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

NEW YORK (AP) — Here come Santa Clauses. Again.

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

The booze-fueled stroll, which included no shortage of Grinches, elves and other Christmas-themed costumes, kicked off at 10 a.m. in bars and clubs in midtown Manhattan. Revelers were expected to make their way downtown where the festivities end at 8 p.m. in local watering holes in the East Village.

The organizers encouraged participants to donate $15 to enter participating venues, which they have said will go to charitable causes.

Similar Christmas-themed bacchanals were slated in cities across the U.S. and Europe, from San Francisco and Cincinnati to London and Berlin, on Saturday.

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

Commuter rail lines from New Jersey and the New York suburbs banned passengers from drinking on trains headed into Manhattan starting from 4 a.m. Saturday through noon Sunday.

The New York Police Department also reminded revelers that the city's open container laws prohibit consuming alcohol in the street still applies.

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