by Teresa Schreiber Werth
People have many unique traditions revolving around Christmas. Some involve food like favorite cookies or a traditional Christmas breakfast or dinner. Some traditions involve hiking through the snow and cutting the Christmas tree, or decorating with tree ornaments that hold a special meaning. The practice that recently captured my attention is the Family Christmas Pajamas.
We know a family that has managed this feat for almost 20 years, through three kids. Just the thought of trying to know everyone’s sizes, finding options, choosing the style and design, purchasing and actually having them laundered and ready to go on Christmas Eve, is more than I can imagine doing once, let alone every year! And I have marveled at their success, making them my all-time winner of Christmas holiday traditions… until last year, when I was shown a photo of a very large, local Christmas family gathering – I’m talking about 26 people from three months to almost 70 years of age, all wearing the same Christmas pajamas at their Christmas Eve gathering!
It was a unique sight to behold! Of course, the little baby and two kids were cute… but the truly amazing part wasn’t even the parents and grandparents wearing them… it was the young adult men and women decked out in holiday jammies. The entire scene was mind-boggling to a person who pretty much wears old t-shirts and sweat pants to bed year-round!
I asked the co-ordinator of this feat, Minnie Rivera, how she pulled it off? Her story is just as complex as I imagined (which is why this will NEVER happen in my family)!
The first week of December 2022, Minnie walked into Walmart one day NOT looking for pajamas. As she began to cruise the aisles, she noticed several styles of holiday pajamas on display. Something in her mind clicked! Minnie has had custom t-shirts made for more than a few events, so she was no stranger to a “big project” on a tight timeframe. And, right then and there, Minnie decided to make look-alike Grinch pajamas happen for her entire (immediate and extended) family for Christmas 2022.
What may have sounded simple at first, was anything BUT! Once Minnie was able to get a list of all the sizes she needed (no small task), she began scouring area Walmarts to complete her pj purchases. She was calling stores and asking for items to be held, traveling between Greece, Gates and Brockport, searching through racks and piles. In the end, it took her right up until Christmas Eve to complete her shopping list.
In the meantime, she was decorating her Spencerport home (the party venue) in all things Grinch. She says, “It was the grinchiest site you ever saw!” There was an inflatable Grinch to greet guests, Grinch table coverings and dinnerware, Grinch window and door decorations, even a Grinch shower curtain in the bathroom!
By her count, the project involved six families comprised of 16 females and 11 males. There were spouses, children, siblings, cousins, and girlfriends, all willing to forego their personal Christmas style for a Grinch family Christmas in matching pajamas!
Minnie says that people arrived at her home wearing their pjs and kept them on all day! One minor exception, was one of her brothers-in-law, who, in true Grinch spirit, eventually pulled his favorite Buffalo Bills shirt over his Grinch pajama top!
What has become of the matching Christmas pjs? She doesn’t know about everyone else’s, but Minnie still has hers. And the biggest surprise was finding a Grinch dog sweater for her son, Jonnie’s, little dog Mia. Her idea was an over-the-top success!
When asked if she would do this again? Minnie said, “Yes! Because we really had a good time, the pictures are beautiful and it made our Christmas gathering a very memorable event. In truth, we weren’t actually being ‘grinchy’ at all…I just liked the way it all looked! Seeing everybody in their matching pjs really made us LOOK like one, big family!”
