Santarchy & Santacon

Uhhh… Does the title need more to convince you to check out this raging red river of Santas?
I’ve gone every year since 2013 and its a blast each time, people are cordial and there are quite some sights to see! As long as you follow the given list/​participating venues you’re bound to have a great time.
Do’s:
–take public transportation, it may be full of santa-​tivities but well worth it since the streets are full of people, parking is a nightmare, and well… no DUIs please.
–dress up! I mean, do I really have to say that?
–have fun, be cordial to the bartenders and venues that allow Santas, we want them to allow us to come back next year!
–pregame (if you so choose to partake in the intoxication that awaits), on the train… in your house/​hotel, it’s more fun that way.
–meet up in Union Square (or wherever they decide if its changed) at noon, personally it’s my favorite part.
–tip your ‘tender!
Don’ts:
–try not to fall asleep on the street
–try not to get too rowdy in a quaint venue
–pushing, shoving, yelling, fighting… just because we are dressed like imaginary characters doesn’t mean we have to act like a tween.
–try not to take it too seriously, have fun with your pals and your new appropriately dressed friends.
–dont bring your children… seriously…
Overall: Have fun! It’s a pre-​NYE festival filled to the gills with jolly jingling jesters, enjoy it!

Gotta love that most Unilocalers have a love or hate relationship with this event (notice most reviews are 5 stars or 1 star). Womp womp. Going with 3 stars because I can see both sides of the story.
If you are a Santa:
— Expect drinking. Lots of it.
— Wear a costume. Yes a fucking Santa costume or something (one) related to the holiday. Here’s some ideas: elf, present, a tree, get the picture?
— Go to bars that are welcoming you. Believe or not, some people don’t want to smell your Abercrombie and Fitch cologne under that damn outfit (see below)
— Be merry, hydrate. Hand jobs only at private (ish) areas.
— Observe the 5 F’s. Bring candy for children and a present to donate. Make sure it’s a new one and not some dirty bear sitting on your futon.
If you are a decent human being:
— Ignore urges to donkey punch every Santa in the balls.
— Try not to stare at the naughty Mrs Clause too long. Their assbag boyfriend/​some guy she’s fucking may get mad and turn into the incredible Douche-​Hulk. Avoid confrontation.
— Try to stay in until 5 – 6 ish. Santa Bros/​Bras are strictly diurnal on this day. They’ll be asleep on the daddy-​bought couch or mommy’s hand knit throw blanket by then.
— Complain to your local supervisor about the bro-​festation.

I’ve only been to SF during Santacon at night when it’s technically over, but people are still in their Santa hats and costumes. We go mainly to have an excuse to wear Santa hats and also to enjoy the holiday lights and decorations of union square. It’s always fun. However, now that I see what it looks like during the day from the pics I see posted on here, maybe we will go during the day next year.

How f*cking stupid! Yet another reason for misguided and self absorbed Americans to get drunk and stupid and completely disregard the increasingly mounting problems this world is experiencing! Not only is this a COMPLETELY SELFISH AND STUPID ENDEAVOR, it has absolutely NO redeeming social value. Grow the f*ck up people! Maybe start doing something to make the world a better place, instead of selfishly getting inebriated while dressed in stupid costumes! Yet another sign that humanity has lost ALL of its humanity! Wow, the
generation is a bunch of pathetic, self serving idiots, addicted to ANYTHING that will keep them from having to be responsible adults!
SantaCon: Irresponsible, Inebriated Idiots Running Amuck!
Sober up, people, and start acting like Human Beings, instead of little children.
You want to be festive this year? Help feed the hungry, or provide shelter to the homeless. Make a stand against racism or income inequality. There are SO many ways YOU can help. Getting sh! t faced is NOT one of them! Show the rest of the world how responsible people can CHANGE THIS PLANET FOR THE BETTER, instead of running around like drunken fools dressed as some fat, overgrown elf in a red suit.

I always love theme, but seeing THOUSANDS of people dressed like Santa is crazy! (In a good way). It all starts in Union Square and you pub crawl your way until you can’t drink anymore. There’s a TON of people, the bars are packed and it’s super crowded everywhere. I had no idea which bars we went to — pretty much whichever didn’t seem crazy crowded. Dress up, go with a good group, drink up and you will have fun.

SANTA CON SANTA CON!
I didn’t know they had one in SF. Was pretty excited when I heard of this. Stayed with my friend in their apartment by union square so traffic was not a problem thank goodness.
Union Square was a sight to see. Young old kids dogs. Cops, Giant beach balls protesters, Christmas tree, tourists. Santa santa santa’a helper.
Big santa little santa fat santa skinny santa. REAL SANTA.
Make sure you get to Union Square to see the beautiful view. From there everyone disperses. A lot ended up on Polk street. Quite festive.
Some places have free cover if you are Santa.
We were walking down the street and some guy at the toy store walks out with a snow machine blower and blows snow over us as we walked. Don’t get that everyday.
Don’t miss out on Santa Con! Also be a NICE SANTA.

Pros: Great for people watching.
Bad: Old naked dudes with Santa hats, crowds drunk bros.

