Thousands of Santas and a few Grinches hit the streets for annual SantaCon bar crawls

NEW YORK (AP) — Santa Clauses are coming to town. Thousands of Kris Kringles and jolly Old St. Nicks are jamming streets, sidewalks and bars from Adelaide to Vancouver on Saturday for annual SantaCon charity pub crawls. In New York City, where temperatures hovered around freezing, the fermented merriment kicked off around 10 a.m. and was slated to stretch into the evening. Santas and others dressed as holiday characters strolled to bars and clubs from midtown Manhattan to the East Village, flooding the streets with a crimson tide of Christmas cheer. SantaCon participants are encouraged to donate $15 to enter participating venues. Organizers say the money will go to charity.