Children Animal Costumes for Christmas Plays

Nativity Play Animal Costumes

Celebrating the Christmas story through children's drama is not only fun, but can also be very meaningful for both children and adults. The story is powerful no matter what the performers are wearing, but the right costumes can make it even more visually exciting and fun. The Christmas nativity story takes place in and around the manger, a feeding trough for variety of animals. While the scriptural accounts of Jesus birth do not refer specifically to animals present at Jesus birth, the implication of the manger birth is the presence of domestic farming animals such as:

• Camels
• Donkeys
• Oxen
• Sheep/lambs
• Cows
• Chickens
• Goats

Although contemporary scholars debate whether Jesus's birth actually took place in the stable area of the lower floor of someone's home (where animals were sometimes housed in cooler weather), the typical nativity play continues to be depicted with the inclusion animals as part of the cast. There are also a large variety of contemporary Christmas plays that tell the nativity story from the animals' points of view (such as Sleepover at the Stable and The Night the Animals Sang, making the children's animal costumes essential for the production.

You can purchase farm animal nativity costumes for Christmas plays at many major costume retailers as well as some Christian stores and Biblical costume retailers. Costumes range from full body plush costumes to smaller tabard style costumes worn over regular clothing.

Resources for children's animal nativity costumes include:

• ABC Costumes (One of the few retailers that offers a child-sized camel costume).
• Anytime Costumes
• Charlie Crow Costumes for Kids
• While Shepherds Watches (Handmade nativity costumes – based in the UK).
• Nativity Dress Up (Plush cow, donkey, and horse costumes).

Other Children Animal Costumes for Christmas Plays

Many schools and community groups may choose to do children's Christmas pageants, plays, or programs that do not focus on the nativity scene. These are often cute, humorous, or heartwarming performances, and many incorporate iconic Christmas animals or even unusual types of animals either as central characters or to help fill in the play. Adults may purchase a play that meets their needs for the children, or choose from the free Christmas plays and skits available online for the presentations. Common types of animal costumes that are used for Christmas plays include:

• Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Costume
• Generic reindeer costumes or the full team of Santa's reindeer
• Mice (The Night Before Christmas presentation or other plays such as The Mouse at the Manger.)
• Dog costumes
• Cat costumes
• Bear/Polar Bear/Teddy Bear costumes
• Penguin costumes

Less common, but still seen in children's Christmas plays, include spider costumes, bird costumes (robins, wrens, chicks), and squirrels.

You can purchase these children animal costumes for Christmas plays at many major costume retailers as well as some specialty Christmas costume retailers, including

• Kids Costumes and More
• Just Kid Costumes
• Costume Craze

Make Your Own Children Animal Costumes for Christmas Plays

To keep costs down for Christmas plays, parents or other adults are often enlisted to help make the costumes. This can be done as simply as using sweat suits or pants and long sleeved shirts in colors representing the animals (grey for donkeys, white of off white for lambs, etc.) Purchasing or making a headpiece with animal ears completes these ensembles.

For this able to put a bit more time and creativity into the costumes, many pattern manufacturers make animal costume patterns for children. Or, check out Fleece Farm's Easy Animal Costumes for free patterns and instructions on creating several basic animal costumes and add your own creative touches fitting the Christmas production your child will be participating in.

More Children's Holiday Animal Costume Tips

• Prepare in advance for future productions by scouting thrift stores and consignment shops for inexpensive animals costumes in children's sizes.
• For church productions, contact affiliated churches about costumes no longer in use or that they would be willing to lend.
• For school holiday plays, place notices in the PTO/PTA newsletters asking for volunteers with sewing or crafting skills to help make the costumes. Make sure to do so in plenty of time prior to the play, and consider a fundraiser or using organization funds to purchase the materials for the costumes.
• For an affordable alternative to full costumes, consider simple homemade masks or representations of the animals for the Christmas play. Creating paper plate masks using simple art and craft supplies can help children get involved as well.

Children animal costumes for Christmas plays bring holiday productions to life, whether they are simple or elaborate. The costumes are not only fun for the children involved, but can create wonderful memories for families and touch the audience with the joy of the holiday season.