Last night's happy hour: Hey, Santa!

He wishes you a merry Christmas and a happy ho-ur. (Dakota Fine)

Thanks to everyone who braved the cold last night to join us for the Going Out Guide happy hour at Buffalo Billiards. From the looks of things, you warmed up enough to play Fritz in free pool, take over the free shuffleboard tables and for some, to get a little closer with this happy hour's VIP, an authentically bearded Santa.

The Gurus had extra holiday gifts to share last night: we gave away tickets to 9:30 shows for Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Wale, Gogol Bordello and Honor by August. Free entry to one of the coolest New Year's Eve events is a sweet package on its own, but today we have even more. Congratulations to Jessica Smith, the winner of tickets to see the Roots at the 9:30 club on Dec. 29.

Maybe it was the festive decorations or some seasonal spirit at our excuse for a holiday party, but I definitely felt a goodwill vibe. Fritz even made a love connection, we think: acting as impromptu wing man, he helped get a couple to start talking. Will we see them together at our next happy hour? Join us on Jan. 14 at Eyebar to find out.

More photos (all by Dakota Fine) after the jump.

-- Anne Kenderdine