Christmas is a festive time of year. There are parties and celebrations lasting from the day after Thanksgiving right up until New Year's. We shop for presents, attend parties, and host our own celebrations. Christmas costumes are an important part of the season. What would a mall visit be without seeing the occasional Santa Claus or Christmas elf walking around or posing for photos?

A party that involves children really wouldn't be complete without certain festive costumes. A visit from Santa Claus is always welcome, especially if he has presents.

If Santa needs a helper, elves can also be fun. You can even find costumes for reindeer, Mrs. Claus, and other familiar Christmas characters such as Frosty the Snowman or The Grinch from How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

And, a list of Christmas characters wouldn't be complete without considering the scenes from the nativity. Churches throughout the world reenact the event of Christ's birth and all the characters involved including the angels, baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the Wise Men need to be represented. Christmas costumes for the various barnyard animals that may have been present are also a must.

Most of the Biblical Christmas costumes seem to be homemade. Some Sunday school classes turn this into a project. But, Santa Claus costumes and other Christmas costumes are usually rented. The fabrics are often difficult to find and the costumes are only used for a short time. Of course, if you are a department store Santa, chances are the store will provide your costume for you.

While you might not think of Christmas as being a traditional "costume time of year", Christmas costumes are actually quite common. There are even Christmas-themed costume parties that happen around this time of year. It's fun to dress up at any time of the year, not just Halloween. And dressing up isn't just for kids.

Remember that Christmas time is festive and there are costumes present all the time. If you are interested in finding Christmas costumes, you can either make them or rent them. Costume shops have plenty of choices.

You may need to reserve that Santa suit in advance, though. They're popular.