Santacon

Photo courtesy of Anthony Quintano on Flickr

December 8, 2022

How to avoid NYC SantaCon 2022

Manhattan residents may be pleasantly surprised or significantly perturbed when a horde of red-and-white-clad SantaCon 2022 participants flood the streets of Midtown, Murray Hill, and the East Village this Saturday. The annual cosplay event draws thousands of festively-dressed participants into the borough for a day of drunken shenanigans all in the name of charity. The pub crawl is a blast for all of those involved, and not so fun for residents of the neighborhoods and people who need to travel through these areas. Ahead are a few suggestions for those looking to avoid the action during this year's SantaCon.
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Events & Things To Do

Photo by Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons

December 7, 2021

How to steer clear of NYC SantaCon 2021

By Michelle Cohen

The idea behind the annual cosplay event is solid: A "charitable, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention that happens once a year to spread absurdist joy." With booze, of course. But after entering the mainstream and picking up steam for a full 25 years (the event took a year off in 2020, because, you know), the annual pub crawl seems better suited to a 1980s frat house than the streets of NYC. And we're pretty sure there are better ways to spend a day of drunken debauchery than yelling across Midtown bars over a horde of sloshed Santa clones. This year's SantaCon details are here, so you can figure out where not to bring a first date on Saturday, December 11. A few more suggestions, ahead.
Ho, ho, no

Events & Things To Do

What you need to know to survive SantaCon 2019

Photo by Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons

December 12, 2019

What you need to know to survive SantaCon 2019

By Alexandra Alexa

For its 25th year, SantaCon planned a series of yacht parties that would have spared New York City the drunken "festivities" that many decry as "the worst day of the year." Alas, that plan was canceled after pushback from residents and local officials, so Midtown will once again be flooded with ho-ho-hordes of drunk bros in Santa outfits. Whether you embrace the event's mission of spreading "absurdist joy" or you consider this the one day of the year that you must stay indoors, here's what you need to know about the event, taking place on Saturday.
Brace yourself...

Events & Things To Do

December 5, 2018

The official SantaCon 2018 map is here. Consider yourself warned.

By Michelle Cohen

Like most things requiring crowd control, SantaCon began life with the best of intentions; long ago (in the early '90s) in San Francisco, a group of merry pranksters called the Cacophony Society thought it might be a hoot to poke fun at both the proliferation of people in Santa suits and the proliferation of “cons," while participating in a (alcohol-free, by the way) performance-art-inspired flash mob. As such things do in modern cities, the once-subversive event snowballed, and to paraphrase the Eagles, call someplace paradise–and wake to find four frat dudes barfing outside your window. The drunken ho-ho-hordes are now too legit to quit, and you might as well know where they’ll be on Saturday, December 8, 2018, which is the official date of this year’s SantaCon. Whether your intent is to join in the fun, or to avoid being totally broadsided by a thousand drunk adults in Santa suits, use this map from the event's organizers.
Map, venue list, rules and caveats, this way

December 10, 2015

POLL: Are You Pro or Anti Santacon?

By Dana Schulz

We know it’s a loaded question, but after all these years of holiday debauchery, the debate surrounding Santacon rages on. The founder of the event recently contacted Gothamist, requesting an interview to set the record straight. He said the press is failing to focus on the notorious event’s “more important messages of anti-consumerism, creativity, jolly gay […]

November 20, 2014

Daily Link Fix: New Whitney Museum to Open in May; Billboards Getting a Street Art Makeover

By Dana Schulz

The Whitney Museum of American Art’s new Renzo Piano-designed building along the High Line will open in May. [NY Times] Historic photos of the New York garbage strike of 1911. [The Bowery Boys] SantaCon’s not going to Bushwick after all. The organizers said the neighborhood “does not have the capacity to be an appropriate destination […]

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November 18, 2014

Daily Link Fix: SantaCon Heading to Bushwick; New MTA Campaign Will Teach Subway Etiquette

By Dana Schulz

SantaCon’s drunken debauchery is abandoning its traditional East Village route and heading to Bushwick. [Bushwick Daily] All those backpack wearers and “man spreaders” are going to get a public shaming when the MTA rolls out its subway etiquette awareness campaign in January. [am NY] Explore the “poison cauldron” of Newtown Creek in photos. [Gothamist] After 15 […]