Given that today is Cousins Day, we thought we would celebrate the cousins in our lives that were basically like the siblings we never had. Even though they are family, cousins make the best type of friends. Let's be fair, they know us as well as our siblings but we don't have to put up with the annoying things. Here are eleven reasons your cousins are sometimes better than your siblings. 1. They're basically like life-long friends. You never had to put too much effort into this one, you're all related so you didn't have to hunt them down. Basically, you had some ready-made friends. 2. They know you as well as your family. The great thing about cousins is you come from the same blood line so you are pretty similar. They've been around for just as much as your family has been around for, they are your family. 3. Occasionally, they're similar age. If you were one of the lucky people that managed to have a cousin the same age as you, you were living the dream. They went through everything that happened to you at the same time and because they couldn't get away from you, you went through it together. 4. They were the best babysitters... No scary films, no loud music, no Coke, no pizza. Actually no bad food in general. All orders disobeyed by older cousins who were the best babysitters ever. 5. There was never a problem with sleepovers on school nights. Basically, because your aunt or uncle was your designated babysitter, you could have sleepovers on school nights. Sleepovers that consisted of staying up all night talking about food, boys, sports and school. Oh, and the rest of your family who just don't get you. 6. They are the saving grace at family events. "Are you going to Auntie Eileen's wedding? Oh, thank the Lord. I can't deal with Uncle Nick's bad jokes. My face hurts from pretending to laugh at them." 7. They live in your house during the summer. Usually, during the summer your parents needed a break and one of your was shipped off to the other cousin's house for an extended holiday. "Just two weeks mind!" Three months later... 8. You can tell them things you would NOT tell your siblings. It's bad enough that you live with your siblings and they already know far too much about you. You just tend not to tell them stuff. Not so with your cousins. You could be up all night having the chats. 9. They fill you in on family news that you are unaware of... "Granny did WHAT?! How did I not know this? Was she in prison for long? Oh, just overnight. She takes that bingo too seriously." 10. You get to take trips to visit them. Summer holidays were a lot more fun when your cousins lived in different counties or different countries. ROAD TRIP! 11. They are ALWAYS going to be there... but you know, around the corner or down the road. In other words, a reasonable distance that they won't drive you crazy but also, they won't be too far away.