Ugly Christmas Sweater Day is the modern solution to put to use those years and years (and years) worth of hideous sweaters that have been piling up in closets, drawers and donation bags across the country. And with Ugly Sweater Parties becoming more and more popular, even thrift stores are charging prices that might be more than you’re willing to pay for a once (or once-a-year) item. Don’t worry: we’ve got you. Here are three ways to be sure you score the Ugliest Sweater prize.
photo: Mrs. Claus via flickr
1. Felt It Up
Get together any or all of the following supplies: felt, scissors, fabric glue, buttons, sequins, glitter glue pens, cotton balls, jingle balls, a plain sweater, sweatshirt or t-shirt.
Your goal here is to use felt and enhancements to make a glitzy, silly mess. Make Christmas trees and fabric glue them on. You can cut out round ornaments out of contrasting felt, or use old buttons or charms to deck out your tree. You can even go crazy with battery powered lights like these. This is a great craft to do with the kids because you really can’t go wrong (unless you make it too pretty). No fabric glue? Unless you want this number to last for more than one night, just use Elmer’s glue or anything other kind you have on hand.
Bonus points: Wear it with a Christmas tree headband.
photo: Amber Guetebier
2. There’s an App for That
Try Yoshirt. They’ve got some pre-designed “ugly Xmas sweaters” but you can customize a sweatshirt just for the occasion. One-up the competition and make a sweatshirt of your whole crew wearing their scary-Xmas sweater best. Or just have fun making a cool shirt for Grandma or Grandpa for the holidays. They even have youth sized t-shirts. With the photos already on your phone, the whole process takes less than 5 minutes and your sweater will be en route to wow (ahem, shock?) your coworkers at the next office party. Check Yoshirt out here.
Tip: Goes great with: an elf hat or elf ears.
photo: Krista Hennebury via flickr
3. Skirt the Issue
Okay, so what you thought was ugly someone else thinks is cool, or maybe it’s the other way around. Skip the sweater altogether and try on a tree-skirt for size. Inexpensive and often more gaudy than any puff-painted number you could pick up online, you can simply don the skirt as a cape (so on trend!). If you’ve found a tasteful, plain tree skirt sew some jingle bells along the edge and you’ll soon be gathering eye rolls from your children and friends alike.
Must have accessory: antlers.
Do you have an ugly sweater? Share your pics with us on Instagram or Facebook and tag them #redtricycle and #uglychristmassweater.
—Amber Guetebier
