Saturday, December 12

Santacon in the 'hood

So, NYC has this annual Santa pub crawl called Santacon. It's been going on for years, and it's pretty unforgettable if you bump into the Santas on their crawl (imagine getting onto a subway car full of people in Santa outfits). I can only imagine what children think when they see the (often drunk) Santas bumming around town and being rowdy, but as an adult I think it's pretty funny.

This morning at about 11:30, I heard some loud caroling from the street and peered out the window. This is what I saw:I grabbed my camera and went down to the sidewalk. There were Santas everywhere. All genders, all shapes and sizes, in any variation of a Santa outfit imaginable, all walking towards the Brooklyn Museum steps. Some of them were handing out candy canes or presents to children. I asked two of them where they were going, and was told, "I have no idea!!!"

Two overwhelmed little girls were standing with their father on the steps next to me and got all sorts of goodies from the Santas. Their father was a little nervous about letting them open the presents they'd been handed, however. At one point a group of Santas asked the girls if they wanted "a picture with Santa," and then had me take a group photo of the two timid girls with about 5 Santas. (out of respect for the children's privacy, I'm not publishing the photo here.) It was like Halloween in reverse. (Maybe I'd like Christmas more if it were more like Halloween??)Do you think that guy on the left is an angel, or a character from Star Wars?

3 comments:

Jessi said...

wow.

Hilary said...

Hilarious!! San Francisco has a similar event - I've never taken part or seen the multitudinous drunk Santas, but I'm sure it is a sight to behold. Your comment about the guy in the white robes made me laugh out loud!!

mary jane said...

right outside your window! amazing