2011 SantaCon Guide for the Uninitiated

You may be asking what a Santacon is. Santacon is an excuse for hundreds if not thousands of people to gather together donning a santa suit. By now almost everyone has seen the flash-mobs videos on youtube with thousands of people participating in a choreographed dance number. Think of this as a santa flashmob of sorts that brings together men and women of all ages with the sole purpose of spreading good will and just having an overall good time. It all started in 1994 when the Suicide Club an adventure club in San Francisco, CA held the first "Santarchy" event in San Francisco. The Suicide Club's founder got the idea after reading an article about a Danish political who mobbed a Copenhagen Department store just before Christmas.

Soon after the first event, former members of the Succeed Club started the Cacophony Society who renamed the event "SantaCon". Santacon was heavily influenced by the surrealist movement Discordianism which uses subversive humor to present their beliefs. The original Santacon events were a combination of guerrilla street theater and pranksterism. The concept of Santacon has grown beyond the original intent of the first events.

The phenomenon has grown to mammoth proportions. In 2007 more then 13,000 Santas gathered in Ireland for a charity event to set a Guinness World Record and in 2006 over 70,000 Santa's took over Moscow.

One of the largest SantaCon events is held in New York City every year. This year the event is December 10th. According to NYCSantaCon.com Santacon NYC is a non-denominational, non-commercial, non-political and non-sensical Santa Claus convention that occurs once a year for absolutely no reason. There will be no charge for admission to this year's event and the location is currently undisclosed. You'll have to check the web site the day before the event for the details.

NYCSantaCon has graciously provided a list of Elf pickup lines that I'll share with you. We are only including the PG rated lines. We have added a few more for good measure.

Top 10 Elf Pickup lines

1. I'm down here.
2. Just because I've got bells on my shoes doesn't mean I'm a sissy.
3. I was once a lawn ornament for John Bon Jovi.
4. I can get you off the naughty list.
5. Want to be placed on the naughty list?
6. No, no. I don't bake cookies. You're thinking of those dorks over at Keebler
7. I've got the keys to the sleigh tonight.
8. Has anyone ever told you you have beautiful knees?
9. We don't see many happenin' ladies north of the Arctic Circle
10. I taught Santa everything he knows.

Rules for SantaCons

According to SantaAnarchy.com there are rules to wearing the santa suit at Santacon. Mrs. Claus and elves are also fair game at most events. A reindeer is ok as well.

Bring Gifts. Kids are sometimes deserving of a token gift, with their parents permission of course.

Pay for your beverages and tip your bartenders. No stiffing the bartender at events. Santa doesn't get free drinks.

Stay together. Make sure you don't leave behind any Santa's as you proceed to the next location

Layer up, Santa needs to keep warm during the event

Many SantaCon events have food or toy drives, so bring a little something with you to event

Santa suits are of course required. Look for a great deal on a santa suit you can afford. One that you can afford to get dirty.

Don't be a Bad Santa

Your dressing up as Santa Claus, so keep it friendly. Be respectful of the police, security guards and store owners. Keep it PG, well at least PG 13. Make sure you aren't breaking any laws. No one wants to see Santa arrested.

You'll want to memorize these important details:

Who's in charge? "Santa" of course.

How did you get here? "A sleigh and eight tiny reindeer"

Above all you'll need to be friendly to children because your Santa, adults that's another matter altogether.

SantaCon to Santa Pub Crawl

For the adventurous that are looking to take things a step further you can participate in a Santa themed pub crawl that will let you sample festive libations from various local pubs and breweries. Most of these events have a charitable component that include donations and or toy drives so if you are thinking of participating making sure you do your part to help out. Of course makes sure you drink responsibly and have a designated sleigh driver.

Santa's on the Run

There's even a Santa Run where thousands of runners are dressed in of course Santa suits to run in a race for charity. The santa run events have been incredibly successful with individual runs popping up all over the country. Making a trek while you are wearing a full head to toe santa suit isn't easy so hats off to these folks who are doing it for charity. Just make sure you lay off the egg nog prior to attempting a 5K run.

Looking for a SantaCon or Santa Run in your area?

We have listed a number of upcoming events below: Note: We are not affiliated with any of the events listed.