Get a family uniform

One way to feel like you're on the same team

I recently returned from a family trip to Disney World. While walking around, I spotted several families wearing matching T-shirts, usually emblazoned with some sort of inside joke about their adventure.

It’s easy to laugh at this, but even if your family wouldn’t go for that (and mine wouldn’t without a lot of pressure), I do think having some sort of matching outfit or accessory you can share with the people you love can function like a sports jersey. It reinforces identity, and makes you feel like you’re on the same team.

Low-key uniforms

One of the most low-pressure family uniforms is family pajamas. I bought my first set of matching family pajamas in late 2019, when I had four kids and was expecting a fifth. My goal was to take one of those cute Christmas morning shots people post on Instagram. Since the baby was arriving after Christmas, though, I elected to buy pajamas that weren’t completely Christmas-y, so he could wear his once he was born.

That turned out to be a good choice, because my entire family, and I include my husband and me in that statement, wound up wearing those pajamas all year long. We didn’t all wear them every night of course, but they were comfortable and cute and so people would pull them on occasionally. If one kid was wearing them, another might be inspired to do so. If I wore them, a kid might be inspired to match me.

Given the enthusiasm, I wound up making this a family tradition. Now, each Christmas, we choose a new set of family pajamas and open them on Christmas Eve so we can all be wearing them on Christmas morning. Since people mostly wear pajamas at home, even people who would balk at public matching uniforms might be OK with pajamas.

Other options

Of course pajamas aren’t the only option for a family uniform. When my husband’s extended family all rented a beach house together for a week last summer, we got matching T-shirts commemorating the experience (no one outside the family was seeing us much, and no one ever had to wear them, so it felt more fun). I could envision a matching family baseball cap or a family fleece. Matching slippers might be fun too.

While family tends to mean people in a household, you could use a family uniform to establish a connection with far-flung family as well. Send Grandma the family T-shirt and everyone can wear it as you Face Time each other. It’s not quite the same as being there in person, but it does create a sense that you’re all in this together.