If you love mindless, unimaginative, conformist drunken lemmings who need safety in numbers to continuously shout «woo-​hoo!» while puking through a town once inhabited by creative, world-​wise renegades, outcasts, and individualists, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, like SantaCon. The world’s shittiest, most worthless people, all dressed as one!

It was a fun time!!!
I highly recommend taking public transit into the city– Take the bart to the powell street exit or mission or civic center exits as well! we started off at Union Square and then my friends and I decided to walk down Market on the way to Castro. but there were NO bars on the way so we took the bart one stop all the way to 16^th and and Mission and found some bars around there to drink at.
Bartenders are super nice :) Just don’t be a slopasaurus.
The snowball fight at Duboce DID NOT happen which was a huge downer since my friends and I walked down that route just for that reason. We then took the Lower Haight route to find some more bars.
There were protests as well around Union Square to keep a headsup for that! Just get a group of friends, dress up, drink up, and have fun!

SantaCon lived up to the hype: a drunken sh! t show in a sea of red.
I have always been skeptical of such large city events. I’m too old for it at times, and often refer to it as amateur hour for the bridge and tunnel crowd and/​or techies. Yes, I’ve always been «that guy».
This year, I decided to be a team player and get involved with 2 good friends who have never participated and wanted to check it out.
Boy oh boy, it was interesting.
Ill start by saying that my idea of what it was is spot on… But the crowds were friendly enough. I was expecting parades of frat guys bro’ing out and shot gunning jäger bombs; well, that definitely happened but everyone was in the holiday spirit. Random dudes buying me shots, no fights, no pretentious bartenders etc.
Where I thought we made a good call was getting started early, roughly at union square by 11:30, bar by 1. By 2, the bar (mcteagues) was at capacity and we had seats at the bar… unheard of in such an event. We posted up, drank with fellow santas and made new friends.
Is this the best event I’ve been to in the city? Nope, but ill lighten up on the hater remarks and would probably participate again with the right people. I showed up in all red (no santa outfit or hat) and by the end of the day I left with a santa hat on… Who’s is the mystery.
Come with the right people/​attitude, be marry and jameson with eggnog backs to your heart desires.
Cheers!

Would you like lurching groups of homophobic, drunken frat boys mistreating your local bartenders and then vomiting on your doorstep?

As they say… It’s the mooooost wonderful tiiiiime of the yeeear!
Do you like the movie Bad Santa? Then you’ll love this.
I go every year rain or shine, and seriously everything from the leadup to the end of this event is pure joyful.
From the fun of telling friends who have never heard of it all the details, to little kids asking my boyfriend at the Muni stop, «Santa, where are the reindeer?», and the «HEY SANTA!» that everybody screams at each other, I can’t get enough. And I this is the one day I LOVE how touristy our city is because people are always rolling down car windows to ask what’s going on.
I’ll be going to this when I’m 80 I am sure. I’ve done the day thing, I’ve done the night thing, and let me tell you… LAYERS. The bars get so hot, you’ll take half your clothing off by the end of the night (even without sexy santas ;))

Did you know that Santacon originated in San Francisco? And yes, it was initially meant as a protest against holiday consumerism, but in part due to the prolific use of social media in San Francisco and our love for massive drunken gatherings, it has definitely strayed from it’s subversive roots. That said, it’s a whole lotta fun. You do have to come with an open mind and a sense of humor. Vive et vivat — it’s the San Francisco mantra!
Dressing full garb is definitely recommended. It’s not an event where you just wear a Santa hat and call it a day. Many people found cheap costumes at Daiso. The quality is like thin felt, but hey, you’re probably going to shed some of it before the night is through. Also, there are a few places that waive their cover if you donate a toy.
This past year was my very first and there were a quite a few highlights.
– We brought candy canes and passed them out to everyone we saw. Remember to ask parents first if you’re offering candy to kids. Walking through the Tenderloin/​6^th Street and passing out candy canes to street people was definitely an experience. All of them were profusely thankful, but it’s probably not something we’ll repeat.
– The Union Square dance party was the starting point for most people. We saw a couple of awesome costumes here including a Krampus getup and a lost Easter rabbit. And of course, the dancing robot stole the show!
– The Duboce Park snowball fight was a dud because the snow arrived 30 minutes before the event was scheduled to happen and melted before everyone got there. We did see an impromptu wrestling match along with a bunch of wacky costumes full of SF color. Even a Flintstones golf cart! It’s a cool place to hang.
It’s true, there are going to be obnoxious folks who intentionally block traffic and participate in overzealous drunken caroling/​shouting. But don’t let that hinder you from enjoying the sea of red and having a blast with friends! It’s a crazy, candy-​colored spectacle and it only happens once a year.
P. S. Be prepared for many, many bad «Ho, ho, ho» jokes. Facepalm.

