17 Pairs of Holiday Pajamas That Are Cool for Haters (Like Me)
Viable options for folks who aren’t trad. Also: The best hot rollers around!
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Before we begin, I would be remiss if I didn’t take this one last chance to remind you to vote tomorrow. As you might remember me confessing before, I am a reformed non-voter. Yes, while it makes me incredibly uncomfortable to admit this, in no small part because it illustrates the enormity of my privilege, I didn’t pay attention to politics or vote until relatively recently. Living in California, I didn’t think it mattered, and frankly, I was overwhelmed by how much I didn’t know about politics. It seemed impossible to get up to speed.
I was wrong, on so many levels.
Every vote matters, and yes, while there is a lot to understand and learn about our political system (and frankly, I’m still a beginner), we owe it to ourselves and the most vulnerable members of our community to do what we can. And that starts with voting.
There is so much on the line tomorrow, and bodily autonomy/reproductive healthcare is at the top of the list. Make no mistake: This is an economic issue too, as we know that the states that have restricted and outlawed abortion have the biggest gender wage gaps and higher child-poverty rates. (Plus, the states that have already banned abortion have “higher rates of death for infants and mothers.”) And to be clear: Republican leadership has openly said that next on the agenda is a national abortion ban, while the Supreme Court has signaled that it should “reconsider” past rulings that protect our right to birth control as well as the legality of same-sex relationships and marriage. No abortion, no birth control, no love is love.
That is not the world I want to live in.
Thank you for hearing me out. I know you don’t read this newsletter for my political takes, but you (in theory) perhaps come here for my recommendations, and when it comes to voting, I’m giving it an 11/10.
Full disclosure: There are so many “cute” things that I am absolutely not into, nor capable of getting my act together and executing. Examples include baby books, first day of school letter board photos, group Halloween costumes, family holiday cards… The list goes on and on. Now before you YELL at me, I’m not judging or shaming anyone who likes these things. I’m simply saying they’re outside my wheelhouse, capabilities, and interests. I wish I could get it together on these fronts, but there’s always something else that takes precedence, and I have made peace with my sensibilities.
That said, I have become someone unrecognizable to me, which is someone who is fully onboard with family pajamas. And not just at the holidays, but yes, especially at the holidays. While my actual participation can be a little spotty, I absolutely enjoy buying my husband and kids matching pajamas, and they have been surprisingly willing to go along with my nonsense.
But remember, I’m also a fashion person, so they can’t be just any old pajamas. They have to be tasteful, high-quality, and elevated whenever possible.
Yes, I’m writing about Petite Plume again, and no, I don’t work with the brand. I just really, really, really love its pajamas. As I mentioned before, I first became aware of the pajamas a few years ago, when I saw that they were beloved by the most polished, slightly preppy members of the fashion media world, and I instinctively wrote them off as being “too Connecticut.”
Oh was I wrong.
First of all, Connecticut is great (especially Pepe’s). Second, when I say the quality of Petite Plume is excellent, the quality is beyond excellent. Are they expensive? Yes. Do they look incredibly darling and last forever? Also yes. This year, I bought my family the White Pajamas With Red Piping, which I had monogrammed as well. (I like the Modern II option, and write out the kids’ full names.)
The reason I picked this style is that while not overly holiday in style, the colors are a nod to Santa, and honestly, that is enough for me. If you are less of a Scrooge than I am, you might like one of the brand’s many darling prints. I think the Merry Trees are quite sweet, there is a lovely blue-and-white Winter Vignette option, or you could go Holiday Journey if you’re keen on a trad colorway with trees.
To make the most of these investment pajamas, you could always buy a size up for your kids to grow into so they last even longer. Also, and I know this is obvious, but my kids wear their seasonal pajamas year-round because we are all about price per wear in this household.
