That's it, we've had it with SantaCon. Over the years, this annual drunken shitshow has steadily devolved from cleverly subversive to barely tolerable to "time to lock yourself in your apartment for the day." Is it just us or was this year's SantaCon even more obnoxiously fratastic than usual? Gothamist photographer Katie Sokoler was grabbed and kissed (against her will) by a drunk man dressed as a Christmas tree, and she also witnessed inebriated Santas falling onto terrified children on the subway train. Meanwhile, a group of intoxicated Santas on Houston Street deliberately knocked over a disabled man with a cane. more ›

A Rockland County teacher is catching flack for telling her second grade class that Santa Claus isn't real. According to the Post, the "evil educator" made the factually true statement during a geography lesson, after some of her students claimed to know where the North Pole was because "that's where Santa lives." Ah, kids. Everyone knows Santa lives in Boca Raton, and hasn't delivered toys since 1984, when he outsourced his business to a company in Taiwan. more ›

There will be a Santa Claus in Suffolk County after all. Earlier this week folks got in quite the huff when the grinches at Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy's budget office decided not to approve a new contract for Dave McKell, the 83-year-old man who has donned St. Nick's gear at the county-owned St. James General Store for the past nine years. Luckily for McKell, today the Democratic candidate going for the executive seat, Steve Bellone, decided to throw a press conference at which he pledged to pay the $660 needed to keep the McKell's ho-ho-hos coming [reg. req'd]. And Bellone swears the move wasn't political! more ›

On Christmas Eve, the Times shared a heartwarming video about a Chelsea couple whose mailbox has been mysteriously deluged with children's letters to Santa Claus this year. West 22nd Street residents "Jim and Dylan" have received a whopping 400 letters at their address! Nobody knows why, but there are a few SantaConspiracy theories out there. One Gothamist commenter posits: more ›

One hundred thirteen years ago, Virginia O'Hanlon wrote to the New York Sun asking, "DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?" leading to the paper to publish one of the most famous editorials in the history of print, which started off, "VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age... Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy." more ›

Besides the NORAD's Santa tracking, there are many resources for parents to perpetuate the legend that is Mr. Claus. The Wall Street Journal looks at the tricks of the trade that go beyond eating the cookies and drinking the milk left out at night. For instance, did you realize there's a "Santa's Official Evidence Kit," which includes "Santa's Authentic Sleigh License—dropped accidentally by Santa on his way out of the house" and "Santa's Glove and Glasses—removed and accidentally left behind on the table while Santa was enjoying his milk and cookies." And, yes, there are even Santa boot print kits (sold separately). more ›

Christmas eve is always a very busy day for Santa Claus; when he's finished busting up Sicilian crime syndicates, he's got to get riding cross the gilded skies on his red sleigh, delivering FedEx packages to doormen the world over. But no need to fear the homeless-looking-man-in-the-sky: as they do every year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command is keeping close track of his movements, using their Official NORAD Santa Tracker. more ›

For the past few years, right around Christmastime, West 22nd Street residents Jim and Dylan have received a trickle of letters from children written to Santa Claus, but mistakenly addressed to their apartment. They shrugged off the letters as a peculiar mystery, but that all changed this year when their mailbox was flooded with 400 letters to Santa. more ›

Of course you won't hear about it in the Santa-centric lamestream media, but Saturday's Santacon was marred by protests against Claus's unfair treatment of elves. You may recall that Claus—a notoriously dictatorial sweatshop owner who operates his toy factory far beyond the reach of U.S. labor laws—was portrayed in the acclaimed biopic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as a petulant megalomaniac convinced he had the power to cancel Christmas around the world simply because of a snowstorm. On Saturday, a group of disgruntled elves blasted Claus for the very same tyrannical employment policies that drove aspiring elf dentist Herbie from the Pole. Watch as these brave dissident elves stick it to the man and demand "elf care.": more ›

The War on Christmas isn't just being waged outside the Lincoln Tunnel; it's taking place at the YMCA (oops, we mean, The Y) now as well. According to the Post, the 14th Street McBurney YMCA has kicked Santa Claus to the curb for their popular annual holiday luncheon, and instead turned to the religiously ambiguous duo of a a talking snowman and his sidekick, an anonymous penguin, to entertain kids. more ›

As mentioned in our newsletter, today is the last day to see the Seaport Santa Claus (he'll be at Pier 17 until around 4 p.m.). The NY Times just did a profile piece on the man in red, who has been playing the role of Kris Kringle for 21 years. They say this makes Roger Franklin one of the city’s longest-running Santas at any one location — the other has been at Macy's for 25 years. more ›

Yesterday, the Santacon Santas braved the chilly temperatures to bring their usual holiday cheer to various points in the city. Here are a few more great photographs of the action. And according to a late night tweet from Santacon, "Santa got kicked our of a strip club. What did YOU do?" more ›

That annual gathering of Santas—and some elves and other friends—that travels all over the city is going on right now: Santacon NYC is in full swing, with the Santas meeting at five different locations. Some rules: "Santa doesn't get arrested. Please remember the FOUR FUCKS: Don't fuck with kids. Don't fuck with cops. Don't fuck with security. Don't fuck with Santa." And while the event claims it's not a bar crawl, the Santacon Twitter says, "Franklin park santas leave the fuckin bar already! We're going to prospect park for reindeer games." Share your Santacon photos by tagging them "gothamist" on Flickr or sending them to photos@gothamist.com. Ho ho ho! more ›

