Bar brawl at Christmas drinks (5)
I believe the answer is:
latch
'bar' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'brawl at christmas drinks' is the wordplay.
'drinks' says the answer is hidden in the clue (words in the clue have absorbed the answer).
'LATCH' is hidden in the letters of 'brawl at christmas'.
(Other definitions for latch that I've seen before include "Door-fastening" , "Door-catch" , "Something to secure" , "Small bar for fastening a door" , "Bar to close" .)