No surface goes untouched by Christmas decoration inside, stockings, vintage porcelain Christmas trees, even a framed shrine to Elvis’ Christmas special can be found across the two rooms. The bar is a dense concentration of light and reflective materials, pervasive red lighting bouncing off any number of bits of tinsel and otherwise. This front room includes the CD-based jukebox (it’s not vinyl, but it’s a win), which includes the types of songs you’d love to sing at 1 AM in a Christmas-themed bar in Texas.
A handful of wooden partitions create sections to the space, a few tables here, a pool table there, enough structure to create a little bit of mental separation while leaving enough open-air to feel connected to the vibe throughout. From what looks to be a short brick building out front, the space is deceptively cavernous inside, enough room when paired with the patio out front to host a pretty considerable Saturday night drinking occasion at Lala’s. And of course, what would a Christmas-themed dive bar be without a seasonal cocktail or two, a Peppermint Hot Chocolate, a Grandma’s Secret Nog, etc.
Hand wringing is generally a silly endeavor, so getting too carried away with the behind-the-scenes sale and purchase of a dive bar can be misguided if what made the bar great remains intact. Lala’s Little Nugget is that bar, a 1972 institution that earned another chapter in its history thanks to the Christmas-fueled legend built by regulars over four decades. And Santa received a better rooftop parking spot out of the deal to boot.