Matching Family Christmas Sweaters: How to Get It Right

A matching family Christmas sweater is one of those ideas that sounds simple and turns out to be surprisingly fiddly. You need a design that exists in both adult and children’s sizes, in stock, in the right size for everyone – and that still looks like a match when it arrives, rather than four vaguely similar jumpers.

Here’s what we’ve learned from checking every family sweater in our catalogue, and the ones we’d pick.

What makes a real matching family sweater

Plenty of listings use the words “family matching” in their title without actually being made in children’s sizes. We only include a sweater in our Family Matching collection if its photos show it made for both adults and kids in the same design. Before you order anywhere, look for:

• A group photo. The best listings show two adults and one or two children wearing the set together. That’s the clearest sign the pattern is identical across sizes.
• Separate size options for adults and children. On most retailer pages you choose “Men”, “Women”, “Boys”, “Girls” or “Kids” as a style, then a size. Make sure the style you want exists for every family member.
• The same colourway. Some designs come in several colours, and the children’s version isn’t always available in all of them.

Our favourite family sets

Traditional fair isle dominates this category, and for good reason: reindeer, snowflakes and fir trees look good on everyone and photograph beautifully for the Christmas card.

A few stand out. There’s a navy and red fair isle set shown on a whole family of four, a black version whose white pattern reads particularly sharply in photos, and a button-through cardigan version – easier for children to take on and off during a long Christmas Day. For something less traditional, a black knit is covered in Santas, gingerbread men and wreaths, and a red knit carries one big friendly reindeer face.

If your children have opinions

Fair isle is lovely, but it’s a hard sell to a seven-year-old. Some family designs are built around characters instead – a T-rex wearing antlers and tangled in fairy lights is our favourite, and there’s a gingerbread man holding a giant lollipop, and a soft pink polar bear surrounded by penguins in Santa hats. The whole family can wear these, and the children might actually want to.

Light-up family sets

A couple of family designs have working LED lights, including a tree whose baubles glow and a reindeer with light-up antlers and nose. They’re a hit with children, but remember that each sweater needs its own batteries – multiply accordingly.

Getting the sizes right

• Check every size chart separately. Adult and children’s sizes on the same listing often follow different charts, and sizes vary between brands.
• Knitted fair isle has less stretch than a sweatshirt. If someone is between sizes, or you want room to layer over a shirt, size up.
• Order early. Popular sizes of popular family designs sell out through November and December, and it only takes one missing size to break the set.
• Keep the receipts. Returns and exchanges are handled by the retailer you buy from, so check their policy before ordering several sizes at once.

Beyond the family photo

If it’s just the two of you, our Couples collection has matching pairs and two-part jokes. For the children on their own, the Kids collection includes the children’s versions of many designs, plus light-up reindeer with real 3D scarves.