No one’s entirely sure where the ugly Christmas sweater craze came from.
The best guess we can come up with, according to Thoughtco, is that it originated sometime in the 80s, through a combination of sitcoms and mass-produced “jingle bell” sweaters. We also know that the Canadian city of Vancouver claims to be the site of the first ugly Christmas sweater party, held at the Commodore Ballroom in 2002. The two co-founders of the now-annual event, Chris Boyd and Jordan Birch, have even reportedly placed a trademark on the phrase “ugly Christmas sweater.”
Regardless of how our obsession with these visual horrors came to be, ugly Christmas sweaters are now as beloved a part of our holiday tradition as eggnog and mistletoe. Buying them is a great, oddly romantic couple’s activity. Many workplaces even host regular ugly sweater competitions around the holidays.
With that in mind, we’ve taken the time to gather some of our favorite horrendous designs. Have a look, and see if any of them inspire you to do worse. If so, you can try your hand at throwing something together in our design studio.
Let’s be honest, our list wouldn’t be complete without at least one Office reference.
But realistically, if there’s any sitcom that’d have a lock on ugly Christmas sweaters, it would be Seinfeld.
…But it’s still ugly enough to have made the cut regardless.
We suppose it’s a good choice if you like both tacos and basketball?
And no, we’re not apologizing for that pun.
- For Anyone Who Wants To Moonlight As A Dart Board
We won’t be held responsible for any injuries suffered as a result.
- Reindeers
We’re certain that if you show up wearing this abomination, plenty of people will ask you to rein it in.
- For One of Those Couples
You know. The ones who are attached at the hip. Now they can literally be attached.
- Something You Cannot Unsee
Merry Christmas, and Happy Nightmares.
- Tacky Tinsel
At least you’ll draw some eyes with this one?
- Spritzen The Fresh-Nosed Reindeer
Because nothing says Christmas better than poop, apparently.
We’d say this one is probably the ugliest on the list. We’re not even certain there’s much point in continuing from here.
Remember the Star Wars Christmas Special? We don’t want to, either.
We don’t really have any words for this one. There are no words to do it justice.
It’s a pair of T-Rexes drinking in Santa hats. What’s not to like?
So, there you have it. A small collection of the weirdest, ugliest Christmas sweaters we could find. Hopefully, you found one that truly spoke to you.