ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The holidays have arrived early at The Xmas Bar in downtown St. Petersburg . The popular spot, a seasonal transformation of "Glamper," opened its doors last Friday after a 72-hour decorating marathon by Forward Hospitality Partner, Mark Acchione and his team.

They didn’t just hang a few ornaments; they painted windows, installed professional lighting and turned the entire venue into a full-blown winter wonderland .

"We’re not a pop-up, we’re a transformation," Acchione said. "We actually paint, we hire an artist to come in and paint the windows... the lights are professionally installed."

The backstory:

Acchione usually opens his Christmas-themed bar closer to Thanksgiving — but with recent chilly weather and growing anticipation, he decided to kick off the

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