Happy Ho Hos

Nothin' says "Merry Christmas" like a bar full of drunken Santas!

Well...for some of us, anyway.

I was working up in San Francisco last weekend and, as I was walking up the street, I noticed an Irish Pub hijacked by Santas. Of course, I had to go inside and found it completely stuffed to the gills with an eclectic crowd of Santas with their collective bellies and other bits packed firmly around the bar.



It turns out that it was SantaCon 2009 in SF (and in many other cites across the country). In SF alone, there were over 2000 people participating in the annual ritual of dressing up as Santa (or a Santa-adjacent character) and bar-hopping from early morning until late into the night. I may have to start looking for a suit for next year's event...

Of course, when you mix a couple thousand Santas with over twelve hours of drinking...what do you think you end up with?



I spotted the Lenny and Squiggy of Santas stumbling down the street around 11:00 that night. As you can see by their...hats, somewhere between the North Pole and the Castro District, they appear to have misplaced their holiday pashminas and sensible shoes.

I covered their lower-equators in order to keep this site family-friendly and your digestive system intact.

If dressing up as a Jenny Craig-challenged holiday icon and drinking until you disrobe isn't your cup of eggnog, then perhaps you'd rather do this...



Evidently, there are a variety of Santa Speedo Runs scheduled around the country each year as well. All you have to do is don a holiday hat, a skimpy suit, some comfy shoes and...away you go. The guy above was running in Boston, where I'm sure it was a "wee" bit chilly, which is always good for the nether regions.

These guys ran in San Francisco (although I don't recall seeing them...oh, right, they don't run inside bars)...





And these brave folks ran in Atlanta, which I'm sure was also a little nippy....



I definitely admire their dedication, hard work, and athletic prowess...but, if I had to choose between the two festive events...

You'd likely find me dressed as Santa at the nearest bar watching the other group running by in all of their Louganis glory.

It's just how I roll.