Leave it to someone in the City of Brotherly Love to come up with a holiday decoration that combines the exuberance of Christmas with a Philadelphian's love of suds.
These hilarious - and oddly gorgeous - wreaths were made from beer bottles by the staff at South Philadelphia Taproom, 15th and Mifflin.
“We were trying to come up with something to give the people at Philadelphia Brewing Company for their Christmas party,” says Kelly Longacre, who co-owns the taproom with her husband John; PBC is one of their most loyal suppliers. “John thought it would be funny to make them a Christmas wreath out of their own beer bottles.”
The bottles are wired together at their necks, then pulled into a circle and adorned with a bow at the base.
They weigh a ton. Can you imagine how much heavier they'd be if they weren't empty?
One wreath is comprised by only blue, Newbold bottles - a brand the brewery created in honor of the South Philly's “Newbold” section - a name that John Longacre newly christened the the taproom's neighborhood, which is having a bit of a renaissance.
A second, multicolored wreath uses bottles from PBC and other creators of yummy beers.
These wreaths are so ingenious, so unquestionably hometown, they got me thinking that there must be many more, only-in-Philly Christmas decorations that deserve inclusion in this blog.
Like what, you ask?
Oh, I don't know - maybe someone has made a life-size sleigh carved out of Scrapple? Or a Philly cream-cheese, front-porch Frosty?
Share your Philly-inpsired Christmas decorating ideas and anecdotes, or e-mail me your photos (polaner@phillynews.com), and I'll post them here.
Food, by the way, doesn't have to inform the décor. It's just where my brain usually heads, all by itself.
Note: Crossposted at Earth to Philly.
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green
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