DeKALB — During the holiday season families across the nation engage in numerous traditions, including making certain foods and watching holiday films. One tradition that has been gaining more ground within the past several years has been that of families wearing matching sets of pajamas. 

Part of the appeal of dressing a family in matching sleepwear involves nostalgia, Paige Trimble, a mother of three from DeLand, IL, said. Trimble has been practicing the tradition since 2005.

“It’s what [my family] did when I was a kid,” Trimble said. “When I was growing up, the only gift we could open on Christmas Eve was our pajamas, which we wore that night.”

Around late December, families post photos of themselves with their matching pajamas on various social media platforms, including Instagram and Facebook. On Instagram, over 95 thousand and 81 thousand pictures can be found using the hashtags #christmaspajamas and #matchingpajamas, with the tradition growing on social media.

It was through social media that Christy Strutner, a mother of two adult children from Farmer City, decided to partake in this fashion fad for the first time this year.

“My kids aren’t little anymore,” Strutner said. “Giving them pajamas just makes me feel like they are younger.”

Various nationwide stores, including Target, JCPenny and Walmart, have capitalized on this growing phenomenon by creating displays full of pajama sets in their physical locations. Online, patterns can be selected and the shopper can be directed toward a webpage that contains the pajama pattern for adults, children and even pets. 

Mary Walker Kimble, of Farmer City, said she has had to purchase 13 pairs of pajamas for her family, including 6 pajama sets for her grandchildren. Walker Kimble has participated in the tradition for several years with several patterns, including the “Leg Lamp” and Ralphie from the film “A Christmas Story.” The latter resulted in one of her children wearing the infamous pink bunny pajamas similar to the ones worn by actor Peter Billingsley in “A Christmas Story.”

“For the guys, I got them t-shirts with their pajama bottoms that said ‘Bah Humbug,’” Walker Kimble said. “The first year I had the men do it they booed at it, but they did it.”

If you and your family are going to participate in this tradition, please send a photo of your family in their pajamas to [email protected]. They may be selected to be in a photo spread in our multimedia section.