What Is SantaCon?

SantaCon is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-sensical annual Santa Claus convention celebrating cheer, goodwill, and fun. There is no particular reason to dress up in Santa suits, run around Beijing for hours, give gifts, sing songs, have strangers sit on our laps, and decide who is naughty or nice – but it’s a lot of fun – so Santa does it anyway. Everyone loves Santa and Santa loves everyone! SantaCon is your chance to be Santa, so suit up and be jolly.

Updates From The North Pole

Posted by Santa at Dec 20, 2009 6:31 PM

Nice and Naughty Photos Please

Ni hao ho ho ho!

Thanks for making SantaCon an amazing day of merriment! Santa's memory of the day is hazy jumble of singing carols to subway riders, elves skipping across Tian'anmen Square, giving candy to good boys and girls in Gulou, dancing in Sanlitun, and drinking a cocktail or five in Nanluoguxiang.

Help Santa fill in those memory gaps. Share your photos and video of SantaCon by posting them to Santa's Flickr group and tagging them bjsantacon09.

See you next year.

Posted by Santa at Dec 17, 2009 7:21 PM

Where is Santa going?

The planned route has been posted. Santa will try to stick to the listed times and bars as best as we can, but you never know what will happen! If you will be joining us later in the day, remember to bring the phone number of a friend already on the route.

We will be twittering on route, so check our Twitter feed or sign up for text updates about where we are and we're heading.

Posted by Santa at Dec 17, 2009 4:27 PM

Layer up

Only one day left!

Tomorrow will be a beautiful sunny, but cold day here in Beijing, so don't forget to bundle up. Dress warm, wear layers so you'll be comfortable anywhere from the North Pole to the strippers' pole.

Check out Santa's Advice for more tips to make your SantaCon more joyous.

Posted by Santa at Dec 16, 2009 1:27 AM

On the Nice list

While a little naughtiness is encouraged, SantaCon is not the time and place for you to be a complete douchebag.

Remember the Four F's of Santa's Rules? No vandalism, property destruction, violence, theft or other criminal behavior. Santa spreads joy, goodwill and doesn't get his ass arrested or dragged off by the PLA.

Have fun, but don’t become "that" Santa who requires babysitting all day.

Be nice to kids.

And of course, be nice to the bar staff and they'll be nice to you.

Posted by Santa at Dec 15, 2009 12:03 AM

West siders, suits for you

Those living on the west side of town are in luck. We just learned that Santawear can be purchased at the Lotus Centre and the wholesale market near the Dàzhongsì subway station on line 13. Creative Santas can make their own stylish costumes by following these Instructables for a Santa hoodie and elf hat.

Posted by Santa at Dec 14, 2009 4:06 PM

Still need a suit?

A note from Santa Mike:

"A good friend of mine nabbed a cheap (20~30 yuan) Santa suit from Carrefour a few years back - dunno if they still sell them, but might be worth a mention. Also worth mentioning: he only wore it once before it started falling apart; pretty sure it's made out of felt. But by the end of the day, I'm pretty sure we're all gonna look like hell anyway."

We may look like hell, but we'll have a helluva good time by the end of Saturday!

Posted by Santa at Dec 13, 2009 7:25 PM

Noon, time to get down

SantaCon starts this Saturday at noon. Start location will be revealed very soon, but expect to visit famous sites, famous, infamous and not so famous bars all over the city.

If you can't join until later, no worries! We will be twittering the route as we go, so follow @bjsantacon on Twitter or sign up for text updates as we spread cheer throughout the city. Or get the phone number of someone on the route and meet us later in the day.

In addition to bringing your subway/bus pass with you, please wear comfortable walking shoes as we Santas will be covering a good deal of ground on foot.

Posted by Santa at Dec 10, 2009 12:33 PM

Santa suits, get 'em right here

You know about Rule #1 of SantaCon. You know that Santa suits are made in China, so where in Beijing can you find one?

Check out the toy market behind Hong Qiao Pearl Market for holiday gear. Wal-Mart and other large Western-based chain stores sell hats and suits. A few vendors on the top floors of Yashow Clothing Market sell reindeer antlers, Santa hats, white wig and beard (no suits though).

If you find more places that sell Santa suits, elf ears and other festive clothing, please let us know. We'll post the info here. Thanks!

Posted by Santa at Dec 9, 2009 5:33 PM

Suit up Suit up!

My inbox has been flooded with emails asking "What should I wear to SantaCon?"

The first rule of SantaCon is: Santa looks like Santa. Holiday apparel is mandatory.

Buy a Santa suit. Make a Santa suit. Get creative and come dressed as Panda Santa, Hannukah Harriet,

a Christmas Tree
Tree Santa

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ari/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Afro-tastic Santa who lost his trousers,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ari/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

or the Grinch.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/istolethetv/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Santa welcomes all.

Posted by Santa at Dec 6, 2009 5:00 PM

SantaCon 2009 will be on December 19th!

Save the date: Santa is on his way to Beijing.
Saturday, December 19, 2009.

Watch this space for updates regarding start time and location. Ho ho ho!