SantaCon 2024 rivaled by new, family-friendly NYC ‘Elf Project’ event: ‘Sober SantaCon’

They’re simply having a wonderful Christmas time. 

While hundreds of people piled into Midtown Saturday to partake in the infamous debauchery of SantaCon, a “wholesome” alternative event debuted in Manhattan. 

Revelers dressed up as Santa, reindeer and Christmas presents gathered at West 39th Street and Broadway to kick off the annual bar crawl stretching from Times Square to the East Village, which typically draws around 30,000 participants. 

“Today’s a day when thousands of people in New York City dress up like Santa. It’s the unity for me,” a well-mannered SantaCon-goer Nidia Cruz, 36, told The Post. 

Other participants were ready to get their eggnog on. 

“I think it’s really fun to get drunk and watch everyone talk about how much they hate Christmas,” said Ethan Howard, who was fittingly clad in a Grinch costume. 

“We’re looking to bar hop and spread the holiday spirit,” said Julianna Nunez, 24, who traveled from Connecticut for the festivities. 

Manhattanite Jacqueline Nardone purposefully only brought her six-year-old daughter to the first part of the notoriously boozy event. 

“We come in the beginning, because everyone in the beginning is happy, and then they get, erm, tired,” Nardone explained with a nod to the little girl.

One woman humorously carried an “Emotional Support Gingerbread” basket.

Meanwhile, approximately 40 people dressed as Christmas elves gathered in Central Park for the inaugural “Project Elf,” a family-friendly event which resembled a smaller and “sober SantaCon,” as one participant put it. 

The event was the brainchild of Big Apple teens John Clark, 14, and Oliver Bachleda, 16, who said they drew their inspiration from the 2003 hit holiday movie “Elf” starring Will Ferrell. 

“We were just thinking of things to do to entertain ourselves, and we decided to try to create an elf army…We went to FedEx that day and we made a bunch of copies of posters with a picture of Buddy the Elf on them,” as well as the event details, Clark recalled.

“As time went on, we realized that it was the same day as SantaCon – that wasn’t on purpose,” Clark said. “We just thought it would be fun.” 

For each person who attended dressed up as an elf, the Clark and Bachleda families said they would donate $100 to Citymeals on Wheels, a nonprofit that provides food for elderly New Yorkers in need. 

Ana Sophia Acosta, a 26-year-old Manhattanite, said she was happy to swap the “drinking-centered” SantaCon for Project Elf, which was simply “a fun way to spread Christmas cheer.”