Ho Ho Hic! Hordes of booze-soaked Santas take over the streets

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER



Sea of red: Thousands of people take part in the annual Santa Dash in Glasgow to raise money for charity



It is no use telling any of these Santas what you want for Christmas for this year.

Hundreds of white-bearded, red-suited revellers flooded cities across the world today for the annual SantaCon — a boozy holiday ritual that takes place every year.

The popular pub crawl, which organisers say is 'non-denominational, non-commercial, non-political and non-sensical', took place in cities including London, New York and San Francisco.



Festive fun: Revellers dressed as Santa Claus sing near Battery Park during the annual SantaCon event



Sea of red: The crimson-clad crew gather at the South Street Seaport as they take their portable party through New York City



Red square: Trafalgar Square in London, England is transformed into a sea of red as hundreds of people dressed as Santa Claus come together for Santacon



Revellers in Glasgow also took part in an annual Santa Dash which is organised raise money for charity.

Directions for the portable party were dispatched via Twitter and over the course of the day, the revellers tipped their glasses and their fuzzy caps at the South Street Seaport, caroled at New York Public Library, gathered in City Hall Park and fanned out to watering holes around the borough, reports DNAinfo.com.

While Santa was the most popular outfit, the party goers also donned reindeer, elf and dreidel costumes as they packed the streets and subways spreading holiday cheer.



Ho Ho Hic: A swarm of Santas take over the South Street Seaport during the annual holiday ritual on Saturday



'Seriously — what’s greater than running through Times Square with thousands of Santas?' Chris Arnold told NY Daily News, clad in his own outfit from the Kris Kringle collection.

'My friend told me about it and I thought this is not to be missed,' Dania Bdeir, 22, told DNAinfo.com who was enjoying her first SantaCon in Battery Park City.

'Fifty thousand Santas walking around New York!'



Santa's Little Helper: A reveller dressed as an elf takes a photograph during the annual SantaCon while two Santa's take a breather on the left



Meanwhile in London,England, hordes of Santas of all shapes and sizes took over Trafalgar Square on Saturday in honour of Santacon'.

The Father Christmas flash mob spread Christmas cheer by handing out gifts and singing Christmas carols.

In New York, Santa Tom Kerr, 29, happily shed his accountant’s wardrobe for a red suit.

'I think it’s something magical,' the Upper West Sider told NY Daily News.

'It’s the only day when it’s OK to dress like this and not have people look at you like you have five heads.'



Crimson-tide: The bearded party-goers enjoy a few drinks at the South Street Seaport before taking to the streets again



High spirits: Two Santas play jump rope during the annual festive pub crawl across New York City



Red-suited revellers: While Santa was the most popular outfit, the party goers also donned reindeer, elf and dreidel costumes as they packed the streets and bar spreading holiday cheer



The crimson-clad crew was painting the town red for a good cause with participants told to bring non-perishable food items for donations to charities to the starting point and were encouraged to bars on route donating to Toys for Tots.

Onlookers snapped photos and took part in the cheer as hordes of Santas sang holiday songs while walking to their next destination.

'I see it every year. They pretty much take over the city,' passerby Damiana Valentini, 35, in Battery Park City told DNAinfo.com.

'It was pretty cool to wake up this morning and see a thousand Santas outside my window though.'



Santa flash mob: Hundreds of people don their Santa Claus costumes for Santacon in Trafalgar Square in central London, Britain



Happy holidays: A pair of Santa Smurfs enjoy the holiday ritual in Trafalgar Square on Saturday



Child's play: Baby Felix Kenyon and his mother Tabitha join hundreds of people dressed as Santa Claus as they fill in London's Trafalgar Square for Santacon 2011





Santastic: Other festive celebrations on Saturday included the annual Santa Sightings 5K Fun Run in New Bedford where 1,600 runners took to the streets wearing Santa suits



And for some, the event was only preparation for the real thing. Theo MacConnell, 56, of Pittsburgh Penn is a professional Santa who came out for the event. But he said he didn't feel challenged by all the impersonators around.

'I've seen some wonderfully creative ones, I've seen a hip hop Santa, Santa Ninjas, Hanukkah Harrys, it's so cute,' MacConnell said.



source: dailymail