Santas and Grinches hit the streets for annual SantaCon bar crawls

Revellers in New York (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Thousands of people dressed as Father Christmas jammed streets, pavements and bars around the world on Saturday for annual SantaCon charity pub crawls.

In New York City, where temperatures hovered around freezing, the merriment kicked off at about 10am and was expected to stretch into the evening.