Tis the season to drag out your Christmas sweaters.
It doesn’t matter whether the sweaters are pretty or ugly or pretty ugly. Just wear them, says Michigan State University sophomore Ajrom Nicoj, the proud owner of numerous holiday disasters in yarn.
In fact, ugly holiday sweaters are so popular this year, they are the theme of campus parties, Nicoj says. “They are a big thing – especially in colleges,” he says.
The popularity of holiday sweaters – especially those from the ‘80s – has sent teenagers scurrying to vintage shops and Salvation Army stores to buy them.
Or, you can make your own, if you’d like, says Nicoj.
For those who need ideas, the tacky Christmas sweater trend is even the subject of a book called “Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book” by Brian Miller, Adam Paulson, Kevin Wool and Glenn Gotha. It sells for $9 used online or $17 new in stores – about the same price you’d pay for an ugly sweater.
The book tells how to judge an ugly Christmas sweater contest, the history of ugly sweater parties and what to serve to guests. It also has more than 100 photos of wacky, tacky sweaters and the free spirits who wear them.
Holiday sweaters have even sparked their own food ideas. One popular suggestion is to serve gingerbread man cookies decorated in showy sweaters made with ingredients such bright green frosting and cinnamon Red Hots.
Southfield High sophomore Monique Randolph found an ugly Christmas sweater in her grandmother’s closet this year and wore it to school recently. It’s red and long-sleeved with a green Christmas tree loaded with ornaments on the front. She decked it out with a pair of matching mitten earning made of yard. Not all Christmas sweaters are ugly, of course. Southfield High freshman Dante Humphrey owns a black Christmas sweater with two tasteful white reindeer on the front. He bought the creation at Macy’s this year and considers it to be rather attractive on him. “I have a scarf to match,” he says.
Not only do students wear Christmas sweaters, teachers do, as well. Freshman English Teacher Karen Melton owns two Christmas sweaters. One she bought 20 years ago from TJ Maxx and another was passed down to her from her late mother, Pearl Valentine. Melton says, “I wear my Christmas sweaters around the holidays because they show my Christmas spirit.”
Melton’s oldest holiday sweater is black with holiday designs scattered across it, including a teddy bear in a sleigh on the back,
If you don’t already own a holiday sweater, perhaps a bit of patience is in order. Yours could be waiting underneath your tree this year.