We went to NYC for a day trip on Saturday with friends to see the tree and other sights in the city. What we did not expect was what we saw as soon as we entered Grand Central.

There were literally hundreds of people dressed as Santa (mostly) and other Christmas themes (reindeer, elves, etc...). Grand Central was a sea of red and white. They sang, danced, started a conga line that must have been 75 people long and were having a great time.

What we saw was an organized (multinational) event called Santacon. It is mostly young people dressed in costume, drinking heavilly and singing foul christmas carols. But they were having a great time and as long as you weren't bothered by an occassional curse word, they were not bothering anyone.

Here are the rules:

SANTA'S GUIDELINES: (for the NYC Santacon)
It's a long day, so be prepared. Here's some tips to keep your sleigh running all day.
Eat something & pace yourself.
Only santa is responsible for santa's ability to stay vertical for the 18 hours of Santacon (+Bonus Zone).
Dress warm. It's the northeast. It's winter. Wear layers so you'll be comfortable anywhere from the North Pole to the strippers' pole.
Bring a Metrocard. Santa doesn't like waiting for your sorry ass to use the machines.
Stay with the group. We're experimenting with a text message chain this year, but technology f____s up. Go with friends and call one of them if you drunkenly wander off. Try not to drunkenly wander off, though. How hard is it to lose 500 Santas?
Stay hydrated.
If you can't stay hydrated, stay liquored up. There will be bar stops, but they can be short and crowded. You are responsible for your own inebriation. Santa is not advocating breaking open container laws! Santa's just sayin'...
Don't be "that" Santa. Your friends want to have fun, not scrape the puke outta your beard or prevent your wasted ass from wandering into traffic.
Pay your own damn bar tab. Tip bartenders well for putting up with us.
Santa does not make children cry (unless they whine, snivel, or otherwise deserve it). Really - If you see kids, give them nice toys, candy, or something pleasant. Feel free to urinate on the parents. Tourists fall somewhere in between the two -- adjust depending on their attitude.


Have you ever seen a Santacon gathering?

I'm thinking Lainey needs to participate in one.

 

Maybe that would bring me Christmas spirit. Sounds like it was fun to watch.

 

Or it would scare the heck out of you

 

Were these the newly revised politically correct Santas or the original iterations??

I find the concept of the PC Santa really disgusting.

 

Here are a few pics:

 

What do you have against giving computer equipment to the under-privileged? http://www.pc-santa.org/

 

that's wild...

 

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=14][COLOR=red]UH-Hon