Pub Crawls - Santa Claus Theme

Santa Claus Theme

In Wollongong, Australia, a Santa Claus Crawl occurs each December to raise donations of children's toys for local charities. The Santa Claus Pub Crawl 2007 dressed in Santa Claus costumes thronging roads and pubs. In 2009, the pub crawl set a new attendance record, with between 2500 to 3000 Santa Clauses, elves, and other costumed revelers joining the annual event, raising around A$15,000 in cash and A$40–50,000 in donated toys for the Salvation Army, and making the event now the largest of its type in the world. In 2010 the event attracted over 4000 people growing steadily through social media.

In Brisbane, Australia, the Christmas Pub Crawl runs each year on the first Saturday following the end of the school year in December. This event has been running annually since 1982 and is, in the words of the founders, "the world's longest running pub crawl". The revellers, who attempt to sing Christmas Carols and other standards, such as the popular "Delilah", don Santa hats and are encouraged to wear Hawaiian shirts. The event commences at the Roma Street Transit Centre Bar, winds its way through several pubs, then, as patrons become a little more cheerful, a Conga line is formed, ending at the Queen Street Mall. Here, to the bemusement and sometimes delight of tourists, a rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas is attempted with gusto, before several more pubs on the intinerary are infiltrated.

In the United States, The Running of the Santas is a December event in which some Americans dress as Santa Claus and venture from bar to bar consuming alcoholic beverages. American cities have staged such Runnings but not with universal approval. In 2008, for example, the Boston Herald commented on Boston's scheduled Running: "Scores of beer-sodden, booze-soaked pub crawlers dressed up like St. Nick plan to hit the Hub's streets during tomorrow's "Running of the Santas" - an annual, nationwide drinkfest that has infuriated parents and watchdog groups. "Santa Claus is a treasured icon for children," said Eric Helmuth, spokesman for Join Together, a Boston University health group that is fighting the jolly pub crawl. Helmuth said he's concerned about the effect on kids who see "Santa careening through the streets drinking or going from pub to pub." The international SantaCon is another event that sees seasonal crawls.