Brace for SantaCon 2022 as thousands of drunk revelers prepare to descend on NYC

Tens of thousands of drunken Santa Claus-imitators will flood the streets of NYC this weekend as the huge annual pub crawl 'SantaCon' returns to the Big Apple. 

Priced at $15 a ticket, attendees of will have access to over 60 bars in Manhattan. Full festive fancy dress is mandatory, as organizers have said 'just a hat' is not acceptable.

The Santas will be up early on December 10 as they are scheduled to meet for 10am at Broadway and 40th Street, according to the official SantaCon 2022 program.

The debauched celebration began in San Francisco in 1994 and and has since spread to almost 300 locations. The event in NYC has become the biggest, and was last year blamed for causing a spike in COVID-19.    

The controversial annual pub crawl is unpopular with many New Yorkers due to years of alcohol-fueled incidents including public urination, littering, and the usual disorder that results from mass drunkenness.

Hoards of Santa-imitators gather near Times Square for SantaCon 2021

SantaCon 2022 will take place on Saturday December 10. Attendees will meet at 10am on 40th Street and Broadway

In previous years it's been estimated that as many as 30,000 people have turned up to the NYC festivities. 

Some SantaCons have got so out of hand the NYPD has been forced to make arrests. In 2018 there were two, and in 2015, five.

In 2018 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joked that a GrinchCon could be set up in opposition to the polarizing event. She suggested a 'tea and coffee crawl' could be established, spreading 'peace and quiet'.

The event organizers say that SantaCon is a 'a charitable, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention that happens once a year to spread absurdist joy.' It claims to have raised $900,000 for charities in the last decade.

For the price of $15 SantaCon participants will have access to 64 pubs and bars in the city

The event often features festive spirits, crazy clothing, as well as some drunken mayhem

Some SantaCons have also seen the NYPD making arrests. In 2018 there were two, and in 2015 there were five

People dressed in Santa Claus costumes participate in SantaCon last year

The annual pub crawl sees thousands of Santas and Christmas characters take the streets of the Big Apple

In the last ten years it has donated to charities including Neighbors Together, which seeks to end hunger and poverty in Brooklyn, and City Harvest, which has a similar mission throughout the city.

It has also made donations to Clowns Without Borders, a charity founded in Barcelona that puts on performances for children in crisis situations to alleviate trauma. 

SantaCon generates money through ticket sells and also takes donations.