Tips for enjoying SantaCon NYC!

SantaCon NYC is swiftly approaching again!  You & your elves are excited and gathering your costumes for the upcoming festivities. Here are some tips for getting even more fun out of your day!

Arrive early.

The best part of the day is when Santa first gathers and everyone is full of cheer. Things are not sloppy yet and everyone is ready to play reindeer games!

Bring a Game.
A hula hoop, chalk for drawing sidewalk hop scotch or a beach ball for bouncing. Participate in some reindeer games and you are sure to make new friends and your inner child will thank you.  Just be sure you are willing to carry what you bring out of the park. This is a leave no trace event.

Make a Santa Choir/Band.
You and your friends could perform a few carols that will surely delight the other subway riders or tourists!

Do a group costume.
This is fun for everyone. You'll get great photos and make lots of memories as a nativity scene or the 12 days of Christmas. More ideas on my other SantaCon group costume post.

Dress appropriately.
Check the weather. Wear layers if its chilly. This year it looks like its going to be unseasonably warm. Either way wear comfortable shoes. Theres lots of traveling between venues.

BRING A METROCARD.
You don't want to be waiting in a crazy line for a new Metrocard and get left in the dust by the other Santas. Load up that Metrocard ahead of time. You will be happy you did.

Donate to charity.
SantaCon NYC donates funds collected through their website to selected charities each year. Its a great way to join together and give a BIG monetary gift to one of our local charities.

For Santa's location throughout the day follow @santacon on Twitter or Text "Follow Santa" to 40404 to receive text alerts. Send "OFF" to turn notifications off.

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.

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

Group Costume Ideas for SantaCon

So you and your friends have decided to embark upon the magical journey that is SantaCon. Here in NYC the costumes can get pretty impressive so if you want to stand out you're going to have to be very clever. A group costume is a great way to showcase how cool and funny you and your friends are! Here are a few ideas I came up with. Start planning NOW, go! Also start getting ready early on December 10th. Now that does not mean start partying hard early cause SantaCon a marathon not a sprint. What I mean is start getting dressed and meet up early cause the most fun is had in the day light hours of SantaCon.

Wandering pack of Zombie Santas and Elves

Ho Ho HOLY CRAP! Santa was bitten by a zombie and is devour the innocent children who want to sit on his lap!! Found a site with lots of scary Santa Zombie art. Guess thats a thing! So you and your friends could terrify normal Santas as a pack of Holiday Zombies. Do it!

Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I made you out of…WHOA!!

MayFaireMoon on Etsy

Why not have you and your friends go as each symbol on the Dreidel?! Get Cute dresses and paint the Hebrew words on the front and back. For your reference here are the 4 sides of the dreidel.
I would also like to point out that why researching this I came across a sexy group of burlesque dancers called Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad. Hilarious!

The Rockettes

Love the Rockettes! They are so adorable. I believe Leg Avenue sells a Santa Baby costume that will do quite nicely or you could go for the outfit from the Toy Soldier number. Remember to do your hair up the same and wear the exact same shade of lipstick. Perhaps there is a male friend of yours who would like to be Santa. Practice your kick line cause it's going to bring the house down!!

Luxury Brands
You and your friends could embrace the commercial side of Christmas and be luxury gifts! Pick brands with very recognizable logos and colors like a blue Tiffany Box or the brown Louis Vuitton bag.

Its a Wonderful Life
While I was thinking about characters you could be from Christmas movies I thought why not be It's a Wonderful Life, one of my Dad's favorite holiday movies. You could go to the vintage clothing store for outfits, THEN use face paint and baby powder to make yourselves black and white. Its super ambitious and hard to pull off, but wow that would be cool.

I'm really looking forward to this years festivities. I'll be getting up early and meeting up with Santa at the 1st stop! Here's a look at my costume so far. I'm going as a Sexy Candy Cane. *wink *wink

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."

I'm gonna be tweeting our whereabouts too. @kostumegirl
I will be tweeting during SantaCon so if the NYCSantaCon gets bogged down follow me @kostumegirl for locations!

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