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Our favourite Christmas fancy dress for adults is matched to the date you'll wear it on: an elf suit for a Santa dash, a ride-on snowman for the works do, a pink elf dress for Christmas Day. Between 22 April and 20 September 2026, the exact phrase "Christmas fancy dress" showed our site in search about 7% more often than the exact phrase "Christmas costumes". Each of our six favourites below lists what's in the pack, and the full range lives in our Christmas fancy dress and costumes hub.
Table of Contents
- Which Christmas fancy dress suits which December date?
- What should you wear to a Santa dash?
- Is Christmas Jumper Day a fancy dress day?
- What works for Santacon or a Christmas pub crawl?
- What should you wear to the works Christmas do?
- What about a carol night or a Dickensian evening?
- What's comfortable enough for Christmas Day?
- When should you order, and how do you get the size right?
- Frequently asked questions
Which Christmas fancy dress suits which December date?
December 2026 has at least five dates that call for Christmas fancy dress, and each one asks something different of a costume. A Sunday-morning 5K wants legs that move. A long table on the 25th wants something you can sit in for six hours. The table lists each pack as it arrives; we run over 500,000 quality checks annually, and every costume goes through over 30 measurement checks. Our six favourites, in date order:
| Date in December 2026 | Our favourite | What's in the pack | Bring your own |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 6: Santa dash season | Mens Christmas Elf Costume | Green fleece jacket, yellow stretch leggings, cone hat, black foot covers | Shoes |
| Any December weekend: Santacon and pub crawls | Womens Santa with Shawl Costume | Red Santa dress, matching cape, black belt, Santa hat | Boots |
| Friday 18: the works do | Snowman Piggyback Costume | One ride-on costume with the mock legs sewn in | Close-fitting clothes underneath |
| Friday 18: the works do | Womens Penguin Costume | Hooded dress with beak, gloves, boot covers | Tights, shoes |
| Carol night | Mens Victorian Suit Costume | Tailcoat, shirt with attached waistcoat, cravat, top hat | Trousers, shoes |
| Friday 25: Christmas Day | Womens Pink Christmas Elf Costume | Dress with faux fur trim, belt, hat, red tights, boot covers | Shoes |
The classics have guides of their own. Father Christmas suits and the inflatable Santa have their own write-up in our guide to the best Santa costumes for adults and kids, reindeer and Mrs Claus sit in our Christmas party costumes for women, and the tree dress and the gingerbread dress lead our funny Christmas costumes.
What should you wear to a Santa dash?
A Santa dash needs a costume you can run 5K in, and you're allowed to bring your own. The Liverpool Santa Dash is on Sunday 6 December 2026, and 11,100 Santas ran it in 2025 (BTR Liverpool). The organisers' adult Santa suits are one size only, and they say the entry fee is the same if you run in another festive costume, which is where an elf in a sea of red comes in.
1. Mens Christmas Elf Costume: stretch leggings and a lined jacket
The Mens Christmas Elf Costume is four pieces: a green fleece jacket with a collar, cuffs, and a shaped waistband, yellow stretch leggings, a structured cone hat, and black foot covers. The leggings and flexible waistband are there so you can move, and the jacket is lined for long wear. The pack has foot covers, not shoes, so bring your own trainers.
Is Christmas Jumper Day a fancy dress day?
Christmas Jumper Day is a jumper day first, and in 2026 it falls on Thursday 10 December. The first one was on 14 December 2012, and the charity puts the total raised since at £42M+ (Save the Children). Between 43% and 44% of Britons say they typically wear a Christmas jumper (YouGov), so you'll have company. If your office turns the day into a full dress-up, any favourite on this page will do the job; if it stays at jumpers, keep the costume for the evening do and let the jumper have its day.
What works for Santacon or a Christmas pub crawl?
Santacon and a Christmas pub crawl both want a full Santa outfit, hat to hem, that copes with being outdoors between venues. A hat on its own is a Christmas jumper day; a dress, cape, belt, and hat is a costume. December streets are cold, so plan the layers as well as the look.
2. Womens Santa with Shawl Costume: four pieces in the pack
The Womens Santa with Shawl Costume comes as a red Santa dress, a matching cape, a black belt, and a Santa hat, and it suits office parties, pub crawls, and Santacon alike. The belt defines the waist and lets you adjust the fit. Boots aren't in the pack, so bring your own, and dress for a December street. Go by the size selector on the product page before you pick a size.
What should you wear to the works Christmas do?
The works do wants a costume that gets a laugh at the door and still lets you eat, drink, and sit down. The big night in 2026 is Friday 18 December, the Friday before Christmas Day. YouGov found 7% of Britons call that night Mad Friday, 8% call it Black Friday or Black Eye Friday, and 74% have no special name for it at all. We have two favourites for it.
3. Snowman Piggyback Costume: carried in by a snowman
The Snowman Piggyback Costume gives the illusion that a friendly snowman is carrying you around the room. It's one piece in 100% polyester stretch fabric with the mock legs sewn in, so there's nothing to assemble at your desk at five o'clock. It comes in one size, designed to fit most adults, and our tip is close-fitting clothes underneath so it sits neatly all night. The Santa hat and jumper in the photo are the model's own.
4. Womens Penguin Costume: head to toe in three pieces
The Womens Penguin Costume is a black and white hooded dress with the beak attached to the hood and a plush white belly panel, plus gloves and boot covers. Three pieces, 100% polyester, with the hood attached to the dress. For outdoor winter events, our tip is opaque tights and boots under the boot covers. Tights and shoes aren't in the pack.
What about a carol night or a Dickensian evening?
A carol night or a Dickensian evening suits a Victorian gentleman's outfit, the look of the era that gave us the story. A Christmas Carol was first published on 19 December 1843, so a tailcoat and top hat put you in the right decade. It's a smart choice for anyone who likes their fancy dress tailored.
5. Mens Victorian Suit Costume: the carol singer's tailcoat
The Mens Victorian Suit Costume is a black tailcoat jacket, a white shirt with the black waistcoat and gold buttons attached, a black cravat, and a top hat. The shirt and waistcoat go on as one layer, so there's one less thing to button. Trousers aren't included, so pair it with a pair from your wardrobe. Store the top hat upright between wears and it keeps its shape for next December.
What's comfortable enough for Christmas Day?
Christmas Day wants a costume that's light, complete, and easy to sit in from the presents to the pudding. In 2026 the 25th is a Friday, and it's a long day in one outfit. For the little ones at the same table, our kids Christmas costumes cover them, and the school-play end of the season is in our nativity costumes guide.
6. Womens Pink Christmas Elf Costume: everything arrives together
The Womens Pink Christmas Elf Costume arrives with everything, down to the tights: a pink skater dress with faux fur trim, a belt, a hat, red tights, and boot covers. The dress sits above the knee and moves freely, and it's 100% polyester, so it stays light through a long day indoors. It's sized by body measurements, and if you're between sizes we'd go up one for a day that includes Christmas dinner. The inflatable candy cane in the photo is a prop, not part of the pack.
When should you order, and how do you get the size right?
Order for the date of your event, not for the 25th, because most of December's dressing up happens well before Christmas Day. A Santa dash on the 6th and a works do on the 18th both mean a November order is the comfortable one. One party organiser surveyed more than 300 of its own UK clients and found over half of bookings take place in October and November (Office Christmas market report 2025), so there's a fair chance you'll know the theme in time.
On size, three things keep it simple:
- Check each costume's own size guide on its product page before you order, because the guide belongs to that costume and not to the range.
- Go by the live size selector on the product page. It's more current than any description.
- Between sizes, size up. It's our standing advice for anything you'll wear through a long evening.
Care starts the same way for all six: hand wash only, never the machine, then air dry. We'd rather you heard that from us now than from a shrunken elf jacket in January.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best Christmas fancy dress ideas for adults?
Our favourites for adults are an elf suit, a Santa dress with a cape, a ride-on snowman, a penguin dress, a Victorian tailcoat, and a pink elf dress. Match the costume to the date: something you can move in for a Santa dash, something that gets a laugh for the works do, something light for Christmas Day. We list what's in every pack; the Mens Christmas Elf Costume, for one, is four pieces, from the fleece jacket to the foot covers.
What is included in a Christmas fancy dress costume?
It depends on the costume, so read the pack list rather than the photo. Our Womens Pink Christmas Elf Costume includes the dress, belt, hat, red tights, and boot covers, while our Mens Victorian Suit Costume includes the tailcoat, shirt with attached waistcoat, cravat, and top hat but not the trousers. Check the pack list for shoes, boots, and props before you assume they're included.
Do you have an inflatable Christmas costume?
Yes, our Inflatable Santa Costume makes it look as though Father Christmas is carrying you, and it's covered in full in our guide to the best Santa costumes. The Snowman Piggyback Costume gives a similar carried-along illusion, with the mock legs sewn in.
Where can I find a Father Christmas costume for adults?
Start with the Christmas costumes range on our site, which is home to our Santa, Mrs Claus, elf, and reindeer outfits. For a women's take, the Womens Santa with Shawl Costume comes with the dress, cape, belt, and hat in one pack. Our Santa costumes guide on the blog compares the classic suit, the women's Santa dress, and the inflatable.
When should I order Christmas fancy dress?
Order for your event date, not for Christmas Day. In 2026 the Liverpool Santa Dash is on Sunday 6 December, Christmas Jumper Day is Thursday 10 December, and the last Friday before Christmas is 18 December, so a November order covers all three.
How do you wash a Christmas fancy dress costume?
Hand wash it, then let it air dry. All six costumes on this page are hand wash only, and none is machine washable. Our Mens Christmas Elf Costume asks for cold water and a flat air dry away from direct heat, and our Mens Victorian Suit Costume's top hat is best stored upright so it keeps its shape.
Six favourites, one for every date in the diary, and plenty more in the full Christmas fancy dress range if your December looks different to ours. We make your best times better with costumes.
