Thousands of revelers descend on NYC for annual Santa-themed bar crawl SantaCon

NEW YORK — Here come the Santa Clauses. Again.

Crowds of people dressed as jolly Old St. Nick came to New York City on Saturday for the annual SantaCon charity pub crawl.

The booze-fueled walk, which featured no shortage of Grinches, elves and other Christmas-themed costumes, started at 10 a.m. at bars and clubs in downtown Manhattan. Partygoers were expected to head downtown, where the festivities will end at local bars in the East Village at 8 p.m.

Organizers encouraged participants to donate $15 to enter participating venues, which they said would go to charities.

Similar Christmas-themed bacchanalia was planned Saturday in cities across the U.S. and Europe, from San Francisco and Cincinnati to London and Berlin.

As in years past, transit agencies hoped to prevent the revelry from causing too much chaos in the country's busiest train system.

Commuter rail lines from New Jersey and the New York suburbs are banning passengers from drinking on Manhattan-bound trains from 4 a.m. Saturday through Sunday afternoon.

The New York Police Department also reminded revelers that the city's open container laws against consuming alcohol on the street still apply.

“Ensuring everyone has access to safe and orderly travel is a top priority,” Metropolitan Transit Authority Police Chief John Mueller said in a statement announcing the restrictions this week. “The holidays are a wonderful time of year and we want everyone to get to their destination smoothly and on time while enjoying the festivities.”