top of page

Christmas cheers!

Writer's picture: Corinne SaundersCorinne Saunders

Two holiday-themed bar tours stand ready to toast the season — and help local causes.

Christmas ornaments that say The 12 Bars of Christmas are on top of a stamped Christmas bar paper passport.

Kill Devil Hills residents Crystal and Matt Hall completed The 12 Bars of Christmas tour twice in 2023, winning commemorative ornaments for each completion. (Photo courtesy Crystal Hall)


By Corinne Saunders

Edited by Matt Walker


Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the winter issue (Issue 13.4) of Outer Banks Milepost, currently on newsstands; find a list of distribution points by clicking here: https://www.outerbanksmilepost.com/outposts/.


The Grinch’s attitude. Charlie Brown’s tree. Rudoph’s nose. The holidays positively glow with stories about the transformative power of a little Christmas spirit. Add “The 12 Bars of Christmas” to the season’s list of magical tales.

 

“I was trying to create a Christmas economy,” recalls Mark Ballog, owner of Lucky 12 Tavern. He describes how Christmas week was always busy, but the other 3.5 weeks of December were a drag.

 

“I was like, ‘Man, I need to be busier in December just to help pay my people.’”

 

So, in 2019. he decked out his tavern in vintage décor, served up Christmas-inspired food, cocktails and mocktails, put out a themed sign that said “Jingle 12” — then watched customers pour in. The response was so good he could barely keep up. After a couple more solid holiday runs, in 2022, he convinced three more watering holes to do festive makeovers: Goombay’s became Goombrrr’s, Mama Kwan’s became Mama Klaus and Bonzer Shack became The Broken Candy Cane. Then, last year, they added eight more “pop-ups” from Kill Devil Hills to Manteo to the list. And with that, Ballog’s Christmas miracle was complete.

 

 “I’ve always had this vision to do, like, ‘The 12 Bars of Christmas,’” he says.

 

And what a vision it was. From Thanksgiving weekend until New Year’s Eve, they did huge numbers. And not just for themselves. Each bar sold $5 passports for patrons to fill — then donated those proceeds to the charity of their choice. By season’s end, they’d raised $18,000 for a dozen nonprofits, including Beach Food Pantry, NC Coastal Federation, Special Olympics and Room In The Inn.

 

They’d also put smiles on a whole lot of Christmas fiends’ faces.

 

“I love to get all decked out and dressed up as much as I can,” gushes Crystal Hall, a resident of Kill Devil Hills.

 

So much so, it took less than a week for Crystal and her husband, Matt, to fill their first passports last year. When family came to town, they completed a second round in another three to four days.

 

“We’re overachievers,” she laughs.

 

This year, organizers hope $10 passports will yield more impressive results. Meanwhile, passport completers — in addition to receiving the keepsake ornament — are entered into a raffle drawing, where there are 12 prizes, then a grand prize of a $100 gift card to each restaurant.

 

It’s not just a drinking affair. Young’ns can also get involved with a new Kids Quest passport that only requires three stamps to be eligible for entry into a kid-specific raffle (with parental permission). The tour will also feature a host of special events like Santa Claus and Grinch visits, Christmas markets and more, including Jingle 12’s take on “Toys for Tots.”

 

“You bring us a toy, we give you tater tots,” Ballog says. “I think last year I collected 260 toys.”


A man changes the lettering on the Jingle 12 restaurant sign to announce a Black Friday party.

Mark Ballog, owner of Lucky 12 Tavern in Nags Head and creator of The 12 Bars of Christmas, remakes his restaurant into Jingle 12 each holiday season. On the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, he changes the marquee to announce a Black Friday party. (Photo by Corinne Saunders)

 

Now, with The 12 Bars of Christmas firmly established and entering its second year, Ballog says he had to turn down prospective collaborators.

 

So, an entirely different tour has emerged to fill demand: The “Misfit Bars of Christmas,” which has 15 locations from Kitty Hawk to Nags Head. In this case, there will postcards for sale at each location for $10, with those proceeds supporting the Outer Banks Relief Foundation.

 

People who collect postcard stamps at all 15 locations are entered into a raffle, where three winners will receive goodies from all participating restaurants. Special food and drink menus will include both alcoholic and non-boozy options.

 

“I’m gonna do some mocktails for people,” says Jenn Crossman, the Misfits organizer and a bartender at Kill Devil Grill. “And I’m sure everybody will else will do that as well.”

 

Crossman says that the tour will also feature different events and be “all-inclusive for everyone’s families and their pets.” In fact, in future years, she’d love to see even more restaurants participate.

 

“We want to make this an annual event,” Crossman says. “Something that people can look forward to year after year…like the whole island of fun, like an island of misfits…just celebrating Christmas.”

 

It’s already happening in Duck, where a third crawl — “Duck the Halls” — brings in golf carts to carry revelers around local stops and events on select Friday and Saturday evenings in December.

 

Almost makes you wonder if all these festive bar crawls might start turning folks a little green.

 

Not for the Halls. They, along with 18 friends, have already made reservations to ditch their cars and barhop via the OBX Party Bus. And that’s not including the tweener days where nothing could be more fitting for an Outer Banks holiday than enjoying a frosty cocktail among beloved friends — while feeding a local nonprofit’s coffers.

 

“I just love Christmas,” she says. “So, having Christmas bars... it’s like a dream come true.”

 

Ready to join the party? The Misfit Bars of Christmas runs Nov. 26 through Dec. 31; the 12 Bars of Christmas runs Nov. 29 through Dec. 31. Learn more at www.12barsofchristmas.com or www.Misfitsobx.com or follow their social media feeds. Duck the Halls will run every Fri. & Sat., Dec. 6 to 21, from 5-8 p.m.


---------

Give yourself the gift of all of Outer Banks Insider’s ad-free, quality local reporting. Subscribe here today.

Comments


bottom of page