12 Pubs of Christmas is the bar crawl to beat all bar crawls. Groups of festive drinkers hop between 12 different drinking hotspots, having at least one drink in each, and releasing havoc with all sorts of fun rules and yuletide naughtiness! We think we have our Irish counterparts to blame for this little nugget of Christmas craic, as the Chrimbo crawl is huge in Dublin and spreading fast to other cities.
As Manchester has many great areas for such a feat, we’ve come up with some suggestions of pubs and bars where you can partake in The 12 Pubs of Christmas in Manchester. Traditionally, The 12 Pubs crawl is done in, well, pubs. However, we’ve spruced it up a bit and included some of the quirky and cool bars in the areas too for a feeling of special celebrations.
Baa Bar punters get into the festive spirit making this a prime 12 Pub pit-stop.
The Rules
The rules are pretty simple, but can be altered and added to in order to tailor your own night out. Typical rules include only drinking from your left hand, or using a fake accent in one the pubs. Some things are mandatory though: you have to wear something Christmassy – we’re thinking ol’ embarrassing xmas jumpers and reindeer antlers, you can't stay anywhere for more than half an hour and you have to have at least one drink per pub. Any cheaters have to forfeit by having a shot. You'll also need to assign a Chief Herder to keep things moving, and make sure you don't stall anywhere along the way - a vuvuzela/foghorn/whistle helps with this task if you've got a big group.
The Route
The sky is literally the limit when it comes to your route. You can do a swanky cocktail crawl, a craft beer crawl, or of course, the easiest way, pick an areas and work out your route. Ideally you should have a mix of bars, starting somewhere laid back, ending someplace lively, and stopping for grub around Pub Six or Seven. We've done some of the hard work for you and worked out a Northern Quarter crawl for you, but why not embark on a 12 Pubs of Christmas crawl in Didsbury, Deansgate, or Chorlton, with a group of your fave mates?
Pub 1: Kosmonaut
Pub 2: The Whiskey Jar
Pub 3: Noho
Pub 4: Soup Kitchen
Pub 5: Black Dog Ballroom
Pub 6: Simple (have a breather and some eats here!)
Pub 7: Montpellier’s
Pub 8: The Bay Horse
Pub 9: Odd Bar
Pub 10: The Blue Pig
Pub 11: Tusk
Pub 12: Walrus
The 12 Pubs of Christmas is, ultimately, the Pub Golf of yuletide. We’re dying to have a go!
