Chicago has long been the backdrop for holiday movie classics, such as Home Alone and Planes, Trains & Automobiles. It’s a city where character, charm, and a sense of festive imagination come alive on screen — qualities that Brant Buckley, both a Chicagoan and a veteran American Blues Scene writer, brings to Xmas Pop-up Bars, his website connecting visitors with curated holiday experiences.
Xmas Pop-Up Bars has grown into a platform covering 40 U.S. cities, eight Canadian cities, and even Costa Rica. The site serves as a helpful guide to pop-up bars and holiday events, with each listing written by Brant to convey the feel of the experience.
The site also features Brant’s Chicago Blues History: Preserving the Past book, which he highlights as a great stocking stuffer.
Xmas Pop-Up Bars brings all the season’s small joys together in one place: strolling under beautiful lights, checking out the Home Alone house in Winnetka, sipping creative Christmas cocktails, savoring seasonal foods, and picking up a unique gift.
Brant walks me through the vision behind the site, drawing on his background as a musician and writer:
I created it because I felt there’s a need for an all-in-one Christmas platform that’s very easy to navigate and use. It’s cleanly designed with a Christmas nighttime bar vibe and is not filled with spammy ads. The website’s soul remains pure and intact. It is the perfect blend between my right, creative musical brain, and my left analytical brain.
During Covid, I put my guitar down for a bit and went back to college to learn programming. It really taught me how to think and structure ideas in a new way. My real goal with the website is to spread Christmas magic and light. The opening photo of me, holding the red Muddy Waters Telecaster Guitar in front of the Home Alone House in Winnetka, Illinois, perfectly captures what Xmas Pop-Up Bars is all about; nostalgia, creativity, and Christmas magic coming together.
As a Berklee College of Music graduate, I love storytelling. Now I get to tell stories through Christmas bars and holiday events. I’ve put hundreds and hundreds of hours into building and creating this and it has not been easy. This year, I’m expecting record-breaking traffic. I feel thankful the platform solved a problem and serves a purpose. It’s what I feel creation is all about.
