Hard to believe, but the holiday season is already upon us. So let's celebrate! It's a great reason to decorate your pad while singing along to your John Denver Christmas CD with slice-and-bake cookies in the oven. These things are OK. It's a nostalgic time of the year; bittersweet in a way. 

Christmas past haunts me with every ornament I pull from the box, and Christmas songs take on new meaning every year. Regardless, I have a feeling this holiday season will be a wonderful one even with the nostalgic undertones; I find it best to celebrate in bars with a past as well. Check out the lineup below:

Joey's at 561 East Main Street, run by the O'Coins, is a great place to unwind and soak in a true bar atmosphere. This place is a favorite of many of my friends and luckily right by Richmond's if you want to grab some chicken wings dripping with hot saucy goodness.

Winfield's is also a good place to listen to the whispers of Christmas past. Pictures cover the walls around the bar; in fact, just last week my lovely super Guido friend Angelo happened to accidentally knocked one of them over as he counted the faces he knew from long ago.

If an Irish pub is more your speed, head to Carol's Pub over at the intersection of Main and Culver, or Johnny's down the street near Merchants Road, and throw back a Guinness or two and buy everyone a round to get in the giving spirit.

And those of you with some thinking to do, or just tearful that summer has gone and left yet again, get your ass down to Marge's. I swear you can feel time move briskly across your face there, as if there were no other place it would rather be. The alcohol is more potent and the guests more colorful. And on those cold nights you'll probably have the jukebox all to yourself, so put on Sammy Davis Jr's, "It's Good to be Me...." There will undoubtedly be some Christmas ghosts singing along.

Got a tip on a new bar or club for our nightlife writer? Write to themail@rochester-citynews.com or call 244-3329, x. 25.