Welcome to Costume Tips

Santa Suit Variation

The Santa suit is a widely recognized costume – red outfit with white trim, red hat, black boots, and a curly white beard and head full of hair. For a variation on the classic Santa suit, try the Old Time Santa suit. This version looks just like the ones so prevalent today, but with a slight twist. The red coat on the Old Time Santa suit is longer and comes with a hood. A ribbon adornment at the base of the jacket adds a nice vintage touch. The boot tops come in red and have decorative bells attached.

To compliment your Old Time Santa suit, get a deluxe Santa set which comes with wig, beard, eyebrows, and mustache. Other Santa suit additions include deluxe gloves and a bell to ring in the Christmas season.

Toy Soldier Costume

Do you have visions of the Nutcracker for Christmas? If you do, you’ll need a toy soldier costume for the holidays. Children’s versions cost around $30 retail, while adult versions will run you about $65. You can find a toy soldier costume for men and women in the costume stores.

While costume stores may be one place to get your toy soldier costume, you can certainly make your own. These are the items you’ll need to get started:

• Red jacket with gold buttons and trim.
• Dark pants
• Black boots
• Oversized black hat or Busby hat

For the women’s version, you can substitute the red jacket for a jacket style dress.

Getting An Elf Costume

What Santa Claus would be complete without a little helper? To complete the Santa Claus entourage, you need an elf costume for each member of the crew. Elves help Santa by making the toys at the North Pole and getting them ready for the children around the world. For an elf costume, you’ll need to pick a rich Christmas hue like green or red. For the more budget minded, a fleece material will do. For an upscale elf costume, get a plush fabric like velvet. You’ll need a conical hat, long belted jacket with white collar and cuffs, and tights, which can be solid or striped. For footwear get a pair of elf shoes with a curled toe. For an added touch, accessorize your outfit with a pair of elf ears.

A Santa Costume For Every Budget

Looking for a Santa costume for Christmas time this year? You know that Jolly Old Saint Nick wears a red and white suit, but the Santa costume comes in some variations based on budget and quality. For a new Santa costume, expect to spend anywhere from $30 for an entry model to over $500 for a high-end professional level Santa Claus suit. Here’s the lowdown on what’s available:

Economy Santa Claus suit – The economy Santa Claus suit comes in a fleece fabric and faux rabbit trim. Your belt and boot covers will be made of vinyl. The economy version is well suited for someone who is planning on wearing the costume for a few outings.

Corduroy Santa Claus suit – This lightweight version of the economy Santa Claus suit works well in warmer weather.

Velour Santa Claus suit – This upgrade from the economy version features velour fabric and faux rabbit trim. You’ll have a vinyl belt and boot covers. It’s a nice version to use for corporate parties.

Plush Santa Claus suit – If you want a rental quality item, this is it. You get a plush fabric coat with thick faux rabbit fur trim. The vinyl belt comes with a metal belt buckle. You’ll have the appearance of the more expensive suits without the upgraded lining for extra comfort on the inside.

Ultra Velvet Santa Claus suit – This quality suit is an actual velvet fabric that looks and feels soft to the touch. Your vinyl belt has a metal buckle. You’ll get the upgrade of a nylon lining for comfort during use.

Professional Santa Claus suit – With a thick pile of plush fabric and longhaired faux rabbit trim, this red suit will charm adults and children alike. The interior satin lining of this Santa Claus costume ensures the wearer will be comfortable during daily use. The boot covers and belt are made of Naugahyde, a trademark imitation leather.

Royal Majestic Santa Claus suit – This is a Santa Claus suit that St. Nick himself would wear. This Santa Claus costume comes in a rich burgundy color with a thick plush pile fabric, longhaired faux rabbit trim, and satin lining. Accessories include the Naugahyde boot covers and belt.

You have several Santa Claus costume options, but don’t forget to select from a wide variety of accessories as well. Compliment your Santa Claus costume with a wig or suspenders.

Dress Your Pet Up In A Holiday Pet Costume

When the holidays roll around, there’s no reason why Fido shouldn’t be part of the festivities. Dressing your canine up in a holiday pet costume can bring cheer even to the grumpiest holiday Scrooge. For ideas on a holiday pet costume for your four-legged best friend, take a look at this list.

