The best thing about the holidays on the Outer Banks this year is a collection of super-festive pop-up bars collectively called Christmas Island. Four favorite Outer Banks restaurants/bars — Lucky 12 Tavern, Bonzer Shack, Mama Kwan’s and Goombays — have teamed up to transform their restaurants and outdoor areas into Christmas-themed experiences where you can enjoy cocktails and cocktail-party-style snacks while mingling and jingling with friends old and new.
This fun idea started with Mark Ballog, owner of Lucky 12 Tavern in Nags Head. For the past several years he has transformed Lucky 12 into Jingle 12 for the month of December. With over-the-top décor and pop-up igloos, ski chalets and other small gathering structures in the backyard, Jingle 12 has been a huge hit. Ballog envisioned the whole thing getting bigger, and now he’s working with the other three restaurants to spread the Christmas cheer up into Kill Devil Hills. It’s a concept of “the more the merrier” and maybe it will even grow bigger over the years.
All the Christmas Island pop-ups opened on December 1, and the restaurants have come up with unique themes, creative cocktail and snack menus and special events. What makes it so fun is that the restaurants have gone all out. The sense of outrageousness puts the customers in extra festive moods, and it's such a fun way to gather with friends and family over the holidays.
Here’s what you can expect at the Christmas Island stops.
The Outer Banks' OG holiday pop-up bars: the Jingle 12 igloo and ski lodge.
Jingle 12
At Lucky 12 in Nags Head it looks like Christmas threw up, in tasteful way, 50 years worth of vintage holiday décor. There are lights on the ceilings and walls and all the décor and knickknacks you remember from your grandmother’s house in every conceivable space, right down to the salt and pepper shakers and hand-soap dispensers. In the backyard, there are temporary structures – igloos, a ski chalet, a camper – which groups can reserve as a gathering place and be served from the bar. The snack and drink menus are themed from classic Christmas films. Jingle 12 is hosting a Bad Santa Brunch on December 11 and gingerbread house-making event for adults on December 12. For more about Lucky 12, click here.
The Broken Candy Cane
Bonzer Shack on the beach road in Kill Devil Hills is themed after the villains of Christmas movies – the Grinch, the Heat Miser, Bumble and more. Events include a Grinch Scavenger Hunt on December 10 and 11, a Holiday Market on December 13 and a Whoville Tapas Night on December 14. For more on Bonzer Shack, click here.
The Peppermint Patty Whacker, the traditional Bushwhacker blended with Peppermint Patties, at Broken Candy Cane.
Goombrrrs
Goombays on the beach road in Kill Devil Hills is fully decked out in modern décor with white, gold and silver, their food and drink menus look amazing. On December 20 they're hosting Bad Santa night with Outer Banks Distilling and live music. For more about Goombays, click here.
Mama Klaus’ Holiday Tiki Hut
At Mama Kwan’s on the bypass in Kill Devil Hills, there’s a and tropical and Hawaiian–themed popup. The restaurant is lit to the hilt and the oak on the property is lit up as a Christmas tree. The grand illumination of the tree will be held on December 10 at 6:30 p.m. In their vacant restaurant building next door, there’s a self-guided holiday display where you can walk through and take photos. On December 10 they're hosting an all-day Holiday Luau and on December 11 they're hosting a Holiday Pop-up Market. For more about Mama Kwan's, click here.
So many possibilities here! Do you try to visit all in one day/night or do you try to go to one per night and stretch it out longer? Which one has the best décor? Who has the best snacks? Who has the most creative cocktail list, and which one is your favorite drink? These are tough questions, but you’ll definitely have fun figuring them out. And don't forget to dress up in your holiday attire!
Meanwhile, there so many more things to do on the Outer Banks in December. Check out everything in our Daytime and Nightlife listings.
About the Author Molly Harrison
Molly Harrison is managing editor at OneBoat, publisher of OuterBanksThisWeek.com. She moved to Nags Head in 1994 and since then has made her living writing articles and creating publications about the people, places and culture of the Outer Banks.
