Drunken Santas & elves take to the streets as Christmas celebrations ramp up two weeks before the big day
DRUNKEN Santas and elves have taken to the streets as Christmas celebrations ramp up two weeks before the big day.
Hundreds of revellers dressed as Father Christmas took on the Otley Run, a legendary fancy-dress pub crawl in Leeds.
There are 17 stops on the pub crawl, which is a rite of passage for freshers at Leeds Beckett University and the University of Leeds.
Snaps showed students braving the wet weather in Santa and elf costumes – although one came as Buzz Lightyear instead.
Meanwhile in London, department store Santas gathered for the SantaCon pub crawl.
SantaCon is said to be “London’s largest annual convention of Lapland-giving personnel”.
This year hundreds of Santas walked from Southbank to Tower Bridge, before crossing the Thames and ending up at Trafalgar Square.
Santas of all ages posed for snaps in front of landmarks like the London Eye.
One wore an inflatable costume which made them look as if they were being carried around by a green alien.
Writing on SantaCon’s website, a promoter said: “Santacon is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious and non-sensical Christmas parade that traditionally takes place in London one Saturday every December.
“There’s no particular reason to dress up in Santa suits, run around, give gifts, sing songs, have strangers sit on our laps and decide who is naughty or nice.
“But it’s a lot of fun so Santa does it anyway!”
It comes after King Charles bumped into Father Christmas – who assured him he was on the good list.