By ALEXA DOOSEMAN
There’s no question that everyone celebrates the holiday season differently. Some gather with family as often as possible; others have White Elephant parties with eggnog and mulled wine; some watch Christmas movies from Thanksgiving to New Years. Personally, I started listening to Christmas songs a month ago. But if you’re looking for something less traditional, while still wanting to dress up as Santa, I have some nice – and naughty – suggestions for you.
Let’s start with SantaCon. Also known as Santarchy, Santa Rampage and Naughty Santas, SantaCon is an all-day gathering of people dressed as Santa (think flash mob meets Kris Kringle.) Participants walk the streets, sing naughty Christmas songs (for instance, “Cannabis is Coming to Town,” “The 12 Drugs of Christmas” and “Deck My Balls”), and spread rowdy cheer in their city. They abide by four rules, or as they call it, “The Four F*cks”: don’t f*ck with kids, don’t f*ck with cops, don’t f*ck with security and don’t f*ck with Santa. So, if you see these Santas coming your way, you can be assured that they are there to be boisterous and disruptive, but not harmful. If this sounds like your idea of fun, chances are a SantaCon is coming to your town. They occur throughout December in cities around the world, including: Beijing, New Orleans, Berlin, Calgary, Phoenix, Vienna, Tokyo, Denver, Kansas City, Shanghai…the list seriously goes on and on. As for San Francisco, where the event first began in 1994, get your hat ready because SantaCon arrives on December 10.
Similar to SantaCon, but occurring at night and even more focused on drinking, is Running of the Santas. Don’t be confused: “running” really means “walking from one bar to the next to the next.” The Running of the Santas is a national, organized pub crawl that occurs on December 13. All you must do is dress as Santa, show up at the first bar, and pub hop with the group. I’m sure there is also caroling, a lot of inappropriate pick-up lines, and whatever other shenanigans occur when groups of people dress as Santa and drink a lot of alcohol.
If you’re disappointed that the Running of the Santas has nothing to do with running, don’t be. This time of year is also a popular time for Santa runs. REAL Santa runs. Occurring across the United States, from Oxnard, CA to Sevierville, TN, Santa runs see runners dressed up as – you guessed it, Santa – while struggling to complete their run, whether that be a half-marathon or 5K. My personal pick for Santa runs is Boston’s Santa Speedo Run, where participants dress only in Santa hats, red speedos (and red sports bras, for the ladies) and run a mile around downtown Boston. Considering how cold Boston is in December, I feel like this might be the craziest event of them all. The Santa Speedo Run takes place on December 10 and raises money for Play Ball Foundation.
So, whether you show your holiday spirit in the libations you drink, the silly clothes you wear, or the amount of miles you run, one of these events will – Santa – suit you. Happy Holidays!
RELATED LINKS
Santa to the Sea (Oxnard, CA) Website
Santa Hustle Smokies (Sevierville, TN) Website
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