Unbeknownst to us, we stumbled across San Francisco’s Annual Santa Con today in the city and talk about an unforgettable event! We boarded the BART from Pleasanton and immediately noticed groups of pseudo-Santa’s congregating in the parking lot.

They seemed to multiply as we got closer to the city, piling into the commuter train in droves. So by the time we exited, we realized we were surrounded! 

Men, women and pets from all over gathered in their Christmas finest - which often meant a Santa Suit printed onesie and Santa hat and every other Christmasy variation that you could possibly think of!

All were headed towards a Union Square meet up at noon. So our plan was to exit at Powell Street and take a look around from the ground level first, then find a higher vantage point like The Cheesecake Factory which is on the eighth floor of the Macy’s building (cause no one would think of that - right?!) NOT! 

Here we found the best view of the Square and ice skating rink. But the restaurant had an hour and a half wait time so we took in the view and moved on. 

This event was bigger than we thought! There were literally thousands of Santa’s roaming around, taking photos, and frequenting bars, restraunts and shops. The city streets were packed! We joked about rating each area on a scale of 1-SANTA and this location scored a 9!  

The problem for us was that it was lunchtime and every single eatery in the area was jam-packed full of Santa’s! Long lines, drunken conversations and full on merriment was in the air though! 

Everyones own interpretation of “Santa” really had me rolling! I feel like we saw it all! Asian Elvis Santa even had his own enterauge. Ho-ho-ho! 

There was a sea of red and green for miles and I felt like we were about the only fools who didn’t get the memo! Whoops! 

Being literally surrounded in this Sea of Santa’s really got me into the holiday spirit though. People were shouting “Merry Christmas” left and right, posing for group photos, and were simply beaming with holiday spirit! (Except for this one lady.) LOL

We tripped out over lunch while people-watching outside. We saw Hannakah renditions, Homemade Christmas Tree Outfits, and Sexy Santa’s all over the place. There was a group of Biker Santa’s that rode the streets of S.F. waving at passers-by as they revved their engines with glee! And we even saw a San Francisco cable car completely overtaken by a group of dancing Santa’s. 

This town is bananas! (And I loved every second of it!) Please take me back anytime! And next year we may return for the 2018 Santa Con event more prepared!

Happy December all!  I hope you all find your holiday cheer however (or wherever) you can!

Thanks for reading, 

-Crystal Olguin

San Francisco, CA

December 9, 2017