NYC Santacon is Saturday December 13th 2014

As a veteran of many Santacons past and a featured costumer on Buzzfeed's 31 DIY Costume Ideas to Rock for Santacon (Hint I'm #16), I've watch the event grow and change into the massive happening it is these days. While its loved by participants and hated by neighborhood watches it will go on this year on Saturday December 13th beginning at 10am. Here are a few thoughts on what Santacon was intended to be and how you should NOT behave at Santacon. 

We're all in this together. #dontscroogesantacon

Santacon is a special once a year holiday event. It was not created by a marketing company and never sponsored by a soft drink. It's a social happening. It's a gathering of festive people to share a Christmas experience through costumes and merriment. Santa wants the creative spirit of this event to live on and keep growing forever so do your part to make sure the magic continues.

Don't let the excitement of Santacon get the best of you! Here are a few things to keep in mind as we get ready to celebrate this most special event in Santa's favorite city. Keep your naughty list behavior in check. Your fantastic festive outfit should NOT include a brown paper bag. Remind all the elves in your party that we are here to spread cheer not litter. Children stop believing too early these days and we are Santa's merry representatives. Make the old jolly fellow proud! Pause and think, "What would Santa do?". Kids will want to interact with you. Please engage with them but remember to use kid-friendly language and never elude to the fact that Santa may not be real. While we may act like we are frolicking up in the North Pole we are in fact still very much in the real world, a world that is experiencing real world problems right now. Please follow ALL laws and be kind and respectful to ALL law enforcement and venue security personnel. Santa doesn't need to remind you that bathrooms are the only place you should be relieving yourself at Santacon. A public urination ticket is the ultimate lump of coal in your stocking. Take a break to feed the reindeer! Refuel the sleigh and your stomach as they day goes on. Ho-Ho-Hydrate! Follow these easy guidelines and your Santacon will be the merriest yet!

Think back to the feelings of magic and crazy excitement Christmas brought to you as a child. Santacon is about recapturing the mystery and wonder of Santa you felt when you still believed. Santacon is about playing good old fashioned reindeer games, singing Christmas carols, giving gifts and spreading whimsy. Santacon is a way to kick your holiday cheer up a notch and share the spirit with NYC. So spread the joy and enjoy all the smiles you will create. Happy Santacon!!


FAQ:
Start location is not announced until the night before. That means Friday December 12th. 
For location Updates follow Santa on twitter for location updates by Texting "follow santacon" to 40404.
Yes, you must wear a costume.

I'm going to SantaCon but what do I wear?

SANTACON:
A raucous celebration of all things holiday, specifically Santa which typically occurs the second weekend of December in cities around the globe. Participants dress as Santa, Snowmen, Reindeer, Gifts, Christmas Trees, Elves, Gingerbread Men, Snowflakes and any other Holiday thing you can think of.

What do I wear? I don't want to be lame!

The answer to not being lame on SantaCon is to make your own costume. While this sounds like a daunting task to some I am here to guide you on your way to an amazing costume which will set you apart from the people who think that just a Santa hat is enough to get by.

Step 1:
Get thee to a dollar store. The #1 supplier of Christmas crap that can be turned into sweet SantaCon costumes.

Step 2: Pick a color scheme.

All red evil Santa! All white Snow Queen! All Green Jealous Elf! White and Red Candy Cane! All Silver Snow Fox! All Blue Jack Frost!

A color scheme will make a statement and make it look like you know what you are doing.

Step 3: Get a cheap outfit then UPGRADE it.

Buy a base outfit. Example a sweater or dress at Strawberry's or a cheap Santa suit at Party City. Then hot glue & safety pin on all the treasures that you got at the Dollar Store!

Step 4: Pick a Statement Piece:

Such as a BIG bow, a BIG snowflake, a BIG candy cane, a BIG present. SantaCon is a big event. Don't be afraid of really going for it! A note on props however. While they are awesome, it is a long day and carrying around a big lawn ornament can get annoying. Don't just leave it on some poor guys stoop when you are done with it, put it in the garbage! Remember Santa hates littering. 

