For a bunch of goofy holiday elves, they were pretty Amazin’.
Several players from the Mets donned green and red outfits on Thursday to greet 100 Queens school kids at the team’s annual holiday party at Citi Field.
Outfielder Brandon Nimmo took on the role of Santa to distribute gifts to the kids with fellow players Noah Syndergaard, Jerry Blevins and Kevin Plawecki.
“It was a blast,” Nimmo told reporters after the party. “They had smiles on their faces and that’s good enough for us.”
Nimmo laughed off mentions of the “Santa Curse” — a fan superstition that players who dress as Santa at the party go on to have a tough year. Syndergaard, last year’s Santa, was sidelined for most of this season with injuries.
This year, the star pitcher played it safe and worked as an elf alongside Blevins and Plawecki.
After joking that being an elf was his “natural calling,” Syndergaard got serious.
“It’s just an amazing feeling,” he said. “There’s nothing like giving back during the holiday season.”
The kids happily clutched their presents — board games like Jenga and Pie Face — and some were surprised to find out the players were the elves.
Alan Lin, a fourth-grader at P.S. 22, kept his gift wrapped while classmate Sunnie Pan happily tore through the paper to find Connect Four.
Ten-year-old Jay Romero, wearing his mom’s Carlos Beltran jersey, was thrilled at the chance to meet players in person.
“I watched the games all the time, but I never met a player,” he said.
The Mets are keeping the holiday spirit going next week, when they open up the team store as a drop off point for the New York Cares Coat Drive on Dec. 13 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fans who donate gently used coats will get a voucher for two tickets to select home games in April or May.
