Christmas Hats, Reindeer Antlers, Headbands

Crazy Christmas Hats & Headbands for Your Holiday Event

It's the first week of December, and already the Christmas hats and headbands are cropping up like mushrooms after a heavy rain.

You see them at pub crawls and Santacon, where DIY holiday outfits are all the rage. They show up at the office party, even uninvited. They're de rigeur at ugly sweater parties, where any ensemble must be topped by silly headwear to appear complete. Your little niece wears a battered reindeer antlers headband and refuses to remove it for anything, even church. Let's hope the love affair ends by January. Your uncle was always into Santa hats. Now he has moved on to merry Christmas headbands – a new and ever more ridiculous headband every year.

We could go on, but by now you get the picture. Christmas hats, headbands, and head boppers are thing, and there's no sign they'll wane in popularity anytime soon. You've been sitting on the sidelines and are wondering if it's time to sign up with the head bopper crowd.

Our advice is that you give up any attempt at respectability, stop swimming against the holiday tide. There's a reason why holiday headwear is so popular: it's affordable and incredibly fun. When there's no chance of beating them, join them. Here's how.

Christmas Hats & Headbands: The Breakdown

Santa hats: Traditional or nontraditional? If you prefer the latter, choices include Santa hats with dreadlocks, light-up Santa hats, and extra-long hats. For large gatherings, party packs of inexpensive felt hats are a good option.

Elf hats: Santa's little helper will be happy to know that he or she can browse a collection of deluxe elf hats with jingle bells, plush elf hats with ears, sequined hats, and more.

Christmas hats: Any holiday hat not meant for a Santa or elf character is a Christmas hat. This includes Christmas fedoras, snowman and reindeer hats, and novelty toppers depicting Santa stuck in a chimney.

Christmas hat headbands: A mini hat may be more in keeping with your style. For a sassier or classier look, try a small Santa or elf hat mounted on a headband that won't muss your hair.

Reindeer antlers headbands: Reindeer antlers are the overwhelming favorite in the Christmas headwear category. Antlers are mounted on comfortable plush headbands (mostly) and can be sequined, strung with ornamental Christmas lights, extra-tall, or plain. Don't wear them for too long at a stretch – you might develop a taste for moss and lichens.

Candy cane & novelty headbands: The largest category of Christmas headbands by far is "novelty." Here you'll discover Christmas tree and poinsettia headbands, Christmas bow and present headbands, and other curiosities.