Step 5 (Optional): Add lights. I like these battery operated tear drop LED lights on a wire. They are the brightest and are extremely versatile. Wrap them around your Santa Hat and hide the battery pack underneath. Safety pin them to your coat and hide the battery pack in your pocket. Better yet, do like I do and light up your wig!

Save-on-crafts.com

I hope you have been inspired and you are ready to create your latest and greatest SantaCon costume.

SantaCon NYC 2014 is Saturday December 2014.

Love and Christmas Cookies,

KostumeGirl

SantaCon NYC 2013

Whether you look forward to SantaCon each year like a child preparing for the Fat Man in Red's arrival or you loath it with the fire of a thousand suns, its coming to town again. 
New York City prepare yourself for SantaCon 2013. The jolliest bunch of a-holes this side of the Hudson River is descending upon your fair city on Saturday December 14th. So grab your spiced eggnog and join in or get outta town!

As a seasoned veteran of SantaCon I have seen it take a turn from jolly holiday celebration with carol filled rides on the subway and reindeer games to a more alcohol centric mob scene with trash, trash and even some Jersey trash. While I am saddened by Santa's new habit of littering and disturbing the peace, I still feel this is an event which is dear to my heart and is worth experiencing. You don't have to stay with the big group, there are plenty of places welcoming to Santas all over the city. Here then are my tips for surviving and enjoying your SantaCon NYC experience.

1. Pace Yourself:
I cannot stress this enough for every adult beverage Santa has, he should drink a water in between and take time stop and enjoy the festivities. What's the rush?! We are going to be riding this sleigh all day.

2. Eat Food:
Yes, even a dirty water dog can count as nutrition when you are trying to go the distance on SantaCon Saturday. Don't worry about staying with the Santas. You will catch up. Sit down. Have some wings. Get a water with it. Getting caught up in the fun SantaCon can make your forget that you had an english muffin about 6 hours ago and should probably buffer that booze with a little bread and cheese. Have a water while your at it.

3. THIS IS STILL THE REAL WORLD:
You are still in a very busy city with very busy streets. Cops don't care that you are dressed like Santa. They will still gladly hand Santa a public intoxication ticket. Taxis will still hit a person in a red suit. Don't walk into traffic. Don't be that Santa. Don't. 

Via nydailynews.com

4. Stop for Photos and Fun:
Keep in mind the season that brought us all this fun. Take silly pictures with your friends. Take time to sing a carol for a stranger. If a kid is into you. Stop and say Hi. Be appropriate. I shouldn't even have to be writing this.

5. DRESS UP
Well duh. What I really mean is put in some effort. A santa hat and terrible cheap red suit is not going to get you any points. Get creative, get weird, find your inner Lady Gaga. The best part of SantaCon is seeing some of the funny, amazing and creative outfits people put together. Sure you could buy a Buddy the Elf outfit at HalloweenCostumes.com but you will be one of 999 Buddy the Elves. Only a few weeks ago Buzzfeed had a list of 31 DIY Costumes for SantaCon of which I am very proud to be #16 The Candy Cane. HELLO! Get on my level!

Photo by Stephen Dettling

Here is a link to a fun DIY tutorial on how to make a HUGE gift bow headband for your festive SantaCon outfit!

CUTE!

5A. Dress up with a Group.

This is a pain in the ass to organize but I promise major fun. If you can get your friends on a group costume you will be a hit everywhere you go! Here are some Group Costume Ideas to get you started.

6. PLEASE DONT LITTER

Just cause you have a case of beer in your backpack doesn't mean you can just drop the cans all over the freaking place. Pack the empties back up with you until you are at a location such as a garbage can where it is appropriate to leave behind your trash. Santa would totally frown upon leaving behind your garbage and shedding bits of garland everywhere. Pick it up! Who the hell do you think is going to clean up after you and your crappy costume!?

7. Santa gives back

SantaCon NYC also asks that you donate some moola to go to designated charities of the event. For more information and to donate online visit NYCSantcon.com.

So remember SantaCon NYC as with any experience is what you make it. So go out there and have fun but take care of yourself and your friends and don't be that Santa! If you want to avoid Santas all together check out this map of Santa Safe areas in NYC by the Village Voice.

