How to Make Costumes for a Christmas Play

Christmas costume ideas

The Christmas play is one of the more memorable events in the church year. Congregations find it heartwarming to see children act out the Christmas story year after year. Because children outgrow their roles over time, costumes should be flexible and fit loosely enough to be worn by different children from one year to the next. Biblical costumes are easy to design, an advantage for those whose job is to costume the characters. These versatile suggestions will help your Christmas play go smoothly and let the children focus on their roles rather than their clothing.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric in various colors
• Shawls and blankets
• Safety pins
• Sashes
• White sheets
• Rope
• Fake beards
• Silver poster board
• Fake jewels
• Scissors
• Glue
• Stapler
• Strands of beads
• Small treasure boxes
• Canes or shepherds' crooks
• Coat hangers
• Silver garland
• Bobby pins
• Tissue paper or gauze
• Duct tape
• Elastic straps
• Needle and thread

Instructions

Mary and Joseph

1. Instruct children to wear plain pants and plain white tops with long, loose sleeves as an underlayer for the costumes.

2. Use blankets, shawls or rectangular pieces of fabric in a solid or striped pattern for an outer layer. Starting from the child's side, wrap the fabric around her securely, draping it over one shoulder and leaving one sleeve exposed. Fasten the blanket's sides together with safety pins.

3. Wrap a long, wide sash around the waist. Tie it securely.

4. Use a rectangular piece cut from a white sheet to cover children's heads. Lay the cloth over Joseph's head so it stretches down his back. Secure it with a rope over the crown of the head, tying the rope in back. For Mary, use only a rectangular headpiece that drapes over her shoulders and down her back.

5. Give Joseph a fake beard, if possible, in the traditional style.

Shepherds and Kings

1. Instruct shepherds and kings to dress in long pants and shirts with long, loose sleeves as an underlayer for their costumes.

2. Give the three kings a royal look by wrapping them in robes, blankets or rectangular pieces of cloth. Dress kings in velvet capes, if available, or use other fabrics in purple, deep red or green.

3. Dress shepherds in robes or capes of rougher fabric in brown or gray. Make belts from rope tied in front.

4. Make kings' crowns from silver poster board. Cut a long, thin rectangle rising to a point in front and measured to fit the child's head. Glue fake gems in front, and staple the ends of the crown together. For accessories, have kings carry jeweled boxes and wear strands of beads.

5. Cover shepherds' heads with rectangular pieces of fabric. Drape the the fabric over their heads, letting it hang in back. Secure the head coverings with rope that's knotted to fit. Give each shepherd a cane or shepherd's crook.

Angels

1. Tell the angels to come dressed in long-sleeved white shirts and light-colored pants. Make a simple dress for each angel from two long pieces of white fabric. Sew seams front to back, leaving an opening for sleeves. Sew long, loose-fitting rectangular sleeves into openings along the seams.

2. Cut pieces of silver garland as halos. Secure the halos with bobby pins.

3. Make wings by bending wire coat hangers and covering them with tissue paper or gauze. Tape the two wings together with duct tape. Cut elastic straps to fit the shoulders and sew them to the wire.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure blankets or long skirts are not long enough to trip a child. You can also use store-bought wings as an alternative.

• Tell children to wear sandals if the weather permits or boots in snowy areas.

References

• Christmas Lore: Christmas Costume Ideas