The short answer
The mistakes we would watch for in a Christmas pajama order happen before checkout, and for dull reasons: a size picked from a child’s age, a usual letter that is one letter off here, a final family member added after their size has gone. Measure first, start with whoever is hardest to fit, and put everyone in one order. Then read the return terms before you buy anything marked down. We sell these pajamas, so the examples below come from our own listings and policies, including the parts that count against us.
Snow globe print family pajamas in dark greenShop now
Christmas tree print family pajamas, green tops and white pantsShop now
Red and white Fair Isle family pajamasShop now
| The mistake | What it costs you | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Buying children’s sizes by age | A size label that does not match the child in front of you | Measure height, and weight for babies |
| Ordering your usual women’s letter | A chest about 1.5 to 2 inches smaller than you expected | Buy by chest measurement |
| Adding people one at a time | The print stays on sale, but the last person’s size is gone | Check the hardest size first, then order everyone together |
| Counting on an easy swap | Sale items cannot come back, and a new size is a new purchase | Try everything on with the tags still attached, the day it arrives |
| Assuming the dog gets a full set | A bandana arrives where you pictured pajamas | Read the pet wording on the listing |
Mistake 1: Buying kids’ sizes by age instead of measuring
An age on a label describes a typical child, and it may not describe yours. On our chart, 3-4Y is cut for a child 39 to 41 inches tall and 4-5Y for 41 to 44 inches. A tall three-year-old at 42 inches is already out of the size with “3” in its name.
Crossing between brands makes it worse. There is no single US standard for what a toddler size means, and our chart comparison shows where ours pulls away from a common US children’s chart. Our 2T or 2Y fits a child about 1.5 to 2 inches shorter than the same label there, and US sizes 6 to 9 run 1 to 3 inches shorter. A child who wears a 2T from another store may well need our next size.
How to avoid it. Stand each child against a door frame in socks and note the height. For babies, use weight as well. A 3-6M on our chart means 24 to 27 inches and 13 to 17 pounds, whatever the baby’s birthday says. Write the number next to each name before you open a listing.
Measuring is also different from buying big. In the US, children’s sleepwear above 9 months and through size 14 is generally either flame resistant or snug-fitting under CPSC rules. Those are alternative routes to compliance, and on a snug-fitting piece the close fit is the point of the design, so choose the band the child fits now rather than one to grow into. Our sizing and order-date guide covers the label rules in full.
Mistake 2: Ordering your usual women’s letter
Our women’s letters run small against a typical US chart: about 1.5 to 2 inches in the chest, or roughly one letter. If you wear an M everywhere else and order an M here, you may get a set that is tighter than you wanted, in a matching order where every other piece fit.
It is also easy to assume the whole letter run exists on every print. It does not. Here is what we read across our non-licensed family designs in early November:
- Women’s S to 2XL is on nearly every design.
- Men’s S is on only about one design in five. Most men’s runs start at M.
- 3XL is on about half of designs.
- 4XL is on just a handful of selected prints, for women and for men.
How to avoid it. Measure around the fullest part of the chest with a soft tape, and compare that number to the chest column on the chart, not to the letter you normally buy. Do the same for men, since a slim man who wears an S will have far fewer designs to choose from. If anyone in the family needs an extended size, begin with our plus size Christmas pajamas and let that person’s options set the print for everybody.
Mistake 3: Adding one person at a time, then finding the last size gone
Each person’s piece is added to the cart on its own, by color, family member and size. Our listings say so: “Please add each size separately to your shopping cart.” That is handy when your sister’s family wants in later. It also means a design never sells out all at once. It loses one size at a time, and the print keeps looking available while the only size you needed has gone.
The usual sequence is familiar. You fall for a print, buy the kids’ pieces, wait for a partner to confirm a size, and return a week later to find it gone. Now you have paid for half a set in a print that cannot dress the whole family.
The table shows how quickly a hard size narrows the choice. These are five current listings on the day we checked. Sizes change daily, so treat it as a demonstration and not as a stock list.
| Hard size | Snow globe | Fair Isle | Christmas village | Christmas tree | Mug print |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men’s S | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Women’s 3XL | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
| Men’s 4XL | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Kids 12-13Y | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Baby 0-3M | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| S(Pets) | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Not one of the five covers every row. A family with a 12-year-old and a dog that needs S(Pets) has already lost four of them.
How to avoid it. Write the full list first, including anyone who has not decided yet. Look for the hardest size before anything else, usually an extended adult size, a men’s S, a 0-3M or a small pet size. Then put every piece in one order. Our Christmas pajamas size finder does this for you by showing only designs where every size you enter is in stock. Once you have a shortlist, our guide to choosing family Christmas pajamas by household helps you decide between the prints that remain.
Shop the look
Mom, Dad and the kids can all wear either of these prints: one listing, choose each member and size. Both stop at kids 8-9Y, so a family with an older child should look at the three designs above instead.
Christmas village print family pajamas in white with green trimShop now
Holiday mug print family pajamas in pale mintShop now
Mistake 4: Counting on an easy swap or a return
Buying two sizes, or a best guess, and planning to send the wrong one back is riskier with us than it sounds, and two lines in our refund policy explain why.