Love and Candy Canes,

KostumeGirl

NYC SantaCon 2012 is Saturday Dec. 15th. Get your Jollies on!

The temperature is dropping, the reindeer are restless and the elves need a f*cking break from that damn workshop!

Get your red and white on and follow Santa on the craziest, merriest day of the year...
Saturday December 15, 2012!

For text updates where the Santas will be around town go to the NYC SantaCon website. There you will find helpful information if you are a first timer or just forgot how this wacky thing works.

Some helpful hints from KostumeGirl.

Dress to Impress. If you think a Santa hat "will do" you are lame. Put more than 10 minutes of effort into your costume. Pirate Santa, Toddlers & Tiaras Santa, Evil Elf, Cowboy Santa, get weird with it. Do a group costume! I have a post with ideas for you cause I got your back.

Watch the Kids. Kids are going to be way interested in thousands of Santas parading down the street. Stop for pictures, be nice, the bars will still be there in a few minutes, don't ruin their image of Santa cause you had 12 Irish Coffees for breakfast!

Pace yourself. I cannot stress this one enough. Every year I see Santas passed out on the damn sidewalk by 4pm. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Not to say I have never been tragically over-served, but you don't want your friends telling you that you missed the massive Rudolph sing-a-long cause you fell asleep on the 2 train. Eat food, have a water break, go for a walk, trust me the Santas will be there when you get back.


Things to Bring: At least 2 non-perishable food items for Santa's food drive, a Metrocard, CASH (Tip bartenders and waitstaff for putting up with us), Gifts, Games, Props, Comfortable footwear, your jolly Christmas spirit (nobody should be getting into fights at SantaCon)

Well that's about it for now. Back to working on my 2012 SantaCon costume. This year look for me in winter white fur and diamonds. SantaCon's twitter can get overloaded and slow so follow me on twitter @kostumegirl as a backup plan. I'll be tweeting Santa's whereabouts all day or until I get too drunk to use Twitter.

Group Costume Ideas for SantaCon

Group costume ideas for Santa Con!

Snowflakes:
No two are alike after all but you and your friends could be a blizzard of fluffy white snowflakes! I've seen big foam snowflakes at the Dollar Store which you could attach to your white outfit. Of course if you are participating in SantaCon NYC your whites wont stay that white on the subway! Sorry.

Santa's Reindeer:

Of course you will have to fight over who gets to be Blitzen cause we all know how he had a problem with the egg nog. Extra points if you manage to tether all 9 of you together to a sleigh and drag it around town all day.


12 Days of Christmas:

Ok so the first few days are easy. Just hope you don't get screwed and end up having to come up with 11 Lords a Leapin'. *This is for very ambitious costume groups only.*


Home Alone

Nuff Said


A Christmas Story

Lots of good costume opportunities here. Raphie in the pink bunny suit from his Aunt Clara. There is even directions on making your own pink bunny suit on Instructables! Ralphie in his cowboy outfit with BB gun. Then again, leave the BB gun at home. The NYPD can be a little uptight. What about being "Blind Ralphie"? "It... It 'twas... soap poisoning!" Then they will be sorry!! Also someone has to be the most rotten one of them all, Scut Farkus. Someone could be the lamp! I saw on a blog once a girl with one leg and a great sense of humor who was the leg lamp for Halloween. Way to laugh about it! Fra-gee-lay! That must be Italian.

Check out some of my previous SantaCon posts for tips and MORE costume ideas!

Santa Says: "I'll be sending periodic bulletins through the rare North Pole twitter-bird at twitter.com/santacon."

SantaCon Wig Progress

As SantaCon NYC draws closer still, my costume preparation is in full swing. Usually I procrastinate till the last few days before, but this year I'm almost ahead of the game! So with my motivation I've decided to write a little post about my big wig for the event.
With every costume it is important to pick a color scheme and really adhere to it. Otherwise your outfit can look a little haphazard. This year I am going to be a Sexy Candy Cane so my colors are obviously white and red. I found a lot of good Christmas decorations at dollar stores this year as well as my favorite store Michael's Craft Store.
*Side note: If you have a smart phone download Michael's app. They can scan weekly coupons right off the phone so you never have to be annoyed you forgot your 40% off one item coupon at home. I love it!*
Anyway the wig I had envisioned in my head was white with red stripes which would have to be custom made. However I'm not Lady Gaga and commissioning a custom piece is not in my wig budget. If it were, I would by wigs from PoshFairytaleCouture an amazing seller on Etsy with mind blowing headpieces and wigs.