• Try a holiday pet accessory like a Santa hat and matching scarf.
• For a minimalist holiday pet accessory, get reindeer ears for your canine Blitzen.
• If your canine is your little helper year round, turn him into Santa’s little helper with an elf outfit.
• Your pooch can dress up as the red-suited Santa himself for the holidays.
• For your sweet pup, get a candy cane headpiece.
• There’s no better time to show off your dog’s well-behaved side than during Christmas in an angel costume.
• Show off your dog’s Christmas spirit with a wreath collar.

Three Wise Men Costumes

Gold, and myrrh, and frankincense. You remember them from the hymns and Christmas carols--the Magi offered them in celebration of the baby Jesus' divinity. This was before Pottery Barn. Now you, or your children, are planning to dress up as the Three Wise Men at Christmas, for a party or school or church event. Gold you can easily handle--you can donate some jewelry or carry some chocolate coins, or a faux block of gold.

But what are frankincense and myrrh and how do you use them in your Christmas costumes? Maybe you'd be better off dressing up in a reindeer costume, elf costume, or Santa costume.

Frankincense and myrrh are, quite simply, spices, and spices were valuable in Arabia in the time of Jesus. You can use patchouli or another type of incense for frankincense, since incense has been a sacred offering in religions for centuries. Buy incense from your local naturalist shop or candle shop. You may even be able to buy frankincense, which is a tree sap found in the Middle East, from specialty stores.

Myrrh is a little trickier--it means "bitter," and is also a tree sap. You can also get it at specialty stores. Both myrrh and frankincense are used to make incense. If you carry incense sticks along with the gold, you'll have historically accurate Christmas costumes. Hey, it's more original than shopping at Pottery Barn for a Christmas gift.

Christmas Animal Costumes

Think of Christmas animals, and you usually think of Rudolph--but you don't want to wear a reindeer costume. There are more fun animal Christmas costumes for you as a kid to dress up in. Of course, you can be the Christmas lamb, ox (a cow costume is perfect), or donkey (you have the Shrek Donkey costume complete with teeth).

We have some more creative animal ideas, such as:

* A Santa Claus Dog--try a Playful Puppy costume with a Santa Claus hat and Christmas ribbons
* A Christmas Cat with Santa Claus or elf hat
* A Christmas Penguin with Santa hat
* A Christmas Bunny--like the Velveteen Rabbit, with a Christmas bow and Santa hat
* A Christmas Bear with Santa hat

Let the other kids wear the Santa Claus costume and the elf costume. You're a Christmas animal!

Little Drummer Boy

The Little Drummer Boy. Rum pa pum pum. Your little musician wants to be the Little Drummer Boy or Girl. How do you create a sweet traditional costume for the Drummer Boy or Girl? You wish your child had chosen a baby Santa Claus costume, Biblical Christmas costumes, an elf costume or a reindeer costume.

Actually, you can buy or make children's Biblical Shepherd Christmas costumes or an Arabian Nights-inspired costume to be historically accurate. Or your child can drum away while wearing a Wooden Toy Soldier outfit.

To complete the scene, siblings can carry a baby doll and dress as Mary and Joseph. Don't forget ox or cow and lamb costumes.

Most importantly, don't forget the drum! If your child doesn't play the drums, a portable wearable mini radio or CD player playing "The Little Drummer Boy" will allow him or her to pretend to rum pa pum pum. In the song, the infant Jesus smiled at the Little Drummer Boy. Everyone will smile at your Little Drummer Boy or Girl.

I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day

Christmas and bells go together like a sleigh and reindeer. If you want to be truly festive in your elf costume or reindeer costume, try a set of tingle bells to attach to your elf shoes and elf hat. Just don't attach jingle bells to your elf ears! Shake some jingle bells and karaoke some Christmas tunes. May we suggest "Jingle Bell Rock"?

You can buy a reindeer harness such as the kind you'd see on plastic reindeer, or sew some bells on a ribbon and drape it all over your reindeer costume. You could even hang bells on your antlers.

Now get ready to rock and let the bells ring on Christmas Day!

Elf Makeup

Without the elves, Santa couldn't make toys, so an elf costume has to be as realistic as a Santa costume or a reindeer costume. Besides the pointy shoes, ears and jingle bells, an elf costume has to have that genuine elf "look."

Will theatrical makeup get you into the jolly green spirit? Should you paint your face green? Kids will love to cover their faces in green paint--even though you mostly see elves with unpainted cherubic cheeks. Occasionally, you'll see an older elf with wrinkles.

