Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Ideas to Elevate Your Holiday Fun

How to Host an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

Have you decided to host an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party this year? If so, you can find lots of Ugly Christmas Sweater Party ideas below to make the job easy on you and still have a great time below.

All you need to do is imagine your friends or coworkers laughing while casting their votes for the ugliest sweater winner. This is going to be fun!

A few things to keep in mind as you plan your party:

What you need for a memorable Ugly Christmas Sweater Party
How to make the most of the theme with printable ugly sweater voting cards
Ways to boost the festive atmosphere with themed food and decorations
How to end the party on a high note with fun certificates and awards

The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party theme has taken on a life of its own over the years. And organizing your own ugly sweater Christmas party is your chance to be a part of the merry tradition.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Invitations

The first thing you need to host your Ugly Christmas Sweater Party is invitations to match your theme. Etsy has a nice selection of ones to choose from. If you need them right away, don’t forget to filter your selection by “Digital Download” and you can print them from home.

There are some options that are editable. This is for if you want to type in your name and details, while others are invitations where you just write your details in the blanks. You can also send invitations by phone or by an app like Evite.

The main thing to note in the invitations though is that everyone should wear an Ugly Christmas Sweater, either one they have purchased or one they have made. And let them know that there will be awards too!

How to Find an Ugly Christmas Sweater for the Party

If you are going to host an ugly sweater Christmas party, you are going to need to have your own Ugly Christmas Sweater too. The uglier and tackier the better.

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Places to Purchase Christmas Party Ugly Sweater Outfits

Here are some places you can find some of the best ugly Christmas sweater ideas for your party:

Retail stores like Walmart or Target usually have a good selection of reasonably priced ones (just type in “ugly sweater” in the search bar and you should see lots of different ones. As of now, there are some listed in price for $15 to $30 each
Online stores like Amazon or Etsy. These are usually more customized. Amazon’s selection is more expensive than Walmart, but they have ones that light up too. Etsy has ones that can be customized to whatever you want as well.
Thrift stores are also a great option for either ones already made or to find the basics you can use to make your own below too.
Ugly sweater ideas for couples – if you are hosting this party as a couple, you can even find outfits that are just for couples – look for things like “Christmas Party Couple Outfits” and add “Ugly Sweater” to the search too.

Make Your Own Ugly Christmas Sweater

If you look on Pinterest, you can find a large selection of ideas for ways to make your own ugly Christmas sweater too. So, if you like to do crafts and have some basics like a glue gun and glitter, this might be your cheapest bet.

You can buy a basic sweater or sweatshirt from Goodwill and hot glue bows and tinsel all over it. You can attach other Christmas items as well. The only limit to what you can do is your imagination really.

Hopefully, your friends will also be inspired to dig deep into their closets or craft their own outrageous creations for the event.

Planning Your Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Decorations

Assuming you have the basics in your home or office of:

Christmas Tree and Decorations
Christmas Lights
Christmas Music

You are well on your way to a festive atmosphere for the party. Luckily, the Christmas decorations can count as part of the decor for your party too.

Here are some ideas of things to add for elements specific to the Christmas sweater party:

Create a “snowy” backdrop or some other cheerful holiday design to serve as the perfect scene for selfies and group photos decked out in your finest ugly sweaters
Set up an area with a Polaroid camera and amusing photo props to capture memories and get some souvenirs of those tacky sweaters
A welcome sign with an ugly sweater design would be fun too
If you look around the stores you can find lots of ugly sweater themed decor too – like small ugly sweaters for wine bottles, etc. You can even find one for your pet!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Ideas for Food and Drink

Aside from the much loved charcuterie tray, there are some ideas for party food that are more specific to the ugly sweater theme.

Hot Cocoa Bar

You can make your own hot cocoa bar complete with either a Keurig with Hot Chocolate pods, or Swiss Miss packets of Hot Cocoa and a thermos of hot water. Add all the toppings to make it even more fun – real cocoa, whipped creams of different flavors – like vanilla, mocha, and caramel. And, of course, you have to have lots of marshmallows (of different sizes and flavors) and other toppings like chocolate shavings or sprinkles. Serve the hot chocolate in Christmas themed mugs if you have them too!

Sugar Cookies styled as Ugly Sweaters

Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe and create sweater cookies that have plain icing on them. It can be whatever color you want – white, red, green, etc. – this is the base for the cookie design. Then, have bags of icing of different colors and let your guests design their own ugly sweater cookie to eat for dessert.