Inspiring indeed.
So to realize my wig vision I had to do a little improvising. After reading lots of Amazon reviews I bought a long white wig that a lot of people had purchased to be Storm from the X-Men for Halloween from ToyNK.com. Its a very long wig for how inexpensive it was and it has little threads of sliver tinsel in it that you can't see well in the photo online but in person is very cool. Then I bought red hair extensions at Wigs and Plus (152 W 32nd St btw Avenue Of The Americas & Penn Plz). Great store for wigs, extensions, lashes, contact lenses at very good prices. The extensions are Kanekalon braids in bright red. They are not attached to a weft or a clip so its basically loose hair. They are kind of hard to work with since once you remove the rubber band the hair goes everywhere but I found a way to make it work. I took a needle from my knitting kit with a large eye. Then I threaded a small amount of hair through it, pulled it through the mesh of the wig and attached with a slip knot and a dot of hot glue. I tried to evenly space the red so it looked like stripes on a candy cane. It was a pain, but the results are amazing. I will wait to reveal the completed wig. This is after all just a tease. In order to add all the fun glitterly goodies I wanted to, I needed a base to attach them to my wig. So I took a styrofoam cone that would be used for a floral arrangement and bobby pined it to the wig but pushing bobby pins into the bottom of the styrofoam cone from inside, catching the mesh. I swirled the hair around it, pined it to the styrofoam and then went crazy with glitter picks and dollar store tree decorations. It looks as though Christmas has exploded on my head. Another Sneak Peek...
Meet up with me at SantaCon NYC on December 10, 2011 to see the final look. It's gonna be Candy Cane-riffic!
I will be tweeting during SantaCon so if the NYCSantaCon gets bogged down follow me @kostumegirl for locations!

NYC SantaCon 2011 is coming to town!

My trusted sources say that SantaCon NYC 2011 will take place on Saturday December 10th, 2011.

It's definitely not to early to start looking for a great Holiday spirited outfit for the most insane pub crawl of the year! Party City, Ricky's NYC, Toys R Us all have Santa outfits and accessories. If you have time to plan ahead, hit up Amazon for cheap Santa suits and customize one. Bedazzle it! Glue on extra fur! Make it your own!



My favorite SantaCon outfits are always the ones with a dose of cleverness. Some of the favorites that I have seen in Cons past are Run DMC Santas, Santa Khan (Genghis's Merry Brother), and Clark Grizzwold (with rogue squirrel on his back).
What's that you say? You are Jewish? That's no reason to not join in the fun. I have lots of Jewish friends who like to dress up and represent. All you need to bring is your spirit and a comfortable pair of shoes!


If you are a lady who prefers a sexy SantaCon look then I suggest you look no further than Katy Perry for inspiration!She really rocked the holiday costume at Z100's Jingle Ball in NYC. Frosty never looked so good!

The morning meeting places will be announced only a short time before the actual Con so keep checking the website for updates and sign up for text alerts. Once the Santas meet up for reindeer games it will be on to Manhattan to spread cheer. Singing carols and lots of HO HO HOs are in store however I always say "Don't be that Santa!". Pace yourself and remember to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Its a merry occasion and being inappropriate in front of kids is not the Santa way. Be nice, pass out candy, pose for photos. If things are getting to be too much for you, break off from the group for a bit and take a water break. You will be able to find them again later with the text message updates.

Kostume Girl at last years SantaCon

Here are some videos of past SantaCons in New York City. The tourists in Times Square were definitely not expecting all this when they came for a holiday in NYC!


Santas on the move! The MTA might not let you travel between cars, but they have no problem with carol singing!


So grab your jolly friends, pack a thermos of egg nog and get there early because the most fun is during the day light hours of SantaCon.


I will be tweeting during SantaCon so if the NYCSantaCon gets bogged down follow me @kostumegirl for locations!

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