10 Tips for Throwing an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

Thinking about throwing a holiday get-together? ‘Tis the season for elusive, ugly and tacky Christmas sweater parties!  Tacky sweater parties are a perfect theme for a fun yet festive party. Follow these tips to throw a successful tacky Christmas sweater party this holiday that is cost effective.

1. Send Invitations

Send out an e-vite, or a Red Stamp invite on your phone to all of your guests and have the image be a picture of you or your grandparents in their favorite holiday sweater. Be sure to provide all of the details (especially the fun ones like the games and prizes included).

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2. Find the Best Tacky Christmas Sweater

The best part of the party is OBVIOUSLY the sweater. Here are some ideas on places to find these fabulous outdated fashion statements: Garage Sales, Family Members (aka. Grandma and Grandpa) and Thrift Stores.

You can also make your own like this tree sweater:

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3. Don’t Forget Accessories

Accessories can often times make the tacky sweater that much tackier! Go to your local drug store and look for lighted pins, reindeer antlers, Santa hats, tinsel and more!

4. Make a Centerpiece

Creating a neat centerpiece that can actually be devoured is ideal. Make a ginger bread house with candy and icing to use as a centerpiece for the food table. Something tells me that this will be eaten after tip #9.

5. Provide an Award

Have a trophy personalized that says “Tackiest Sweater Award Of The Year”. After all of the guests have arrived, simply have them write on a piece of paper who they think should win and then count up the votes.

6. Food

Select a potluck style that will work best for you and your guests. For example: (1) appetizers only, (2) bring your favorite dish, (3) assign each guest to bring an appetizer, main dish, or dessert, or (4) as the host, you will provide the main dish (a turkey, ham, etc.) Try and coordinate this in advance so you don’t have duplicate dishes.

You can also have a sweets bar where guests can create their own s’mores! Yum!

7. Beverages

There are a variety of factors to consider when selecting your beverages for your party. It’s important to have something available for everyone’s likes and dislikes. Be sure to have a variety of mixers on hand as well as non-alcoholic drinks. Having a pre-made themed beverage also saves time and money while still being festive.

You can also set up a hot chocolate bar where guests can customize their hot chocolate!

8. Keep the Bathroom Line Entertained

All those beverages can certainly call for a long line at the restroom. Decorate your bathroom door with wrapping paper, ribbon and a bow and have people sign the door and write a message on the wrapping paper. The messages are bound to be great conversation starters and ice breakers.

9. Play Games

Have a contest of unwrapping kisses and hugs chocolates with mittens on. Have it timed so that each contestant can see how many they can unwrap in that time frame. Someone should be in control of the stop watch and announce the end. The one with the most unwrapped chocolates wins the grand prize, plus every contestant gets to eat the candy they unwrapped, so it’s a win win anyways!

Set up a scavenger hunt with two teams. Create a checklist of all the items to provide to each team. Each team is then responsible for taking a picture of each checklist item as proof. Here are some checklist ideas: Find a street name that has a Christmas theme, take a picture with your team in your sweaters in a 7-11, sing a Christmas carol to a stranger as team, Find a Santa and sit on his lap, kiss someone under a mistletoe, find something showing one of the 12 days of Christmas etc…) This is absolutely hilarious.

10. Give Prizes

The winning team of the scavenger hunt or games that you play can receive prizes. Some good prize ideas are gift cards, candles, books etc… Wrap them up and put them under your tree. You could always go the gag gift route as well.

Best of luck with planning your next Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Do you own a festive sweater that makes your friends laugh/cringe? Send it my way, and it may appear on our blog. (Please include your name, city and a brief description of the photo.)