The Best Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Ideas
The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party
Ah yes! The ugly Christmas sweater would still be nothing more than a long-forgotten piece of bad taste without the ugly Christmas sweater party. These parties have not only given new life to old pieces of holiday monstrosity, they have made them quite trendy and exceptionally fun as well.
So much of the popularity of Halloween resides in the joy we all feel in to getting step outside of ourselves and our inhibitions, and be somebody else for a day. In costume we might find ourselves speaking, acting and thinking just a bit different. Perhaps some of our reservations go away when disguised as another, if only for a while.
This also is partly why the ugly Christmas sweater party has become so popular!
When the ridiculous becomes cool (and even in style) everyone gets to participate
At an ugly Christmas sweater party we get to remove ourselves from the protocols and societal norms for a day. We get to let loose, take down all of the guards and just be…well… ridiculous. We all are ridiculous on some level, and to get to strut it around with pride makes everyone feel happy and accepted.
If you are planning a holiday sweater party celebrating the most awful pieces of knitting in town, we have got you covered. Yes, we do sell the best (and worst) ugly Christmas sweaters anywhere, and we have you covered there, but we also want to share with you some tips on throwing the most amazing ugly sweater party anywhere this Christmas season.
So here we go. The best ugly Christmas sweater party ideas around!
Invitations
- Make your invitations fun and exciting. The crazier the better. Remember, the ugly sweater party harkens back to a time when these things were worn in public, so how about getting a family photo of the host or hosts wearing your ugliest Christmas sweaters, goofy glasses. 80′s haircuts, etc. Use the picture to make bad holiday greeting card invitations to send to the invitees ( you know the kind of cards people get from friends and family and put on their refrigerators?)
- Encourage attendees to really do it up. Suggest they were their craziest Christmas hats, scarves, mittens, wild socks, plaid pants as well as their ugliest Christmas sweaters.
- You can also create an event in facebook and invite people that way. This is a great and simple way to get people to RSVP. People are on facebook a lot. They are more likely to be reminded to respond, and are more likely to do so since it just requires hitting a button.
Decorations
Decorate as much as possible with sweaters or sweater material – It’s the theme and it works. If you can get hold of a bunch of old winter sweaters, patterns or materials use them as place mats, table cloths, hang them on walls, cut pieces to use as drink coasters. Get creative. There’s so much you can do
Look at Michaels, Wal-Mart, Target, etc for the most gaudy decorations you can find. Multi-colored lights, garland, ugly stockings. Just get crazy. Deck the house (and the halls) with these wild decorations. The more outrageous the better. Your friends will love it.
Decorate with themes from famously funny Christmas movies. The “leg lamp” from a Christmas Story is always great – you can buy those anywhere nowadays. There are a lot of “A Christmas Story” decorations available, so look around.
Try to decorate the main room with enough lights to make Clark Griswold happy.
There are plenty of Christmas sweater references in “The Santa Clause” trilogy. Tim Allen and Judge Reinhold wore some great ones in those movies, and Tim’s one-liners about Reinhold’s awful sweaters are classic
Games and Activities
- Have a “No Talent Christmas Karaoke” Show – Make sure you advertise it as a “no talent” show so as to encourage people to get up and do their worst renditions of famous holiday tunes. This will keep it fun and lighthearted and from turning into an audition to be the next pop star.
- Name That Tune – Always a classic Christmas party game. Play a snippet of a Christmas carol and see who can guess it!
- Finish The Lyric – This is a spin off of “Name That Tune”. Play a snippet of a Christmas carol and see who can finish the next lyric first
- Christmas Movie Line Trivia – Have some Christmas movie lines ready to quiz the party goers on what movie it is from. Give extra prizes if they can name the character and the actor! Don’t just use the obviously famous movies and quotes. Use some more obscure references and see who is the most “Christmasly gifted” person in the room!
- Scavenger Hunt – these are classic and always fun
- Who Am I? – Have names of famous Christmas personalities ( Santa, Grinch, etc) written on big white stickers. Have someone go around and (with permission) stick the name to their backs. They have to ask everyone around yes or no questions about who they are until they guess it!
- Put Disposeable Cameras at Every Table or Around the Room – This will encourage silliness and the pictures you will get from them will be hilarious.
- Have A Camera & Tripod Ready – Set a camera and tripod up with the tree or other decorative spot as a background. Designate a photographer and make sure everyone has their picture taken in their silliest pose and smile. Download the pictures and make sure every guest gets a digital copy of theirs. It’s a great way to follow up with your guests after a party to thank them for coming, and it will remind them what a wonderful time they had!
- Have Silly Stick-On Name Tags – Look for those one’s that say “Hi, My Name Is ……”
Give Awards
Have some awards ready for the best (or worst) sweaters in various categories. Come up with your own but here are some that we recommend. Have everyone turn in pre-made ballots and vote for the winners.
- All Around Ugliest
- Most Original
- Best Matched Couple – Not just couples who came together, just look for any two sweaters that seem to go together
- Loudest
- Most Outrageous
- Most Likely To Get Arrested If Seen In Public
- Jolliest
- Scariest
- Most Shameful
- Most Festive
Other tips
- Pinterest is a wonderful place to get great ugly Christmas sweater party ideas. First follow our Pinterest board for party ideas. We will be adding more ideas all the time. Also, search other Pinterest boards for other great stuff we may have missed.
Now you are ready to throw the most outrageously festive funtime anyone you know has ever been to.
Be safe and have fun,
Ugly Christmas Sweaters for Men
