Alternative to matching holiday pajamas

[Anonymous]

My family (myself included) weirdly loves the holiday PJ tradition. Unwrapping them Christmas Eve, seeing the new design, and then wearing them together on lounge days over break and taking silly photos for ourselves. But the kids are not growing so fast so we all have PJs from the last couple years that still fit. We agreed we didn't need more but I can tell that there's a little wistfulness behind giving up the tradition.

We'll wear our old sets, but I'd still love to surprise them with something to unwrap that's novel and matching and hopefully at least a little useful, especially since money's tighter with furloughs and job uncertainty. Mother, father, 15yo boy, 13yo girl.

Any ideas?

My brainstorming so far:
Good wool hiking socks (useful, not as fun)

Face masks (we're not really into beauty products but it could be funny. Open to ideas on types)

Hats? (We actually could use better sun protective hats, but they're not cozy or as fun to wear around the house)

Workout clothes (we're good on most clothing items but could probably all use another sweat-wicking t-shirt)

What else should I consider?

[Anonymous]

Cozy lounging socks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My family (myself included) weirdly loves the holiday PJ tradition. Unwrapping them Christmas Eve, seeing the new design, and then wearing them together on lounge days over break and taking silly photos for ourselves. But the kids are not growing so fast so we all have PJs from the last couple years that still fit. We agreed we didn't need more but I can tell that there's a little wistfulness behind giving up the tradition.

We'll wear our old sets, but I'd still love to surprise them with something to unwrap that's novel and matching and hopefully at least a little useful, especially since money's tighter with furloughs and job uncertainty. Mother, father, 15yo boy, 13yo girl.

Any ideas?

My brainstorming so far:
Good wool hiking socks (useful, not as fun)

Face masks (we're not really into beauty products but it could be funny. Open to ideas on types)

Hats? (We actually could use better sun protective hats, but they're not cozy or as fun to wear around the house)

Workout clothes (we're good on most clothing items but could probably all use another sweat-wicking t-shirt)

What else should I consider?

. I think you’ve got it covered

[Anonymous]

Look at Lands' End to see what they have in categories that you need.

Maybe light puffer coats? My son got a $30 puffer in an adult men's size at Forever21 that he really likes.

I have been in your shoes re: holiday pajamas. I also stopped but more due to the difficulty of finding ones that I liked. My kids wear them all through cold weather season. So I would still buy another set at Christmas. Pajamas do wear out. We switched from highly-themed pajamas to t-shirts and fleece lounge pants before giving up. Snowflakes and plaids are easy to find motifs.

[Anonymous]

We love our matching Christmas PJs !!

[Anonymous]

Face masks are fun and cheap. I wouldn’t buy stuff just to buy stuff. Socks are great to have but not fun at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at Lands' End to see what they have in categories that you need.

Maybe light puffer coats? My son got a $30 puffer in an adult men's size at Forever21 that he really likes.

I have been in your shoes re: holiday pajamas. I also stopped but more due to the difficulty of finding ones that I liked. My kids wear them all through cold weather season. So I would still buy another set at Christmas. Pajamas do wear out. We switched from highly-themed pajamas to t-shirts and fleece lounge pants before giving up. Snowflakes and plaids are easy to find motifs.

Or vests. I was never a vest adherent and now I can't live without them. You can get the same look/brand but even choose favorite colors. And wear them in the house. Your core stays cozy but your arms are free to get things done.

[Anonymous]

Hats that's easy as well as useful

[Anonymous]

We did matching winter themed sweatshirts last year. We “open” them on Thanksgiving.

[Anonymous]

DS 21 named our family group chat "Dogname Fan Club". I want to get t-shirts made with pictures of our dog looking like the goofball she is and then "Founder, Dogname Fan Club", "President, Dogname Fan Club," or "Dogname fan club, est. 2016" etc.

[Anonymous]

Oh my. This is something.

[Anonymous]

Maybe do something like a group crepe or short bread making session, then eat them. You could wrap each ingredient with the recipe and get together to make them.

[Anonymous]

Matching Christmas coffee mugs, with packets of hot cocoa and marshmallows. Use them all winter break for coffee, hot cocoa, hot cider. Cozy by a fireplace or board game in the evening, useful and festive in the morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS 21 named our family group chat "Dogname Fan Club". I want to get t-shirts made with pictures of our dog looking like the goofball she is and then "Founder, Dogname Fan Club", "President, Dogname Fan Club," or "Dogname fan club, est. 2016" etc.

I pronounced this in my head as Dog-nam-ay.
Fancy French dog!

So fun!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my. This is something.

Bah humbug