During December we get a lot of people wanting fancy dress costumes. Some of these are going to parties, either the office or work ‘do’, or a gathering of friends and family. Yesterday we mentioned the practicalities of choosing the right costume for a party.  But what about choosing a costume to work in? Christmas Eve in particular is often a prime candidate for retailers, hairdressers and the like, to don festive hats, Christmas costumes etc., and get themselves (and their customers) into the Christmas spirit.

With the release of Happy Feet 2 earlier this month, we have found that Penguins are proving to be quite a popular choice this year, alongside some of the more traditional costumes such as Santa’s helpers, elves, pixies, angels, Christmas trees, snowmen and fairies. The odd turkey and Christmas Pudding request also keeps on cropping up.  Novelty costumes used to be quite heavy, bulky and hot to work in, but with the new generation of lightweight foam ‘bodies’ this is no longer the case. But it is always a good idea to think about the environment you are working in and the jobs you will actually be doing before selecting the right costume. On past Christmas Eve’s we have known people try to work in gorilla suits on the checkout (with limited visibility), stack shelves either dressed in a Christmas Pudding costume or in short, sexy Miss Santa outfits (not necessarily appropriate costumes for bending and stretching!).

Also it is worth thinking about the footwear you need to wear for work. Do not get a costume that is so long you must wear really high shoes for it not to drag on the floor, or your feet will kill you, and if it is a hire costume, it may get dirty and you may lose some of your deposit.