‘Stop posing with your kids in matching Christmas PJs – it gives me festive fury’

Writer Rachel Tompkins is mum to two boys, aged nine and six. She loves Christmas, and even put up her tree a month ago, but says the tsunami of celebrities with their families flaunting their pristine brand new matching festive nightwear in carefully choreographed social media posts brings out her inner Grinch. And this year her rage is even greater as so many families struggle with a cost of living crisis that’s seen them curbing their spending more than ever before…

“It started early this year. Just a few days into November Jacqueline Jossa and husband Dan Osbourne shared pictures of the two of them and their daughters dressed in matching Christmas pyjamas – red ones with reindeers on to be exact.

‘IT’S TIME FOR OUR FAMILY XMAS PJS!!’ came the caption on social media. The former EastEnders actress, 30, and ex-TOWIE star, 31, portrayed an idyllic scene as they posed next to a Christmas tree by the fire.

Their photos signalled the start of the annual trend which has become as much a Christmas tradition as Quality Street and turkey – people sharing snaps of themselves in their festive nightwear!

If previous Christmases are anything to go by, as we near the big day the floodgates of celebrities sharing snaps of, their partners and their kids all dressed up in matching cheery PJs will be well and truly open.

Back in 2019 we saw Stacey Solomon pose in similar red and white fair isle print ensembles with her now husband Joe Swash and children. The following year, in December 2021, the seasonal set up was repeated but this time with them gathered together in dark green personalised PJs to mark their first Christmas at Pickle Cottage.

And Stacey is by no means alone. We’ve seen the Beckhams clan similarly striking a pose in their yuletide jim jams, as well as the Ramsays, the Rooneys and even footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and his family.

Of course they always look fully made-up and perfectly posed, the epitome of festive nightwear glamour.

But surely there’s the rub.

The more of these pics I see the more it annoys me – I mean who really looks that glamorous in their PJs?!

Perhaps I’m old-fashioned, but growing up I have fond memories of wearing my favourite Care Bear’s nightie to bed – all through the year, not just at Christmas! We sometimes got new PJs from Santa but never a matching set for me, my sister, my mum and dad. In fact the thought of us all donning them for a family photo makes me laugh out loud.

My dad would never have agreed to something so ridiculous, plus the only time we ever witnessed him wear proper pyjamas was when he went into hospital for an operation!

And as the years went by, the chances of me owning a perfect set of immaculate PJ’s, let alone my whole family, were slim to none.

In our freezing cold student house I wore joggers and a hoodie to bed, and after having my sons I became the object of ridicule amongst friends who discovered my refusal to be parted from the Primark nightie I’d bought for hospital comfort – needless to say it looked less than flattering.

After moving out of London to the cold Oxfordshire countryside, nightwear is definitely chosen for functionality and not looks – and the function is to keep warm. That means thermals and thick socks have become the bedwear of necessity, and glamorous they are not!

So as this festive family PJ trend photo grew in popularity over recent years I watched on bemused.

And as if it wasn’t bad enough the celebrities doing it, soon there were pictures of friends (not mentioning any names – you know who you are) on social media posing on Christmas Eve in their matching nightwear. Some even roped in grandparents and extended family.

Let’s just say, what looks cute on a sweet little 5-year-old doesn’t always appear quite so aesthetically appealing on an unkempt 40+ year old.

It turns out matching festive PJ sets are big business too. A cursory internet search brings up a whole host of articles that round up the ‘best matching Christmas pyjama sets’. With prices retailing at anywhere from £10 to £150, the cost of multiplying that by how big your family is could be eye watering!

Plus, if anyone else’s kids are like my youngest who gets so hot at night he wears practically nothing, then you’re investing all that cash for a once-a year photo opportunity.

With the cost-of-living crisis impacting many people’s Christmases this year, it feels like another layer of pressure to afford just for the benefit of a social media picture.

So whilst I know that for many people posting pictures on social media of them dressed up in matching festive PJs is a bit of harmless fun, it’s a trend that gives me a massive ick and I certainly won’t be indulging in.

In fact, in the words of the Grinch, ‘Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.’

And it definitely means more than festive PJs for me!”

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