Christmas Outfit Ideas: 12 Looks for Eve, Day and Dinner

Christmas isn't one outfit, it's three or four: dinner on the 24th, a slow morning at home, a long afternoon at the family table, maybe a candlelit service in between. These twelve Christmas outfit ideas are sorted by those plans and built from deep green, burgundy, cream, velvet and plaid, so every one looks festive without anything that lights up or has antlers.

Christmas Eve Outfits That Go From Dinner to the Candlelight Service

Usually the dressiest night of the two, and the one with the most photos.

1. Velvet midi skirt and a tucked cream sweater

A deep green or burgundy velvet midi skirt, a fine-knit cream sweater tucked in at the front, black knee-high boots, small gold hoops. The tuck is what turns it from a Tuesday outfit into a dinner one: it marks the waist and lets the velvet catch the candlelight. Let the skirt cover the top of the boot or leave a clear stretch of opaque tights, never a one-inch sliver (the hem rules for black boots outfits apply here exactly).

2. Satin slip dress over a thin turtleneck

A burgundy or bottle-green satin slip dress with a black fine-knit turtleneck underneath, black opaque tights, loafers or low block-heel boots. The turtleneck turns a summer dress into a December one and covers the shoulders for any relative who'd have an opinion about them. Add a long camel coat and it goes straight from dinner to a late service without changing.

3. The candlelight service outfit

A navy or charcoal knit midi dress (or wool trousers and a crew neck), opaque tights, flat leather boots and the best long coat you own, since that's mostly what people see from the pew. One practical detail: at a candlelight service you'll be holding a lit candle for a few verses, so skip fluffy mohair and wide bell sleeves and pick fitted cuffs. Christmas services tend to run a notch dressier than an ordinary Sunday; for anything denomination-specific, see what to wear to church.

Christmas Day Outfits That Last From Breakfast to Dessert

4. A knit set you can open the door in

Matching knit trousers and a crew-neck top or cardigan in oatmeal, cream or heather grey, thick wool socks, hair pulled up. It's as comfortable as pajamas, but it's a real outfit, so when the doorbell goes mid-morning and it's your sister-in-law with a casserole, nobody has to sprint upstairs. Wear the matching family pajamas for the photo before breakfast, then change into this.

5. Plaid trousers and a cream crew neck

Straight or wide-leg trousers in a dark tartan (green and navy, or black and red), a plain cream or camel crew neck, brown loafers. One pattern carries the whole Christmas message, so everything else stays plain. Trousers with a little room at the waist also survive the second helping better than slim jeans do, the same reasoning behind what to wear for Thanksgiving.

6. The host's ribbed knit dress

A deep green or burgundy ribbed knit midi dress with sleeves that push up past the elbow, flat ankle boots, one bold pair of earrings. If you're the one cooking, the dark color hides gravy and the pushed-up sleeves stay out of the sauce. Pull them down, add lipstick, and you're dressed for the table in the time it takes to untie the apron.

7. Cozy casual: long cardigan, turtleneck, jeans

A long chunky cardigan in oatmeal or cream over a burgundy turtleneck, slim dark jeans, suede ankle boots. This is the casual Christmas outfit for families who stay in and watch films all afternoon, and it works just as well on the 26th. A knee-length cardigan wants a slim leg under it, and the length chart in our cardigan outfits guide matches every cardigan length to the right bottom.

Christmas Party and Family Photo Outfits That Look Good in Pictures

8. One sparkle piece, everything else black

A sequin, metallic or lurex top with black straight trousers or dark jeans, black ankle boots or pointed flats, simple hair. One shiny piece is right for a friend's house party; two starts to look like New Year's Eve, which is exactly where to wear the top again (see New Year's Eve outfit ideas). Cocktail, black-tie and ugly-sweater parties each have their own rules, covered in what to wear to a Christmas party, and the office version has a work Christmas party guide of its own.

9. The family photo outfit

Pick three colors from one palette (cream, deep green and denim suits almost every family) and give each person two of them, so nobody matches and nobody clashes. Solid knits, corduroy and velvet photograph well. Logos, neon and tiny tight checks don't, because small patterns can shimmer on camera. If you're coordinating five people, you can preview each person's outfit on a photo of them in Klodsy before anyone irons anything, and the full palette method is in our family photo outfits guide.

Christmas Outfits for Men, No Suit or Tie Required

10. Christmas dinner: cord blazer and a rollneck

A bottle-green or navy corduroy blazer over a merino rollneck in cream or charcoal, grey wool trousers or dark chinos, brown suede Chelsea boots. The rollneck settles the tie question before it comes up, and the cord gives the blazer texture without any shine. For a restaurant with tablecloths, swap the cord for velvet.

11. Christmas Day casual: shawl-collar cardigan

A shawl-collar cardigan in navy, forest green or oatmeal over a white or pale blue oxford shirt, dark jeans, leather sneakers or desert boots. If your family does sweaters, a Fair Isle crew neck over the same shirt works too. It looks like you tried at the table and feels like a sweater on the sofa, which is the whole job of a Christmas Day outfit.

12. Church or Mass: navy blazer, no tie required

A navy blazer over a fine-knit crew neck or a collared shirt, charcoal trousers, polished leather shoes, a dark wool overcoat. It's the safe middle for Christmas Eve Mass or a morning service: smart enough for the dressiest pew, relaxed enough that nobody asks where you're going after. Jeans only if your parish is relaxed about them the rest of the year.

Festive Without the Costume: Colors and Fabrics That Work

Christmas colors look better a shade darker than the decorations.

• Deep green, from bottle to forest to emerald. Pairs with cream, camel, navy and gold jewelry, and it's the one color that says Christmas on its own.
• Burgundy and wine. Softer than bright red, and it sits well next to grey, black, cream and denim.
• Cream and winter white. It makes green and burgundy look deliberate. The only risk is red wine, so sit away from the decanter.
• Velvet. The fabric that says December by itself. One velvet piece per outfit is plenty.
• Dark plaid and tartan. One plaid piece, everything else solid.
• Bright red. Great in one piece, or just in the lipstick and the shoes. A head-to-toe red outfit starts to look like a uniform.

The rule: two festive cues at most (say, burgundy plus velvet), and nothing that needs batteries.

Save the novelty sweater for a party that asks for it. At the family table, a Fair Isle knit or a velvet skirt does the same job, and the joke doesn't wear thin by three in the afternoon. Not sure the green skirt and the cream sweater work together on you? Try Klodsy and see them on your own photo before the 24th.