It's been 112 years since 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon of West 95th Street asked if there was a Santa Claus. An open letter back to the girl ended with: "No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood." more ›

Merry Christmas! It's bright and sunny in New York, with a high of 45 degrees (it may be windy). We hope your enjoy your day. more ›

'Tis the time of year when NORAD, the "bi-national U.S.-Canadian military organization responsible for the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada," turns its attention to tracking a certain visitor from the North Pole. The NORAD Tracks Santa website features a map showing where Santa has gone and NORAD also has an explanation of how Santa can work the way he does:

The fact that Santa Claus is more than 16 centuries old, yet does not appear to age, is our biggest clue that he does not work within time as we know it. His Christmas Eve trip may seem to take around 24 hours, but to Santa it may last days, weeks or even months in standard time. Santa would not want to rush the important job of distributing presents to children and spreading Christmas happiness everyone, so the only logical conclusion is that Santa functions within a different time-space continuum than the rest of us do.

The US Postal Service reopened a newly modified Operation Santa Claus yesterday after it had been temporarily shut down earlier this week following a "breach of security" when a postal worker discovered that a registered sex offender in Maryland "adopted" one of the hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa sent in by needy children this holiday season. more ›

The U.S. Postal Service shut down its beloved Operation Santa program, where people can take letters to Santa written by needy children and send those kids gifts. The NY Times has the grim explanation:

A Postal Service official in Washington, after an initial, limited acknowledgment of a “privacy breach,” said that at one of the programs, not New York’s, a man whom a letter carrier recognized as a registered sex offender had “adopted” a letter. When postal officials confronted the man, the official said, he said he was sincerely trying to do a good deed, but postal inspectors nonetheless retrieved the letter and notified the family of the child.

The double-parking Santa who got a big 'ol ticket as an early Christmas present is speaking out! The Daily News reports that "he appreciates the outpouring of support, but he won't accept any charity to pay the $115 fine." He doesn't, however, want to pay it himself either. Commonly known as Chip Cafiero, he says he is "very appreciative to hear that so many people want to help him out, but as a matter of principle, we have to fight this ticket." Allegedly he'd like to prove a point about parking in the area; "These meter maids are harassing our small businesses in Bay Ridge, and it is time that we make a stand and fight for what's right. All those people who wanted to help Santa may be getting something a little extra special under the tree this year." Cafiero was dressed as Claus to hand out gifts to children when he was ticketed—so many, including Marty Markowitz, have rallied to support him. more ›

Santa may be able to fly fast through the sky, but when it comes to parking he's got to follow the law like the rest of us civilians. The Daily News reports that one Santa (The Santa?) double-parked his sleigh SUV on Third Avenue in Bay Ridge, and "neighbors and politicians demanded the summons be quashed." But James Huntley, "who heads Local 1182, defended the agent who slapped a ticket on Chip Cafiero's SUV." He also added that seeing the driver in a Santa suit wouldn't have changed the law, and notes that calling the agent a Grinch or Scrooge isn't going to make matters better (is that a threat?). Marty Markowitz, whose office sponsored the event that Santa was at, said "It's the holidays. In these situations, there should be a combination of common sense and holiday spirit instead of humbug." Free double-parking at Brooklyn Borough Hall for everyone in a Santa hat! more ›

Mayor Bloomberg spent Saturday the same way many New Yorkers did—taking advantage of one of the final weekend days to get some shopping done before the holidays arrive. But unlike most, the mayor was playing not-so-secret Santa for two young Washington Heights siblings who had written their letter to St. Nick and addressed it to City Hall. They mayor picked up some sneakers, a basketball and a Hannah Montana gloves-and-hat set that were requested in the letter from 7-year-old Bryan Diaz, who said it was the first year his mother figured out the address to Santa. The mayor spent over a $135 on the pair in what's become a holiday tradition—not just for Bloomberg, but for guests of his holiday party at Gracie Mansion, who each year take one of the letters to Santa that wind up at City Hall. The mayor did his shopping yesterday at a Modell's in the Queens Center Mall, skipping the one near his home on the Upper East Side because as a spokesman said, "He is the mayor of all five boroughs." more ›

While some folks were out en masse to encourage New Yorkers to "Buy Nothing" yesterday, the Volunteers of America kicked off the holiday season by sending their Santas down Fifth Avenue for the 104th Sidewalk Santa Parade in hopes of discovering the spirit of generosity as the holiday season got underway. more ›

Today's Post has discovered the latest way to point out just how tightly all of our purse strings are being pulled by tugging at our heart strings and highlighting the latest group to feel the burn of the tanking economy: holiday Santas. The paper talks to a number of Santas who are not surprisingly seeing a downturn in the Santa presence being used this year by malls and holiday hot spots around town like FAO Schwartz and Tavern on the Green--even Volunteers for America are taking them off the sidewalks. One Kris Kringle tells the paper that the $30,000 he made two years ago will likely be $3,000 this season. The situation is so grave that recently it was recently reported that the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas, which represents 700 Santas, held a series of meetings to discuss their economic survival. Where will Santas turn with all this time on their hands? more ›