🍪 The annual holiday edition | Morning Newsletter

Season’s greetings. I’m in the spirit to host another holiday edition of this newsletter, but first, we’re getting into spirits. Food reporter Jenn Ladd knows which holiday bars are good this year and restaurant critic Craig LaBan knows the agave to put on your own gift list. And we also know where you can go for holiday fun, thanks to recommendations from our very own staffers.

I had the best time at the Mariah Carey concert at Wells Fargo. She really puts on a Christmas show. OK, let’s get into it.

— Ashley Hoffman (@_AshleyHoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

It feels like holiday bars have exploded all over my Instagram feed. But are they warm enough inside? Are they as fun as they look? Which ones have a reliable food menu and not just sparkly decor? Food reporter Jenn Ladd has your answers. She went to the big ones you’re hearing about in Philly to lay out what you can expect from places like Craftsman Row Saloon and Sparkling Ritz at the Ritz. You just can’t get this kind of money and time-saving intel from an Instagram influencer reel. So, on Donner on Dasher, on Prancer and Blitzen to the honest reviews of four holiday bars, two ski lounges, and one all-pink popup bar to figure out if the holiday drinks crowds are worth the hassle. To the list!

And after a reporting trip to Mexico, restaurant critic Craig Laban has holiday booze recommendations that are all about the best agaves. They’re thoroughly researched and if “the iconic Islay malt’s signature puff of smoke and iodine sea salt hits first, then fades into the tequila’s caramelized agave sweetness” wasn’t on your list, perhaps it should be. Check out his recommendations.

🎉 We get weird here on the holidays, and columnist Stephanie Farr offers a dozen of the quirkiest holiday traditions in our region, including Kindy’s, where I scored some top-notch tinsel.

🎄 Let our very own Down the Shore newsletter scribe and reporter Amy S. Rosenberg show you the genres of Christmas trees on the beach, including “driftwood tree.”

🍭 He makes the highest volume of gingerbread houses in Queens and they’re all on display at Reading Terminal for your viewing pleasure. Get to know the man behind them.

🦺 Kevin impressed his discerning brother Buzz in the classic flick Home Alone by not burning the house down over Christmas, and we have Christmas tree fire safety tips so you can do the same.

True story: Christmas morning in 1941 meant a bit a of a donnybrook at a watering hole just across the bridge at a Haddon Township tavern in Jersey. Which Inquirer headline is real? (Shout out to our reporter Ryan Briggs for verifying the actual headline.)

A) 9 WOMEN, 3 MEN SEIZED IN YULE BATTLE ROYAL

B) 9 MEN, 2 WOMEN SEIZED AND A PARTRIDGE AND A PEAR TREE IN YULE BATTLE ROYAL

C) 10 PANETTONE SEIZED IN YULETIDE BATTLE ROYAL

D) SANTA KNOWS WHO HAS BEN BAD AND GOOD IN JERSEY

Find out if you know the answer.

We’re feeling festive, and below you’ll find our staff’s favorite ways to have a very merry Philly holiday in town. As for me, my annual tradition is baking cookies for our hardworking Inquirer journalists, and this year I made brightly colorful swirled technicolor cookies.

🎁 “Love taking a night and heading to Peddler’s Village in Bucks County. Great gingerbread-house and holiday-lights displays, and plenty of options to get some shopping done. Was there with my sons the other night to find their gifts for my wife. The 9-year-old picked out a book for her: ‘Mom will like this. It’s about a woman on a journey.’ Kid’s pretty sharp.” — Mike Sielski, sports columnist

🔥 “I live in South Philly, where you barely have to leave the block for holiday cheer: There are guys selling Christmas trees at every major intersection, decking out your front window is a spectator sport, and the famous Miracle on 13th Street ties up traffic in the neighborhood for a month. Festively, of course. When I manage to make it north of Washington Avenue, though, I enjoy a cheeky weekday lunch at McGillin’s, the oldest bar in the city, where my family often stops after a day of Christmas shopping. I find McGillin’s absolutely intolerable at night because I am extremely old. But on a crisp December afternoon, with the whole bar decorated to the hilt, the fire crackling, its charm is undeniable. After a few cups of soup from the crock pot on the bar, you’ll feel like you’re in a particularly cozy chapter of a Dickens novel.” — Aubrey Whelan, health reporter

🛍️ “I go to the Christmas Village. I love checking out the local vendors — especially the candle makers, Philly-based T-shirt brands, and cozy knits — and then heading over to Vintage Wine Bar for grown folk’s happy hour wine! I’m too grown for Tinsel!” — Elizabeth Wellington, columnist

🎤 “One of my favorite Philly holiday traditions is having dinner at the Victor Cafe in South Philly, where the waitstaff are trained opera singers who break out into song, and then walking over to see the lights and decorations at Miracle on South 13th Street.” — Stephanie Farr, columnist

🎄 “I know staying indoors is usually preferable this time of year, but it is so worth it to bundle up and witness the lush, dazzling holiday lights display at Longwood Gardens — fun for all ages.” — Rosa Cartagena, features reporter

🎄 “I really enjoy traditional carols around the holidays, my family usually attends a service at Tenth Presbyterian, which features a choir, organ, and live brass.” — Daniel Pearson, opinion writer.

🩰 “In 2021, The Inquirer’s dance critic, Ellen Dunkel, took me to see The Nutcracker at The Academy of Music, and it really put me in the holiday spirit. This year, she went with music critic Peter Dobrin, and they had a lively chat about both the dance and the music. Seeing a show in Philly on winter weeknights remedies my worst impulses to stay at home and indoors. This year I’m checking out ‘Fat Ham’ at The Wilma.” — Caryn Shaffer, senior SEO editor

What’s your favorite thing to do in Philly over the holidays? Email me with your answer for a chance to be featured in this newsletter.

Our 2018 Super Bowl parade speech machine Jason Kelce and his Taylor Swift adjacent chart-topper brother teamed up to Philly-ify a New York City favorite of mine about Christmas Eve in the drunk tank. Washed up from where exactly in Philadelphia in these new lyrics?

KUYLILSCH

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Teresa Hooten Kozempel who correctly guessed yesterday’s answer: Swarthmore.

Be happy, be healthy and be lucky in the new year. See you in your inbox then.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.