--- title: Santacon is Back and Undaunted by the Backlash description: Organizers promised to tone down the annual booze soaked event this year canonical: https://time.com/3632806/santacon-new-york-christmas/ author: Denver Nicks article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-13T22:03:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:15:18.547Z og:title: Santacon is Back and Undaunted by the Backlash og:description: Organizers promised to tone down the annual booze soaked event this year og:url: https://time.com/3632806/santacon-new-york-christmas/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ad31af8bd839a6a/69876e980b72e395da6dc97a/santacon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4856 og:image:height: 2732 og:image:alt: People dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus celebrate in Times Square as they gather for the annual Santacon festivities on Dec. 13, 2014 in New York. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Santacon is Back and Undaunted by the Backlash twitter:description: Organizers promised to tone down the annual booze soaked event this year twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ad31af8bd839a6a/69876e980b72e395da6dc97a/santacon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Ho Ho Horror: Santacon 2014 Hits New York City > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=574edc94-167f-417d-8c83-cd2528657ed1&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Dec 13, 2014 10:03 PM UTC  People dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus celebrate in Times Square as they gather for the annual Santacon festivities on Dec. 13, 2014 in New York. People dressed as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus celebrate in Times Square as they gather for the annual Santacon festivities on Dec. 13, 2014 in New York. Don Emmert—AFP/Getty Images  by [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Dec 13, 2014 10:03 PM UTC Undaunted by the popular backlash against the notoriously rowdy annual gathering, Santacon returned to the streets of New York this year, with thousands donning Santa suits on Saturday for the annual booze-and-Christmas-cheer-fueled bar crawl. In addition to being just a massive party, Santacon raises money for charity and acts as a critique, organizers say, of the commercialization of Christmas. The event went off this year despite backlash from some in the Big Apple who have become increasingly irritated in recent years by the drunken carousing Santacon tends to inspire, not to mention the fighting and vomiting. Organizers reportedly worked with police this year in an effort to civilize and tone down the event, and even [hired a noted civil rights lawyer](http://time.com/3628338/santacon-civil-rights-bar-crawl/) to help improve relations with the city’s citizens. After staging the core Santacon gathering in Times Square, the Santas strolled to bars in the area around midtown Manhattan, for more charity money raising and Christmas commercialization critiquing. Oh and drinking. That too. 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