves – with a surprise inside each calendar date. For those wondering if they have been nice or naughty this year, Santa has dropped some big clues on his giant list scrawled across the walls of his workshop. Fan favorites are back this year but with new updates – including Santa’s throne room returning with over 2,000 glittery and glowing ornaments surrounding the gold and velvet red chair.
Among the new technology that Tinsel has installed this year, look for a new holiday light show featuring augmented reality that you will have to see to believe. Augmented reality uses existing reality and physical objects to trigger computer-generated enhancements over the top of reality, in real time. This is the same technology that is used on Dilworth Park, Wonderspaces and in Atlantic City on the Boardwalk – that fuses light projections in sync with the physical dimensions of the wall and surroundings to perfectly align them for a show-stopping light display. After a few Christmas cocktails, this all means you will definitely be doing a double take as the wall in front of you morphs into a brilliant arrays of colors and patterns.
For the design team, Tinsel features interior design and installations by Jillian Keys, Zeneca Thomas, Jason Miller and Scott Johnston.
For Tinsel by the numbers, there are 10,000+ twinkling lights, 2,000+ ornaments, thousands of bows and ribbons, 100+ dangling presents, hundreds of feet of tinsel and a record number of Santas. Plus, Tinsel this year has over four dozen elves whimsically running amok within the space – keep an eye out for some of the little pranks the elves have pulled. Some elves will definitely be making Santa’s naughty list for sure.
For cocktails, look for an all new and updated selection of naughty and nice Christmas creations, with 12 cocktails celebrating the 12 days of Christmas. Ice cold craft beer, standard cocktails and other beverages will also be available. All cocktails this year will be served in special souvenir glassware – so patrons can decadently drink their cocktails out of ornaments, snow globes, Santa’s boot and other keepscape glassware. The popular Canned Good Cocktail will return with a portion of the proceeds being donated to MANNA. The full cocktail list is found below, along with the beer and seltzer list below:
12 Cocktails of Christmas
(each and every drink includes souvenir glassware to take home)
Peanut Butter & Jolly Shot | $12
skrewball, egg nog, dash of cinnamon, gold edible glitter
Candy Cane Forest Shot | $12
boardroom vodka, white creme de cacao, cherry juice
Christmas Morning Martini | $16
holla peppermint vodka, coffee, creme de cacao, rumchata, toasted marshmallow
Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins | $15
absolut vanilla, hot chocolate, whipped cream, graham cracker dust *Available in Tinsel in a Tangle coffee mug for $7 upcharge
North Pole Bound | $15
northbound bourbon, amaretto, apple cider,caramel apple garnish
Ode to Joy | $14
union forge, peppermint bark, hazelnut, vanilla, pretzel rod garnish
The Little Helper | $14
orralejo reposado, amaretto, gingerbread syrup, aquafaba, gingersnap cookie
Rhudolph Spritz | $13
whitley neil rhubarb gin, champagne, cranberry, cranberry garnish
Hot Head Elf | $15
beach cinnamon whiskey, hot cider, dash of fireball sugar *Available in Tinsel in a Tangle coffee mug for $7 upcharge
Tinsel Snowglobe | $22
kiki vodka, maple simple lemon, gingerale, tapioca balls
Canned Good | $16
corralejo, lime juice, triple sec, cranberry, rosemary ($1 of every canned good purchased is donated to charity)
The Little Helper | $14
corralejo reposado, amaretto, gingerbread syrup, aquafaba, gingersnap cookie
Drafts
Evil Genius Santa I Know Him | $7
festive saison | black currants, chamomile, rose hips | 6.3%, 16oz
Rotating IPA
Troegs Mad Elf | $7
belgian strong ale | honey, cherries | 11.0%, 10oz
Fat Heads Holly Jolly | $7
christmas ale | ginger, cinnamon, honey | 7.5%, 16oz
Cans
Two Roads Holiday Ale | $7
Biere de Noel | 7.3%, 12oz
2SP Spot Saver | $8
Coffee Stout | 7.0%, 16oz
Miller Lite | $6
Bell’s Quite Brite | $7
belgian wheat | 5.0%, 12oz
Sloop (No) Santa | $8
hazy ipa | 6.0%, 16oz
White Claw Black Cherry | 7
Tinsel is first come, first served and standing room only. There are no reservations accepted. Admission to Tinsel is 21 years old and up, with valid identification. Tinsel is free except Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00pm and after, when the cover is five dollars.
Tinsel is open for the 2022 holiday season on Black Friday through New Year’s Eve. Season hours will be Monday to Thursday, 4:00pm to Midnight, Friday, 4:00pm to 2:00am, Saturday, 2:00pm to 2:00am, and Sunday, 2:00pm to Midnight. Check Instagram for any updates.
