They are just having a wonderful Christmas time.
While hundreds of people gathered in Midtown on Saturday to take part in SantaCon’s infamous boozefest, a “wholesome” alternative event sprung up in Manhattan.
People dressed as Santa, reindeer and Christmas presents gathered at West 39th Street and Broadway to kick off the annual bar crawl that runs from Times Square to the East Village, which typically draws about 30,000 participants.
“Today is the day when thousands of people dress up like Santa in New York City. This is unity for me,” Nidia Cruz, a well-mannered SantaCon goer, 36, told The Post.
Other participants were ready to wear eggshells.
“I think it’s really fun to get drunk and watch everyone talk about how much they hate Christmas,” said Ethan Howard, dressed in a Grinch costume.
“We want to bar hop and spread the holiday spirit,” said Juliana Nunez, 24, who traveled from Connecticut for the festivities.
Manhattanite Jacqueline Nardone purposely only brought her six-year-old daughter to the first half of the notoriously boozy event.
“We come at the beginning, because in the beginning everyone is happy, and then they get tired,” Nardone explained, nodding to the little girl.
One woman humorously carried an “emotional support gingerbread” basket.
Meanwhile, about 40 people gathered as Christmas Elves in Central Park for the inauguration of “Project Elf,” a family-friendly event that resembled a smaller and “sober Santacon,” as one attendee said. Was.
The event was the brainchild of Big Apple teens John Clark, 14, and Oliver Bachleda, 16, who said they took inspiration from the 2003 hit holiday film “Elf” starring Will Ferrell.
“We were just thinking of things to entertain ourselves, and we decided to try to create an elf army… We went to FedEx that day and we made several copies of the posters with the picture of Buddy the Elf, ” as well as the details of the incident, Clark recalled.
“As time went on, we realized it was just a day like SantaCon – it wasn’t intentional,” Clark said. “We just thought it would be funny.”
For each person who attends dressed as an elf, the Clark and Bacheleda families said they will donate $100 to CityMeals on Wheels, a nonprofit that provides meals to elderly New Yorkers in need.
Ana Sofia Acosta, a 26-year-old Manhattanite, said she was happy to swap out the “drinking-centric” SantaCon for Project Elf, which was simply “a fun way to spread Christmas cheer.”
(Tags to translate)Metro(T)US News(T)Bar Crawls(T)Central Park(T)Charity(T)Christmas(T)Holidays(T)Midtown(T)New York City(T)SantaCon
