Cousins are the first friends many of us ever had: the kids at every holiday table, the ones you saw at every reunion and summer trip. Somewhere along the way, families started calling that group the cousin crew, and matching shirts followed.
Here are 60 cousin crew sayings, a role for every cousin, design themes that work, and practical tips for a crew that might run from a newborn to a college senior.
When cousin crews wear matching shirts
- Family reunions: the cousins are often the biggest group there, and the one most likely to scatter.
- Cousin trips and summer camps at the grandparents': beach weeks, lake houses, road trips and "Camp Grandma".
- Christmas: the photo on the stairs, Christmas Eve pajamas and the gift exchange.
- Big family milestones: a grandparent's 80th birthday, a 50th anniversary, a family wedding.
- Grown-up cousin trips: adult cousins plan their own weekends, too, and the shirts come along.
60 cousin crew sayings
Classic
- Cousin Crew
- Cousin Squad
- Cousins by blood, friends by choice
- Cousins make the best friends
- The cousin crew has arrived
- Cousins for life
- Built-in best friends
- Cousin Crew, est. [year]
- Official member of the cousin crew
- Same roots, different branches
Funny
- Cousins: because siblings need backup
- I'm the favorite cousin (it's on the shirt, so it's official)
- Warning: cousins traveling in a pack
- We're the reason the grown-ups need a nap
- Cousin Crew: here for the snacks
- Probably the cousins' fault
- Chaos coordinators: cousin division
- What happens at Grandma's stays at Grandma's
- Partners in crime since [year]
- Ask me about the cousin group chat
Sweet
- Different moms, same Grandma
- Our favorite people share our grandparents
- Cousins: the friends we got to grow up with
- Grandma's favorite crew
- Grandkids, cousins, forever friends
- Wherever the cousins are, that's the party
- The best part of family is us
- Held together by Grandma's cooking
- Cousins at heart, friends forever
- Our family tree grew the best branches
Christmas
- Christmas Cousin Crew
- Cousins on the nice list
- Santa's favorite cousins
- Cousin Crew: Christmas edition
- Naughty list? Must be the cousins
- Jolly cousins club
- Sleigh-ing Christmas since [year]
- Cookie crew (for the cousins' baking day)
- Up all night on Christmas Eve crew
- Cousins make Christmas merrier
Trips and summer
- Cousin Trip [year]
- Beach Cousins
- Lake Cousins
- Summer Cousin Crew
- Camp Grandma [year]
- Road Trip Cousins
- Cousins take [city]
- Cousin Reunion [year]
- Sun, sand and cousins
- Making memories with my cousins
Roles for each cousin
These go in the personal text line, so everyone matches but every shirt is different:
- Oldest Cousin
- Youngest Cousin
- Favorite Cousin
- Newest Cousin (for the baby)
- Cousin in Charge
- Big Cousin / Little Cousin
- Bonus Cousin (for step-cousins)
- Cousin-in-Law
- Honorary Cousin (for the friend who's always there)
- Cousin #1, #2, #3… in birth order, like a team roster
Design themes that work
Collegiate and varsity. Block letters and a "team" feel suit big crews and older kids. Our collegiate cousin crew shirt is a good example.
Retro. Rounded seventies lettering in warm colors, like the retro cousin crew shirt on this page, looks great on every age.
Definition shirts. A dictionary-style "cuz" definition is a fun single gift for a favorite cousin.
Holiday designs. Christmas cousin crew designs turn the photo on the stairs into a tradition. We have seven of them in our cousin crew shirts.
Destination designs. A cousin trip shirt with the year, or a retro mountain design for a cabin weekend.
Choosing colors for a crew
The easiest rule: pick a color that exists in every style you need. Baby bodysuits and women's V-necks come in black, white, heather dark gray and heather light gray, while the standard tee adds colors like red, kelly green, royal, teal, pink, orange and navy. If the crew includes a baby, either put everyone in one of the four neutrals or let the baby wear white while the rest wear a color.
A second option works well for big families: one color per branch (each aunt and uncle's kids in their own color) with the same design for everyone. The photo then shows who belongs to whom. Our guide to family reunion shirt colors has palettes.
Sizing a crew from newborn to adult
Every one of our cousin crew designs comes as a baby bodysuit (0–24 months), toddler tee (2T–5T), youth tee (S–XL), adult unisex tee (S–4XL), women's V-neck (S–2XL), long-sleeve tee and Comfort Colors tee. Kids grow fast, so:
- Ask parents to measure a T-shirt that fits their child now, then compare it with our size guide.
- Size up for anyone between sizes, especially if the shirts are for a trip months away.
- Collect sizes in one shared list, with each cousin's name, size, style, color and text.
Our family T-shirt size guide covers the details.
How to order for the whole crew
Pick one person to organize. Share the design, collect the list, then add each cousin's shirt to the cart one by one with its own size and text. Most of our cousin designs take up to 24 characters of text, and the Christmas designs up to 33, which fits any saying above. For bigger groups, our guide to ordering matching shirts for a big group has a step-by-step plan.