When you're designing elf makeup, here are a few elf-improvement tips:

* If you're masquerading as an older elf, apply wrinkles just as you would for a Santa Claus costume.
* Make sure the tone of the makeup matches or complements the plastic or rubber elf ears.
* If you and your kids don't want green all over your faces, try several different colors of glitter for that magical glow. Or let your imagination loose with a face-painting kit.
* Female elves might want to keep their makeup natural and subtle. Don't let it overwhelm the elf costume. Don't over-glam unless you're in a sexy elf costume. Glittery translucent makeup powder or foundation works well here.

After all, elves aren't replaceable--Santa would find it difficult to run his workshop without them. Wear a big smile, as if you have the best job in the world--which, to kids, you do!

Santa Claus on Halloween

You're worried like Santa trying to diet to slide safely down chimneys that your Santa Claus costume and reindeer costume or elf costume that you and your sweetheart plan to wear won't be appropriate for Halloween.

Before you spend more time fretting than trying on your Santa costume, remember two things:

1) Santa always gets down the chimneys.
2) Malls start hanging their Christmas decorations in July.

Christmas costumes at Halloween remind everyone that the shopping days and the season of goodwill are just around the corner. Plus, a Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus (or Sexy Ms. Santa/Sexy Santas Helper) duo is one of our favorite couple costume ideas.

So shed those fears just like Santa sheds pounds making toys and wear your Santa Claus costume with pride at Halloween.

A Right Jolly Old Elf

You have the Santa spectacles. You have the leather boots or boot tops. You have the full Santa Hat and beard. You've got the requisite padding. And despite Hollywood's trend that started with "Bad Santa," you have a smile in your heart and a ho-ho-ho on your lips. Plus you're not drunken like the Santa in "Miracle on 34th Street." You're ready in your Santa Claus costume.

Some other holly jolly holiday hints for bringing comfort and joy in your Santa costume:

* While candy canes and cookies are always welcome at Christmas, some parents may want the kids not to have so much sugar. Carry healthy snacks in your Santa sack.
* Flick those reins if you're in the sleigh, the way Kris Kringle did, as played byRichard Attenborough or Edmund Gwenn in "Miracle on 34th Street".
* Here's a tip from AnytimeCostumes.com: If you have a full natural beard, get temporary haircolor to maintain the illusion of the white-bearded Santa. If not, get a full beard and wig.
* Santa doesn't work alone! Recruit friends and fellow employees or volunteers to dress in a gingerbread man costume, reindeer costume and an elf costume or two.
* The best Santa Claus costume accessories you can wear are a merry smile, look of genuine interest in children, and red healthy color in those cheeks. If you're naturally pale, try jogging around the mall or drinking some of Santa's hot chocolate!
* Make sure the Santa costume is comfortable, especially the trousers--you don't want to look uncomfortable or grumpy on that dais!

Most of all, have fun. That's the best Santa Claus costume accessory.

Wise Men and Shepherds

Girls are portraying all the roles guys once did--ironic, considering that in Shakespeare's time and in Kabuki theater, men played women's roles. So it shouldn't be a surprise that girls want to wear shepherd boy and wise men costumes at school, at Christmas parties and at church. Be careful--like a woman wearing a Santa Claus costume, some modernizations just don't work. A woman can wear a reindeer costume or elf costume, but there's a Santa costume and a Mrs. Santa costume--no arguments.

Sometimes assigning parts in Christmas plays can be difficult--remember the classics "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever"? Some traditionalists might object to girls wearing shepherd's robes--even though Christ embraced women as figurative shepherds of his flock.

Carry those canes, girls! Have a younger sibling or friend wear lamb and ox costumes. With the exception of Jesus and Joseph clothing, religious Christmas costumes work for girls as well as boys.

What about those three wise men? Maybe little girls aren't such a good choice to play the three Magi--although they can certainly fit into the costumes. After all, the women would have stopped to ask for directions even before they saw the Star of Bethlehem. But your little girls can certainly wear shepherd Christmas costumes.

Fat Santa

Okay, okay. We all know America needs to eat better, exercise more and trim the junk food from our diets. But do we really need to have Santa start endorsing low-carb and fat-free? As Mr. Claus and Mrs. Claus would agree, homemade North Pole cookies and candy canes beat the processed junk any day.

Your Santa Claus costume doesn't have to be politically correct. Maybe Santa doesn't have to have the stump of a pipe in his teeth, but a padded Santa belly is as essential for a Santa Claus costume as pointed elf ears are for an elf costume and antlers (as well as a red blinking nose) for a reindeer costume.