Update!!!
This is my holiday. Everybody knows it. They say «that’s so jane to do»… Yup
It’s that time of the year to drink alcohol and sing Xmas carols for breakfast. Retreading my first review, can’t help but smile.
2011 — my best SantaCon memory. I am seen in a lot of YouTube videos of the infamous «all I want for Christmas is you» singalong. Had a blast with my friends. Drunk and eating crunchy tacos, Blocking the streets, giving high fives to people in cars, jumping In trollies and hanging off the edges singing Xmas carols while tourist have no clue what’s going on. Drinking and dancing on the street all day then hit up some after parties at lounges that start at 5pm. We were done out by 8pm.
2012 — was raining. Wasn’t as much fun. My friends didn’t want to join my xbf and I. Can’t blame them, who the hell in their mid 30’s wants party with someone who’s 44yrs old with a mindset of a 24yr old. Waste of a memory, for sure. It wasn’t that fun this yr. Wish I was with my friends making better memories. However, we made front page of sfgate as ‘bad santas’
2013 — TBD! It will be fun. We are rolling 15 – 20 deep. Mostly santas but I will be an Elf this yr. if you see us, come say hi!!! We will be fueled up with Jameson and Jaegar this yr. Ho ho ho’ing the streets, come join us.

What started off as a way to protest consumerism around the holidays has just gone on too long and become that which it originally protested: go BUY crap for a silly costume and then go out and buy booze and get drunk in the streets dressed like Santa/​Elf/​Santa-​Wench/​Elf-​Wench etc and act like an idiot with your friends.
Yes, I did this before — but the event has grown so large that it’s basically another «we’re so original» conformist event. There are far more creative & fun ways to spend your time — don’t bother.

It’s events out of this world that make San Francisco what it is. It’s the people who dress up and take this opportunity to reflect on current events and carry a sign saying «Elves are the 99%»
It’s the man who recruits the naked Santas. It’s the approach we all have towards SantaCon. It’s so much fun!
Personally, I know someone who fell in love with San Francisco thanks to SantaCon.

This was my first year participating in Santa Con and I had a blast! It is completely ridiculous, massive bar-​crawl but that’s obviously what makes it fun. Plus, who doesn’t want to run around the city dressed as Santa, elves, reindeer, snowflakes all day?!
Some things to keep in mind:
— Get a huge group together, the more people you have the more fun you’ll have
— Wear costumes! There’s tons of cheap Santa costumes out there
— Pre-​drink ;)
— Make sure you check the route ahead of time so you can hang out with all the other Santa’s
— Certain bars all around the city participate so be sure to try new spots out
— HAVE FUN and takes tons of pictures!
If you don’t like Santa Con, you seriously have no sense of humor! I definitely think everyone should check it out at least once. This year was tons of fun and I’m excited for next!

You haven’t lived until you’ve witnessed this event in person. I’m more of a people-​watcher/​spectator. I was really impressed by all the creative costumes people came up with this year.
The Naked Santa event was also pretty hilarious. San Franciscans love to have any excuse to get naked.
I laughed a lot at this event… it’s too bad I couldn’t find my friends. I still managed to enjoy it on my own though. Next time I’ll have friends in tow.

I’ve been going to this for years and it’s always the blast. The only reason I’m giving it four stars is because Santa needs to learn to Leave No Trace. I know it sounds all burning-​man-​hippy but Washington Square park was a mess and Santas should remember to be respectful and clean up after your drunken selves ok?
Also Santa should be a professional and not an amateur, so let’s keep from trashing our city so we can keep on enjoying this for years to come…
[/​off soapbox]
Oh yeah, i clicked «not sure» on the «Good for Kids» field. I guess it depends on the kids and the Santas…

You better watch out,
You better watch out!
You better watch out,
You better watch out,
Santa Claus is Coming to Town!
Hundreds of wild-​eyed party seekers dressed in red and white with Christmas cheer on their faces and in their brown paper bags speckled the streets of San Francisco on December 4, 2010. What a sight it was to see City Hall swarmed with belligerent, yet creatively dressed Santa’s, reindeers, nutcrackers and toysoldiers (to name a few) shouting, «HO! HO! HO! HO! HO!» This unofficial parade of debauchery and chaos is like the new bad-​boy version of Bay2Breakers circa pre-​alcohol ban.
The highlights:
— Greeting fellow Santa’s in the street with a «HOHOHO!»
— Running through the streets on a leash as Rudolph with Ms. Claus
— Acting a fool
— Singing «Don’t Stop Believin» collaboratively with everyone at the bar.
— Singing Xmas songs in the street
— Dancing with a Rabbi
— Cheap beers/​drinks
— Spreading Cheer and Merriment
It was quite an interesting experience. But I have a feeling this party is headed down the same destructive path as Bay2Breakers. It was not a good day to be driving down Polk Street or running into a Santa mob while strolling downtown. Some people delayed or even blocked the flow of traffic while others tried to jump on cars like they were sleighs. Alot of the bars that were on the route seemed to be completely unaware of the event because they only had one bartender working, which made it virtually impossible to get a drink.
If I ever decide to do this again, I’ll get a bigger group of friends and go all out with the costumes, cohesively. Backup bars/​meeting locations highly recommended and stick to one kind of hard liquor if you’re going to have any…