Themed Bars Bring Festive Cheer to Cocktails
This holiday season, Las Vegas bars are transforming into immersive pop-up lounges with elaborate decorations and inventive seasonal cocktail menus, offering unique experiences both on the Strip and in local neighborhoods.
Resort Pop-Up Transformations
Several resorts are hosting high-concept seasonal transformations. Rouge Room at Red Rock Casino has become an immersive Aspen Ski Lodge and Winter Wonderland through December 28th, offering an après-ski-themed outdoor patio with fire pits and private igloos. The venue also hosts weekly themed parties, such as “Cowgirl Christmas,” and features nine limited-time festive cocktails, including the “Partridge in a Pear Tree.” Green Valley Ranch Resort is offering a similar, cozy, temporary outdoor event called Winter at the Terrace, featuring festive decor, gourmet small plates, and seven private igloos available for reservation. At Silverton Casino Lodge, the Shady Grove Lounge is once again the BAD ELF Pop-Up Bar, an excessive holiday spectacle open Thursday through Sunday, featuring dozens of suspended elves, a cozy fireplace, and unique cocktails like the “Rum Rum Rudolph.”
Unique and Hilarious Concepts
For alternative holiday cheer, Ski Lodge at The Cosmopolitan has embraced a rebellious “Heavy Metal Holidays” pop-up, transforming its hidden bar with a twisted, red-and-black alpine aesthetic featuring skull ornaments and electric guitars. The bar’s new cocktail menu features eight bold, irreverent drinks, including “THRASH THE HALLS” and “HOT BUTTERED GHOST OF CHRISTMAS ASS.” Off-Strip, Más Por Favor is running a spooky-themed “Nightmare Before X-MAS” pop-up through January 1st, featuring holiday-inspired Mexican food and cocktails like the Sandy Claws Manhattan, along with special daytime programming for children.
Casual and Pop-Ups
For a more casual holiday stop, Topgolf Las Vegas has launched its annual free Jingle Bell Lounge at the Birdie Bar through January 1st, offering festive decor and a Winter Flavorland menu with themed drinks like the spiked Hot Shot Cider and the frozen Brown Butter Brew, along with free photos with Santa on select dates. Todo Bien, at the UnCommons, has turned its tequilaría into a cozy Christmas Pop-Up, serving a specialized holiday-inspired cocktail menu that includes both alcoholic options like “Ubaes in Toyland” and non-alcoholic choices such as the “Snowman Fizz.”