The first: “Unfortunately, we cannot accept returns on sale items or gift cards.” If a price looks reduced and you are not sure it counts as a sale item, email service@patpat.com and ask before you order. Anyone hunting for cheap Christmas pajamas should keep this in mind. A low price on a size you are guessing at can turn into a set you cannot wear and cannot send back.
The second covers exchanges: “The fastest way … is to return the item you have, and once the return is accepted, make a separate purchase for the new item.” In practice, there is no direct swap. You request the return, send the item back, wait for acceptance, and only then buy again. By the end of that, the size you wanted may have sold out.
How to avoid it. Measure before you buy, so you need the return process less. Open the parcel the day it arrives and try everything on with the tags attached, because a return has to be unworn and unused, with tags and original packaging. Hold off on the first wash until everyone’s fit is confirmed. If one size is wrong, the policy’s order is return first, then buy again once the return is accepted. Our editorial suggestion, if that size looks close to selling out, is that you could buy the replacement first and still request the return within the window. You would be paying for both until the refund comes through, so that choice is yours.
Timing is the last trap. You have 30 days after receiving an item to request a return. A set that arrives November 18 and sits unopened in a closet until Christmas Eve has been out of its window since December 18.
For the wider comparison of what to expect from any store, including how our terms stack up, read our checklist for comparing stores. It is written by us about us, and it says where we fall short.
Mistake 5: Thinking the pet piece is a full set of pajamas
Group photos on the listings show the dog in the print, and it is easy to picture a tiny matching two-piece. What you will find on our listings is mostly a bandana. Listings describe the pet piece as a “pet bandana,” and some call it a “pet towel” or “pet wrap.” None of the descriptions we read promises a full set of dog pajamas.
A second confusion sits close by. A print with dogs on it is a pattern for people to wear, and it says nothing about a piece for your actual dog. The socks that come with some sets are not included with the pet piece either.
How to avoid it. On the listing, read the line that says what one size includes, and look for the word “bandana” or “towel.” Then check the size, because two pet sizes have to cover every dog, and a design may carry only one. In the table above, Fair Isle and the green Christmas tree print have no S(Pets). Our dog size guide explains how to measure. If you want your dog in a full outfit with sleeves, we are the wrong place to look, so compare other stores. Whatever the dog wears, stay with them while they have it on.
A two-minute check before you pay
Run through this with the cart open. If you cannot tick a line, sort it out before you check out.
- Every child has a height written next to their name, and every baby a weight too.
- Every adult has a chest measurement, and each size was picked from the chart.
- The cart holds one piece for each person on the list, all in the same print.
- Nothing in the cart is a size you are guessing at and also marked down.
- If the dog is on the list, you know whether the piece is a bandana and whether your dog’s size exists.
- You know the date the parcel needs to arrive, and it comes with time to spare. Our sizing guide puts a card-photo order in early to mid October and a Christmas-morning-only order by the third week of November.
Still undecided on a print? The group we label best Christmas pajamas is our own merchandising selection, not an independent ranking, and it is a shorter place to start than the full range.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common mistake when buying Christmas pajamas online? We have no survey data on this, but the one that does the most damage in a matching order is adding people one at a time. Each size sells out on its own, so the last person’s size may be gone when you come back for it.
Should I size up in Christmas pajamas? Adults can if they want more room, but measure first, because our women’s letters already run about one letter small. Do not size up children in snug-fitting styles, since the close fit is part of how those pieces are designed to meet the rules.
Can I exchange a size at PatPat? Our refund policy offers no direct exchange. You return the item and, once the return is accepted, make a separate purchase, and the size may have sold out by then.
Can I return Christmas pajamas I bought on sale? Our refund policy says we cannot accept returns on sale items. Email service@patpat.com before you order if you are not sure whether a reduced item counts.
Will PatPat Christmas pajamas shrink or fade? We have not run wash tests on these sets, so we make no promise either way. Most of the care lines on these listings ask for a cold machine wash, and you should try everything on before that first wash so a return stays possible.
Do PatPat pet sizes come as full pajamas? None of the descriptions we read says so. The pet piece is usually a bandana, sometimes listed as a pet towel or pet wrap, so read the listing wording.
You have the measurements now, so use them before the hardest size on your list goes, because a print can stay on the page after that. Shop the full collection with your list in hand.
About this article
Written and fact-checked by the PatPat Editorial Team. How we research, source and review what we publish is set out on our editorial standards page.
Method. Product and size information was read from PatPat product pages and inventory in early November 2026, and policy wording from our refund policy at the same time. Children’s and women’s size comparisons come from our published chart comparison. PatPat is the seller and has a commercial interest in this topic. We did not wear-test or wash-test these garments, and we have no data on how often any of these mistakes happens, so the order and the emphasis are our editorial judgment.
Sources. Returns and exchanges: PatPat refund policy. Children’s sleepwear: CPSC, Children’s Sleepwear.
Last updated 6 November 2026 · Next review November 2027
