Lurking in the murky depths of many people’s wardrobes is a colorful, brash and (in most cases) highly embarrassing novelty Christmas jumper which, were it not for Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, would probably never see the light of day.
When for Ugly Christmas Sweater Day comes along, it’s time to stop being ashamed of the contents of your (likely gifted) wardrobe and start busting out the ugly. There is such a thing as ‘so awful you can’t really hate it’ (the nether-regions of Netflix has multiple movies that fit these criteria), and Ugly Christmas Sweaters fit the bill in your wardrobe.
History of Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
Launched in 2011, this annual celebration, which is growing in popularity every year among adults and children, is not simply an excuse to parade humiliatingly-unfashionable seasonal knitwear featuring Rudolph, Christmas puddings and Frosty the Snowman; it is a light-hearted and enjoyable fundraising event with a serious aim in aid of Save the Children.
Since then it has been used as an important event to help drive charity funds for organizations that help children around the world deal with illnesses that shouldn’t be anything more than a minor inconvenience. The firm belief that children shouldn’t die from easily treated diseases is what brings this holiday to the fore.
It’s often speculated that we subject ourselves to a minor harmless ailment, the sight of these hideous sweaters, to help save the children from medically similar situations.
How to celebrate Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
In schools, colleges and offices Christmas jumpers are donned to raise money for the global charity that works to combat premature death among children from easily preventable diseases such as
So if you want to celebrate Ugly Christmas Sweater Day, then dig into your wardrobe, and organize a day among your friends and co-workers to assault the eyes of everyone around you with the garish and uncomfortable designs of your Christmas Sweater.
One thing you can do is organize an ‘Ugly Sweater’ auction, where everyone brings their worst sweaters, and people bid to have them take them off. Anything to stop the assault on their eyes.
For the trolls in the audience, you can have it be counterbid by people seeking to have the sweaters remain and continue to torment friends and co-workers for the day.
As the ultimate finale to this event, you can take all the sweaters that have been auctioned ‘off’ their wearers, and burn them in effigy to these awful emblems of the holidays. The proceeds obviously go to a worthy charity.
Alternately, we have to admit that there is something to the ‘ugly sweater chic’, and if you happen to know a group of people with the skills to produce a sweater, you can organize an actual auction. Have people bring their own holiday designs and auction them off in a silent auction, and donate the proceeds to a charity of your choice.
