Ugly Christmas Sweaters That Won’t Disappoint

In the early 2000’s, my friends and I raided the closets of our mothers in search of their 1980s Christmas sweaters. We were headed out for a fun night on the town and thought it would be hilarious to wear the sweaters on our holiday bar crawl. Keep in mind, this was before Ugly Christmas sweaters were a “thing”. It wasn’t trendy at the time and Ugly Christmas sweater parties were not much of a thing (that I knew of, anyway). So we thought we were being extra clever and original. I searched all of my old photo albums (yes, this was back before the age of digital) to try and find the photo of us to add here but no such luck. You’ll just have to imagine it.

Not long after our first outing around 2002, a good friend of mine started to host Ugly Christmas sweater parties. I would often just make my own as they really weren’t something all that common unless you got lucky at a resale shop. I’d glue a ton of candy canes to a turtleneck, hang a myriad of ornaments from a sweatshirt, or just wrap myself in tinsel garland. We had to get creative. Cut to 2025, and ugly Christmas sweaters are everywhere! I still think homemade or vintage are the best, but you can find them everywhere from Walmart to Nordstrom. And some aren’t even ugly! There are some really darn cute Christmas wear out there!

By the 2010s, it had become a full-blown cultural phenomenon, complete with National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day (yes, that’s a thing; it’s held every December 20th). TikTok and Instagram have made ugly Christmas sweaters trendier than ever. From office contests to matching family looks, the Ugly Christmas sweater is here to stay.

Below I’m including some of my favorites this holiday season. Some are true to form, being tacky, colorful, loud, and seemingly straight out of the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. But, I’m also including a few cute ones in case you’re feeling looking a little more like you stepped out of the movie The Holiday. Additionally, there’s nothing wrong with going big and adding a few Christmas accessories to complete your look and I’ve included those as well. Have fun with it!

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The Fun Ugly Christmas Sweaters

The Cute (Ugly) Christmas Sweaters

Ugly Christmas Sweater Accessories

I hope you all have so much fun at your ugly Christmas sweater parties and gatherings. Tis the season!

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