Hot Soups, Appetizers and Dips

The usual party food can round out your Christmas party. You could have each guest bring a dish or a crock pot of soup for the main dish. Adding some festive cheese balls, crackers, and veggie and fruit trays should help to round out the party food.

Drum Roll – The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Awards are Here

Elevate your holiday celebration with ugly sweater party voting cards and awards for the tackiest ensembles. Capture memories with photo booths and props, and add a festive touch with themed decorations and treats for an unforgettable party.

You can either make your own voting cards for different categories or you can buy the done for you voting cards below to make it super easy. Just print out the cards and place a stack of them with some pens at a dedicated “voting station”.

You can decorate the area with Christmas tree cutouts, twinkle lights, or even a life-sized cardboard cutout of a holiday-themed picture frame for that perfect selfie opportunity. The goal is to make the voting stand a central focus of your ugly sweater themed party, so deck it out just as you would any other part of your party space.

Encourage your guests to cast their votes throughout the night for their favorite tacky sweaters. Make sure there’s a box or container where guests can place their completed cards too.

Happy holidays, and may the best (or should I say ugliest) sweater win!

Creating a Fun Party Atmosphere with Festive Christmas Decorations

First thing’s first, set the scene for the party. A holiday design with cheerful Christmas decorations will be the backdrop to your ugly sweater festivities. Picture a sparkling Christmas tree, adorned not only with the usual tinsel and baubles but with novelty sweaters and miniature voting signs too.

Next up, why not give a tacky sweater twist to some party essentials like drinks and favors? With custom labels, even basic water bottles can dress up for the occasion! You can find mini ugly Christmas sweaters for things like wine bottles or 2-liters also.

Of course, an ugly sweater party wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging the star attractions—the sweaters! With printable awards for the ugliest Christmas sweater, you can give credit where credit is hilariously due.

From ‘Most Original’ to the classic ‘Ugliest Sweater’, these awards will provide endless amusement and a sense of friendly competition among guests. Remember, it’s these playful and charming touches that will make your own ugly sweater party stand out.

The Awards for the Ugliest Sweaters

The night is winding down and now it’s time to honor the champions with the much anticipated ugly sweater awards. What better way to conclude the evening than with a delightful ceremony to celebrate the blingiest, the most original, and the downright tackiest sweaters?

Awarding the title of “Ugliest Christmas Sweater” becomes an event in itself with our printable awards. Whether you’re handing out certificates for “Blingiest” (a.k.a – most likely to be seen from space) or “Most Original” – DIY – way to use those bells! There are also overall awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place too.

Our printable digital downloads are not just fun, they’re practical! Easy-to-use, downloadable files mean quick setup and not having to fight the Christmas crowds.

You will have fun handing out the ugly sweater award certificates to the winners and your friends will be laughing too at the silliness with their own ugly sweaters. The certificates are not just awards, they are also mementos of a fun evening spent with friends and family, celebrating the holiday season.

Ugly Sweater Party Essentials

Where can I find the ugly sweater voting cards printable?

You can find ugly sweater voting cards and certificates for sale in our Loveselfcare Shop on Etsy. They are digital downloadable, printable pdf files.

These cards are designed to enhance the fun at your ugly sweater parties by having your guests vote for the ugliest sweaters. They’re easy to print out and just require a printer and white cardstock paper.

What ugly sweater awards are included?

There are awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Ugliest Christmas Sweater overall. There are also awards for “Blingiest Ugly Sweater”, “Funniest Ugly Sweater” and “Most Original Ugly Sweater”.

What are other ideas for Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Games?

Aside from the classic ugly sweater contest, you can include some other fun games like ‘Pin the Nose on Rudolph,’ an ugly sweater scavenger hunt, or Christmas charades with a tacky sweater twist.

There are even more Christmas Games and Activities in our Loveselfcare Etsy shop to keep your friends having fun throughout the night.

More Ugly Sweater Party Ideas to Keep the Fun Going

To make your party more fun, focus on the details and coordinate with your theme. Some ideas to do this include:

Incorporate unique decorations like a themed photo booth
Customize your signage with an ugly sweater design
Make Ugly Sweater Sugar cookies decorated like “Ugly Sweaters”
Have fun party favors like Hershey’s Kisses Santa Hats and Kissmas Trees Chocolates in little bags

The more personalized and interactive your party elements are, the more memorable it will be.

Wrapping Up the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

We hope your holiday festivities are a hit with these cheerful, ugly sweater party ideas. As you send off your friends, we hope you had a lot of fun both planning and enjoying your party. Happy holidays, and here’s to having the ugliest sweater party on the block!