There were a ho-ho-whole lot of Kris Kringles in Grafton on Saturday as nearly 2,000 Jolly Old Elves descended on the Mississippi River community for the annual SantaCon event, a raucous gathering of Santa Claus look-alikes that had the town seeing red well into the evening.
St. Nick stand-ins took part in some yuletide bar-hopping, roamed the village’s streets and shops dispensing Christmas cheer, and gathered for frequent photo ops with both naughty and nice visitors.
“Spreading good cheer and drinking are on the agenda today,” said Hardin resident Erica Smith, who was enjoying the day with family from Hardin and Jacksonville. “I told them this was a family outing, but everyone had to dress like Santa Claus, and most of them complied.”
And what would Smith like to receive from the real Santa this year?
“Paying my bills,” Smith said with a chuckle.
“No more grief” is what Santacon participant Tony Dodd wants from Mr. Claus this year, a wish he expressed in front of more than a dozen Santa-clad friends from Alton, Godfrey, and Jerseyville.
“Dressing like Santa Claus makes everybody happy,” said Dodd in response to a query about why Santacon was so fun. And regarding who wore the best Santacon getup, he replied, “I feel obligated to say my wife.”
Kassidy Simmons and two friends, all from Iowa, learned about Santacon during this autumn’s “Witches on the Water” event in Grafton and decided to trade their wicked witch wear for crimson Claus clothing.
“We needed a weekend away from our kids, it’s our turn to have Santa time,” said Simmons, who added that the trio has asked Father Christmas for “clean houses and a maid, but the chances of getting such a gift are slim.”
Jose Janica from Peru, Illinois, rocked a “Grinch” look with green fur poking through his Santa sleeves and pant legs, and can channel the green grouch “during tax time in April because I’m an accountant.” Janica’s companion, Cait Meyer, was attired as another Dr. Seuss character, Cindy Lu Who.
“The tall hair makes the look,” said Meyer as she pointed to her towering tresses, and added that the duo asked Santa for “cash” under their Christmas tree.
“A trip to the beach” is on the Christmas list of Santacon participant Trent Chaney from St. Peters, Missouri, and companion, Kelly Arntzen, opined that she likes “seeing all of the different clothes worn to Santacon each year.”
Husband and wife Santaconners Shane and Jennifer Buehrer from Grafton went with a more traditional dress code, with Jennifer wearing a red gown and Shane in a faux-fur-trimmed 1800s Father Christmas outfit.
“I saw ‘The Christmas Chronicles’ with Kurt Russell, and I liked that costume,” Shane said. “I had to pay somebody to make it, and Jennifer did a good job of finding a seamstress capable of doing it.”
Although he was portraying a person who only works one day per year, Shane still wants to ask Santa for “early retirement.”
Santacon’s most visible St. Nick-a-like was Highland resident Clarence Rice, who perched himself on the second-floor balcony of a Main Street Grafton business.
“I purposely picked this spot so I could wave to everybody and yell ‘Merry Christmas,’” Rice said. “Although with today’s temperatures, I don’t feel too great out here.”
On top of that, Rice had arguably the most unlikely request from the man he was impersonating.
“I want Santa to bring a Detroit Lions Super Bowl win,” Rice said.