Is this even my newsletter if I don’t talk about J.Crew? Well, this week is not the week we’re finding out, because the brand is obviously on my list of family pajamas worth buying. As you can probably tell from my aforementioned love of Petite Plume, I adore button-up pajamas on kids; there’s something so sweet and retro about it. I also think it’s hard to get plaids/tartans to look elevated; there are just so many bad options out there.
Thankfully, J.Crew is bringing it with three options this year: Ivory Red, Deep Ruby, and my favorite, Navy. The brand also made a red-and-white vertical stripe iteration that’s adorable and giving strong candy cane vibes.
If you despise button-up pajamas, don’t worry, because J.Crew also has some great fitted styles, too. I think the colorful lights on the Ivory Multi style are festive (and on sale!). While there isn’t an exact matching set for adults, I wouldn’t let that faze me and would pick a style in a complementary color, like this very soft green-and-white option.
If you are looking for a wide range of styles, sizes, prints, and accessories, you simply cannot miss Old Navy, as it’s really doing the most when it comes to pajamas right now. (Much respect for its rollout.) While I cannot tell you I adore every single option, there are so many gems, like the Gray Bear Isle pajamas, which are flannel and give me very strong ’70s vibes.
If you’re looking for a very trad green-and-red-stripe for your newborn, this is the place, but where Old Navy excels, in my opinion, is in its family buffalo checks. A red-and-black flannel set for women is only $19.99, which is pretty amazing, and there are multiple options for everyone, including preggo people, kids, and even the family dog.
Other family pajamas I like include the following:
Tea Collection made a Scandinavian Animals print that isn’t your typical holiday option, which is fun. Again, gives me ’70s vibes in all the right ways. Also, I can personally attest to the quality of these jammies, as we own them.
Monica + Andy (a beloved littles brand around here) has a really charming green-and-white tree print for the whole family that’s just adorable. Once again, as someone who bought so much stuff from this company when my kids were babies, I can attest the quality is really good.
Target has loads of options too, but I think the scarf-wearing penguin print is the cutest. I also appreciate that it’s a more winter-centric vibe and less about a specific holiday.
If you like the site The Tot as much as I do, you will be pleased to know that it has cute options for family pajamas, especially from its in-house brand Hart + Land. It’s offering a red-and-white candy cane stripe style in organic cotton that’s worth checking out.
Last, But Not Least: Hot Rollers
Just to keep the truly chaotic energy of this newsletter going, before I close for today, a small recommendation for a new/old love: hot rollers.
Back in the day (and by that I mean high school and college), I had a set of five hot rollers that I used to give my relatively fine hair some volume, but somewhere along the way, I ended up with an extremely expensive T3 Whirl Trio Interchangeable Styling Wand, which I used to give myself beachy waves and the like. And all was well.
Maybe it’s social media or maybe the algorithm gods were feeling nostalgic, but recently, I got a hankering for some old-school hot rollers, and I indulged. After a bunch of research on Who What Wear, Elle, and even Good Housekeeping, I ended up buying a BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Hot Roller set with 12 jumbo curlers, which came with 12 metal clips. (That part is key; I think the plastic butterfly clips are trash.)
When I tell you I love them… Folks, I’m smitten. I love that I can quickly set my hair and then move on to my makeup; these rollers legit save time. They give my hair immediate ’90s-supermodel body, which then I can either shake out or brush into effortlessly voluminous waves. And the metal clips never leave marks on my curls, which is something I’ve run into a lot with the butterfly clips over the years.
To be totally candid, I had a hard time deciding between the set I got (with 1.5-inch curlers) and the brand’s Nano Titanium 20-Roller Hairsetter, which has three different sized curlers, with the largest rollers coming in at 1.25 inches. Ultimately, I think I picked correctly for the vibe I was looking for, which is less of a trad curl and more of a bouncy blowout wave, but if you want a curl-curl, I’d pick the option with smaller curlers.
Anyway, they’re fast, fun, and easy to use, and I love the results, so if you’ve been considering going down this road, maybe this is the sign you’ve been waiting for?