Forget tacky sweaters and hot cocoa mugs. Say “aloha” to Hawaiian shirts and tiki glasses at Sippin’ Santa, the tropical-themed holiday pop-up at Pelican to Mars.
Sippin’ Santa is the beachy little sibling of Miracle, a tastefully tacky holiday pop-up experience that began in New York and has been adopted by bars across the country each holiday season. This island holiday concept features original glassware, holiday decor and a list of cocktails created by American restaurant owner and tiki legend Jeff “Beachbum” Berry.
Pelican to Mars brought Sippin’ Santa to Mid City in November.
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“I’ve been to some of the Miracle (pop-ups), and those were just absolutely a whole lot of fun,” Pelican to Mars co-owner Lance Paddock says. “So I just thought it’d be fun to start (Sippin’ Santa in Baton Rouge). It’s just a very successful event. They restrict the ability of more than one place to do them. So you’re not going to worry that there’s going to be five different ones around town. You can really make it a special event, and you get to work with some really experienced and good people.”
The Government Street bar has been tied up in tinsel and transformed into a bit of a winter wonderland, and Paddock says he and his team are still decorating the space to get it just right. Inside, find nutcrackers, beach-going Santa figurines, decorated trees, wreaths, big red bows, paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling and other festive decor. Items were sourced from stores, personal collections, the Sippin’ Santa startup kit and even old movie sets. Paddock says he hopes to take decorations up a notch each year.
“Saying you’re finished (decorating) something like this is probably never true,” Paddock says. “Because every day we’ll probably say, ‘Let’s add.’”
No bar pop-up would be complete without a few specialty sips, and Sippin’ Santa offers a stacked menu of 11 options. The drink recipes, crafted by Berry, include tiki-inspired spirits and flavors like rum and coconut, along with some seasonal touches like cinnamon, cranberry and Prosecco.
Paddock says customer favorites so far have been the Holiday On Ice, with vodka, cold brew, condensed milk, ancho chili liqueur and cinnamon syrup; and the Jingle Bird, with bourbon, pineapple rum, Campari and lime. Some of his underrated recommendations include the Tom and Sherry and the Choquito.
Each item is served in its own unique glassware, from decorated rock glasses to shark-shaped goblets. Patrons can also ask their bartender to purchase a brand-new, packaged collectible glass to take home.
“Every year (Sippin’ Santa) adds a new mug or two,” Paddock says. “The big new one is the Jingle Bird, which just happens to be a pelican. How perfect?”
So far, Paddock says the pop-up has been great for business with plenty of new patrons and regulars stopping in to grab a seasonal cocktail and see the holiday decorations. Paddock says the pop-up’s opening night yielded double the volume of sales for an average night. And, Sippin’ Santa brought in even more of a crowd on White Light Night last month.
“We want to do this every year,” Paddock says. “This is something we’ve always wanted to do. They weren’t ready to expand to Baton Rouge last year. And it’s good we didn’t because we probably weren’t really ready. I think we’re ready now, or at least as ready as we’re going to be for our first time.”
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Paddock admits that bringing this event to Baton Rouge comes with a learning curve. He and his staff have to make sure they’re executing the vibe of Sippin’ Santa along with its drink recipes. But, he says having this experience under their belts will help Pelican to Mars in the long run, and he hopes the bar can host more original events and up its seasonal cocktail game.
“There’s a lot of lessons from this that we can translate over to Halloween and things of that nature,” he says.
Sippin’ Santa will be at Pelican to Mars through New Year’s Eve. Find the drink menu here. Pelican to Mars is open Monday through Thursday 3 p.m.– 2 a.m., Friday 11 a.m.– 2 a.m., Saturday 9 a.m.– 2 a.m., and Sunday 9 a.m.– midnight. Paddock says additional parking can be found at JCW Creative after 5 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends.