Reindeer, Snowman and Christmas Character Costumes: The Cast Beyond Santa and Elves

Skip Santa and the elves and go as a reindeer, a snowman, a nutcracker or toy soldier, a gingerbread person, an angel, a penguin or a candy cane. A reindeer costume can be one zip: our Men's Reindeer Onesie packs the antler hood, red nose and hoof covers together. Between 3 November and 31 December 2025, more than one in five of the UK Google web-search impressions our site earned on costume searches naming a Christmas character were for a character other than Santa or an elf.

We leave Santa and the elves out here and give each of the other seven characters its own build, pack list and size range. For the full adult line-up, start with our guide to the best Christmas fancy dress for adults.

Which Christmas characters can you be besides Santa and elves?

Seven Christmas characters work as fancy dress without a single elf hat: reindeer, snowman, nutcracker or toy soldier, gingerbread, angel, penguin and candy cane. For each one, the table gives our pick, who it fits, what is in the pack and what you add from home; we took the pack lists from our product pages on 4 November 2026.

Our Christmas costumes carry the adult range, and the kids Christmas costumes cover school plays and Christmas fairs.

How do you put together a reindeer costume?

Build a reindeer costume from the body up: brown body, antlers, red nose, then hooves, or zip into our onesie, which carries all four in one pack. From your own wardrobe:

1. Body first. Brown all over, with a pale belly panel at the front.
2. Then the head. Antlers and ears on a hood or a headband.
3. Then the nose. A red or brown nose on elastic, or a dot of face paint.
4. Feet last. Hoof covers over trainers finish it head to toe.

Reindeer are the only deer where both males and females grow antlers, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo, and pregnant females keep theirs until late spring. So antlers on every head in a mixed group are true to life.

Men's Reindeer Onesie: the whole reindeer in one zip

The Men's Reindeer Onesie is a full-length brown jumpsuit with a white belly panel, a hood with soft antlers and a red nose detail, and hoof-style shoe covers. It is 100% polyester with a zip fastening, and the product page sizes it S to 3XL for women and men. Leading a herd? Hand out our Reindeer Antlers Headband with Ears to the rest of the table: brown antlers about 9 inches tall and 12 inches across, plush ears and a holly berry accent, sold single or in packs of 2, 4 or 6.

How do you dress as a snowman?

Dress as a snowman in white layers, a scarf, an orange nose and a black top hat; the hat is what tells people you are a snowman and not someone in a white jumper. Our Adult Snowman Top Hat is black satin with a red plaid band, holly and a red jingle berry, 6 inches tall, with a hook-and-loop sweatband that adjusts from 21 to 23.5 inches for adults and teens. The rest comes from your wardrobe:

• White base. A white jumper or hoodie and white or pale trousers.
• Buttons. Three black felt circles down the front, pinned or taped.
• Scarf. Red or tartan, knotted at the side.
• Nose. An orange felt cone on elastic, or a dot of orange face paint.

The snowman has a long paper trail: the earliest known record of one is in a Book of Hours from 1380, according to Guinness World Records. For a ready-made snowman suit, look through our Christmas costumes.

What goes into a nutcracker or toy soldier costume?

A nutcracker or toy soldier costume is a red military-style jacket with gold braid, a tall black hat and black boots, and the hat does most of the work. The turned wooden nutcracker is a speciality of Seiffen, in the Ore Mountains of Germany, where Wilhelm Friedrich Füchtner was one of the first to make turned figure nutcrackers, around 1870, according to the village of Seiffen.

Girls Nutcracker Costume: braid, tulle and a tall soldier hat

The Girls Nutcracker Costume is a red jacket-style romper with gold braiding and decorative buttons, an attached full red tulle skirt, and a matching tall black soldier hat. It comes in five sizes, from 3 to 4 years up to 12 to 14 years, so it suits a school Christmas play or a concert. Want a grown-up in the parade too? Our Adult Nutcracker Toy Soldier Hat is blue and red with gold trim, about 5 inches tall, adjusts to around 58cm, and comes single or in packs of 2, 4, 6 or 12.

How do you dress as a gingerbread person?

A gingerbread costume is a brown body with white icing lines and coloured buttons, and a onesie gives a child and a grown-up the same look in two sizes. The shape has a royal story: Elizabeth I is said to have served her guests miniature gingerbread versions of themselves, English Heritage notes.

Kids Gingerbread Onesie Costume: one front zip, ages 3 and up

The Kids Gingerbread Onesie Costume is a loose one-piece brown jumpsuit with a centre front zip, in 100% polyester. Our product photo shows a hood with ears, white icing trim and red and green buttons. Sizes run from 3 to 4 years through Small (4 to 6), Medium (7 to 9) and Large. Open the zip fully before your child steps in; that is the listing's own tip for a fast change.

Adult Gingerbread Man Onesie Costume: the grown-up batch

The Adult Gingerbread Man Onesie Costume is the same idea at full size: a hooded jumpsuit with a gingerbread face detail and festive accents, in soft 100% polyester. It comes in five unisex sizes, Small to XXL, and the cut is roomy; if you sit between two sizes, size down for a neater fit. Pair it with the kids onesie above and the family photo sorts itself out.

What makes a Christmas angel costume?

A Christmas angel costume is a long white dress, a pair of wings and a halo, and a good pack has all three so nothing needs making the night before. Casting a nativity rather than a Christmas party? Our nativity costumes guide covers Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the kings.

Girls Angel Christmas Costume: dress, wings and halo in one pack

The Girls Angel Christmas Costume comes with a white maxi dress with gold metallic trim and an elasticated waist, sparkling wings and a fluffy halo headband. It comes in five sizes, Toddler (3 to 4 years) to XL, in lightweight 100% polyester. In a cold church or hall, layer a plain white long-sleeved top underneath; it keeps her warm without changing the look.

Which Christmas character suits a baby or toddler?

A penguin suits a baby or toddler: our penguin tabard is the only costume here that starts at 6 months, and its loose tunic shape leaves room to move. The penguin is a true winter animal, too: emperor penguins breed through the dark Antarctic winter, with the male keeping the egg warm, according to WWF.

Boys Black and White Penguin Tabard Costume: three pieces, from 6 months

The Boys Black and White Penguin Tabard Costume is a three-piece set: a padded black and white body tabard, a character hood with face details, and matching orange booties. It comes in three sizes: 6 to 12 months, 1 to 2 years and 3 to 4 years. Dress your child in the tabard first, then add the hood and booties; that order is the easiest fit with a wriggler.

Which character gets a laugh at an adult Christmas party?

A candy cane gets a laugh, because a grown man in head-to-toe red and white stripes needs no explaining. Candy canes are said to date back to Cologne in 1670, though that story rests on legend, and the red stripes only became the popular choice at the turn of the 20th century, History.com reports. For more costumes built for a laugh, see our funny Christmas costumes guide.

Men's Candy Cane Costume: stripes from hat to ankle

The Men's Candy Cane Costume comes as a red and white striped top, matching trousers, an oversized green bow tie and a tall pointed hat, so there is nothing to piece together. It is 100% polyester, sized by chest and build in Medium, Large and Extra Large, and the hat is one size. On a cold night, a plain white long-sleeved top underneath keeps the stripes on show.

How do you dress a group or a family as a Christmas cast?

Give each person a different character from the same Christmas scene, so the group reads as one cast rather than six people in red. We would cast it like this:

• The herd. One person in the reindeer onesie, everyone else in antler headbands.
• The biscuit tin. Gingerbread onesies for a parent and a child, with a candy cane for the joker.
• The toy box. A nutcracker, a soldier hat for a grown-up, and a penguin for the smallest one.

If yours is for a Christmas party, you are in company: 30% of Britons say they typically attend one at Christmas time, in a YouGov survey of 2,088 GB adults in November 2025. For schools, Christmas Jumper Day is on Thursday 10 December 2026, and Save the Children says the day has raised more than £42 million so far; a character costume works on the day too, if the school allows it. For a full class list of kids characters, see our guide to the best Christmas costumes for kids.

How do you size and wash a Christmas character costume?

Size the four kids costumes here by age and the three adult ones by clothing size, unisex size or chest, then check the size guide on each product page before you order. As a brand, we run over 500,000 quality checks a year. All of our kids' products are safety tested by accredited labs.

All seven costumes are hand wash: a cold hand wash and an air dry, away from direct heat. The reindeer and adult gingerbread onesies also say not to wring them. The snowman hat, the soldier hat and the antler headband are spot clean only, so wipe them with a damp cloth. Store the nutcracker skirt and hat flat or hung up, and stuff the candy cane hat with tissue to keep its point.

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