Monday, December 21, 2020 is Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. How will you celebrate? Do you have an Ugly Christmas/Holiday Sweater? Have you ever been to an Ugly Christmas Sweater party? Ugly sweaters have been featured in movies and there is even an Ugly Sweater song.

The concept for the Ugly Sweater started in the 50’s and into the 60’s when mass commercialization of the Christmas season first began. Holiday sweaters known as Jingle Bell Sweaters became popular. These sweaters weren’t ugly, they featured understated holiday themed designs to celebrate the season. As time passed, the designs became more elaborate.

During the 80’s, ornate sweaters made their way into television programs, holiday movies, and retail stores.  During the 90’s, these sweaters seemed destined to become a passing fad. In 2001, Colin Firth’s Mark Darcy character in Bridgit Jones’ Diary is teased at a Christmas party for wearing an especially ugly holiday sweater and in the 2000’s the ugly sweater became a thing.

In Vancouver, British Columbia, Chris Boyd, and Jordan Birch launched the first Christmas Sweater Party and soon people were hosting Christmas Sweater Parties all over Canada and the US. The idea spread quickly around the world and people began competing to see who could find the ugliest Christmas/Holiday Sweater to wear to the party. Ugly Sweater parties have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity.

This Christmas social distancing may prevent hosting an Ugly Sweater party in your house but that doesn’t mean you can’t connect with family and friends on Zoom or Google to show off your ugliest sweater.

Make your own ugly sweater by basting designs and letters cut from felt or holiday fabric onto a plain sweater – it’s temporary and you won’t ruin a perfectly good sweater.

You can hold an ugly Christmas Sweater design contest by copying an outline of a sweater onto paper and having each member of your family create their best ugly sweater. Cut the sweaters out and hang them in the window to share your Christmas cheer if you dare.

Make salt dough ornaments in the shape of sweaters and create your own Ugly Sweater ornaments to hang on the tree.  

Sources for this article, links for Ugly sweater images and a salt dough recipe:

https://blog.placeit.net/history-ugly-christmas-sweater-design/#:~:text=It%20All%20Started%20in%20the,featured%20discrete%20Christmas%20themed%20decorations.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cut+out+free+printable+sweater+template&tbm=isch&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjzkd6m28ftAhXhAt8KHSqPDMQQrNwCKAJ6BQgBEI8C&biw=1263&bih=578

https://www.tagandtibby.com/blog/2016/11/4/no-bake-salt-dough-ornaments-ehow