'Tis the season for ugly Christmas sweaters

Natasha Turcotte decided to try out a growing trend in throwing her annual Christmas bash this year: the ugly Christmas sweater party.

Answering a callout by NorthernLife.ca for pictures of ugly Christmas sweaters, Turcotte shared a photo of a garment she made herself. It features a reindeer vomiting Montreal Canadiens logos.

“I couldn't for the life of me find any sweaters ugly enough that would suit my personality, so I've made my own,” she said in an email. “I am by no means a Habs fan, so I thought this was fitting.”

The ugly Christmas sweater might seem straight out of 1980s and 1990s television shows such as “The Cosby Show” and the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” but they've become hip once again — in an ironic sense — in recent years.

If you have any doubt about the phenomenon's popularity, take a look at your Tim Hortons coffee cup. Their festive takeout cups look like little Christmas sweaters, festooned with images such as reindeer and Christmas trees.

With the ugly Christmas sweater party trend snowballing, local businesses have looked to cash in on the eager sweater-seekers.

In searching for the perfect ugly Christmas sweater, many people head to Value Village, a local thrift store.

Manager Ken Lamontagne said when his staff saw the trend emerging about three years ago, they started collecting ugly Christmas sweaters throughout the year to display on racks at the front of the store in November and December.

Very often, he and his staff wear the sweaters during their shifts as advertisement.
“I've worn two this year alone, and they've both been purchased right off my back,” Lamontagne said.

As someone who deals in pre-owned items, however, the store manager is a little hesitant to call the Christmas sweaters ugly, as they may have been special to the original owners at one time.

“What we get is a lot of the old Christmas sweaters that were hand-knit — Grandma knitted this for you,” Lamontagne said.

So what's behind the ugly Christmas party trend? Lamontagne said he figures it's just an extension of the Halloween party — an excuse for people to dress up and have fun.

It isn't just thrift stores such as Value Village dealing in the ugly Christmas sweater, though. Many retailers actually have new versions of the gaudy garments for sale this year.

On the edgier side are the ugly Christmas sweaters being sold by Spencer's, a novelty store aimed at the college-age market opened in the New Sudbury Shopping Centre in September.

The store is selling sweaters — and other items, too, such as hats and mugs — with inappropriate sayings such as “Merry F-ing Christmas” and “Mistlestoned,” or images of elves peeing or reindeer fornicating.

“It's not just an ugly Christmas sweater, it has a little bit of fun behind it,” said the store's assistant manager, Kenna Smith. “Depending on how rambunctious you feel like getting for the holidays, you can have a lot of fun with your outfit.”

She said she thinks the ugly Christmas sweater party started with Spencer's target market — post-secondary students.

“I think it started as college kids looking to start a new party and a different reason to drink,” she said. “They thought it would be funny to everyone to kind of make themselves look silly.”