pics: “A John Waters Christmas” @ City Winery

Don we now our crazy Christmas suit: John Waters @ City Winery

"It started with my book 'Crackpot,' which included a chapter called 'Why I Love Christmas,' " he says. "The first performance was at The Castro in San Francisco, and it just took off from there. That was more than 10 years ago, and it's gotten bigger each year -- this year I'm hitting 18 cities."

The show covers a wide range of issues, from the unavoidable stress of the season to the horrors of living Nativity scenes.

"Oh, aren't they bizarre? So frightening! It's sort of like a haunted house for Christmas. Who would take their kids to that, with the straw and the animals and the horny shepherds? I've always wanted to do a movie do about them called 'Scary Mary.' "

Waters also takes on what he sees as some of the worst trends in gift-giving.

"You don't have to spend a lot of money, but you should be creative. You have to be willing to spend the time to find something unusual, something that will surprise the person. I really hate gift cards. I mean, really? And fruit baskets are just appalling. I can go buy myself a pear. If you want to do a gift basket, at least put something good in there -- like cigarettes, or porn." - [The Tennessean]

As he's done in years past, filmmaker, author and (bad) tastemaker John Waters has taken his love-hate relationship with the holiday season on the road for his annual "A John Waters Christmas" live show tour. This year dubbed "Holier & Dirtier," it hit NYC on Sunday (12/6) at City Winery. That is some suit John has on! Check out more pics from the show below...