Emo Christmas
foundation.
699 N. Broad St.
Philadelphia
Nov. 28, 2025
It’s Christmastime again, and with so many different holiday themed pop-ups in Philly like Christmas Village at City Hall, Tinsel, and Miracle on South 13th Street, sometimes I just want to escape all the holly jolly and have a space to spend time with my loved ones while not feeling pressured to loudly appreciate Santa’s big day. This year, I found exactly that at Emo Christmas on Broad Street.
When the event popped up on Instagram, I was immediately interested but slightly apprehensive. There have been so many Emo Night events in the city and I’ve been to each variation: Kung Fu Necktie, El Bar, Underground Arts. The list goes on, and over time I have collected each one. The main issue I’ve always had with those events was that they were packed to the brim, without much space to move around or talk with your friends. Now that I’m approaching my mid-30s and am sober, that atmosphere is much less appealing to me. So I put on my Three Cheers era MCR shirt and braced myself as I walked down the steps into foundation.
But Emo Christmas matched my energy. The space had low lighting and was illuminated by twinkle lights on dark colored Christmas trees and neon signage with sayings like, “I Won’t Be Home for Christmas” a la blink-182 and “Taking Back Christmas,” a play on the band Taking Back Sunday. Stockings were hung by the bar with care, with names like Hayley W. and Pete W. on them. My personal favorite decorations were Santa Claus with an emo bang swoop and nutcrackers wearing black eyeliner. Each piece of decor made for the perfect backdrop for a photo with your friends.
As a non-drinker, I always worry that an event like this won’t have any non-alcoholic options for me. Their menu didn’t note any, and the drink that came with the ticket (named, of course, Welcome to the Black Parade) was a Bay Breeze. But the bartender, without being prompted, told me that they could be made without alcohol. Small gestures like this go a long way with sober folks, and it was exciting to have that option when I expected not to. Part of being in the emo/hardcore scene growing up always included a battle between drinkers and the Straightedge (sXe) crowd, and it seems that was taken into account at Emo Christmas. Plus, their menu was full of emo puns and the friend I convinced to join me also ordered the Snow-hio is for Lovers and described it as a “summer oasis in the wintertime.”
Perhaps one of the most important parts of an emo themed event is the music. At this point in this brand of nightlife, I don’t expect to hear bands like Sunny Day Real Estate or have a block dedicated to Midwest emo. Given the context of the decorations and the Warped Tour videos projected onto the wall, I anticipated bands like Paramore, Fall Out Boy, and The All-American Rejects.
In comparison to emo nights of yore, Emo Christmas played a larger range of artists. I was pleased to hear them playing bands like The Postal Service and Story of the Year, bands I’d never heard them play at similar events. However, I was thrown off when they played tracks like 1985 by Bowling for Soup, a song that has no business in this specific playlist. One thing that wasn’t clear to me was whether each 90-minute time slot at Emo Christmas had its own set of songs, or if they played the same songs each time. Either way, I was mostly happy with the music, but would have traded a few songs to hear some Underoath or La Dispute.
For me, this event was like the ideal way to celebrate the holiday season without it feeling forced or overwhelming. With the volume kept somewhat low, I was able to enjoy music I’ve always loved while having a drink that came in an ornament, wearing a black Christmas hat provided by the organizers, in a space where the crowd felt roughly around my same age and everyone was wearing their favorite band t-shirt. Christmas at 32 feels a lot different than Christmas at 22, and Emo Christmas felt aligned with where I’m at now.
