Well it’s about time someone figured out what to do with that massive collection of horrifically ugly Christmas sweaters that lurks in cellars and closets around the globe. Haul them out for an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party!
Who Started It?
The phenomenon of the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party seems, like many things in modern times, to have started on the internet. Or, at least, it became huge on the internet. A few bloggers have dedicated websites to the phenomenon, detailing their experiences with ugly sweater parties. Uglychristmassweaterparty.com has a cool collection of photos under their “These are Ugly” category.
Where Can I Get One?
Believe it or not, the internet is teeming with available ugly Christmas sweaters perfect for the recent party trend. Looking for one that lights up? Has reindeer ears? Says Ho Ho Ho out loud? Whatever your ugly Christmas sweater wish is, chances are you can find it. Ebay has a whole section dedicated to ugly Christmas sweaters. If you’re shopping online, eBay is probably the easiest place to buy one, but in the real world, check your local consignment shops, thrift shops and Goodwill – chances are excellent they will have an impressive collection of ugly Christmas sweaters from which to choose!
Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Tips
Throwing an ugly Christmas sweater party is easy and fun. Make your invites unique – download photos of a few of the ugliest sweaters you can find and add them to a printable invite – or if you are feeling really creative, collect ugly Christmas sweaters and cut them into squares, pinning the invite to the back of the piece of material. Or find some "ugly mittens" to use for invites. Place in an envelope and your party guests will be delighted and excited! Definitely add an ‘ugly sweater contest’ element to your party- guests can vote for the ugliest sweater and the winner takes home a prize.
Take Pictures!
If you’re hosting an ugly Christmas sweater party you will want to have lots of photos of your zany guests. If you have a Polaroid camera or digital camera with printer, you can have pictures of the sweaters hanging up at the party- or make framed Christmas ornaments out of the photos to let party guests take home a cool favor. You’ll want to document the fun event for embarrassing social networking site postings as well!
The main thing about this concept is to HAVE FUN! It’s an easy, creative way to have some friends over for the holidays and enjoy a great laugh or two.
Mary McCarthy - Mary T. McCarthy is the blogger at pajamasandcoffee.com and Editor of Chesapeake Family magazine.
