You don’t have to toss that horrible sweater you’ve had for too long, you just need to know how to throw an ugly sweater party. It could be the sensation of the occasion. There is a misconception that ugly sweater parties are exclusive to Christmas and the holiday season. http://www.free-printable-party-invitations-online.com/ugly-sweater-christmas-theme-parties.html Admittedly, most ugly sweaters tend to arise at Christmas – the ones with elves romping through the snowflakes, for example – but ugly sweaters are a year-round garment.http://uglysweaterparty.org/Site/Party_Photo_Albums/Party_Photo_Albums.html If you look through your clothes closet very thoroughly, you may come across a really awful sweater that has no holiday theme whatsoever. In the spirit of the ugly sweater, why not celebrate? You may have acquaintances in the same predicament. It might be nice to give them a final opportunity to wear that sweater once more at your ugly sweater party before it gets donated to charity and off to a new home.

It might be wise to plan your ugly sweater party at a time of year when you are past the worst of the summer heat, at least in the evenings, so your guests won’t be uncomfortable. The idea is to wear the sweater for the duration of the party.

There are websites where you can go and customize your ugly sweater invitation.http://diyinvitationtemplates.com/party/ugly-sweater-party-invitations.html It’s not uncommon to find the ugly sweater party theme, but it’s a little harder to find them without the Christmas or holiday message somewhere in the invitation text. If you decide to make your own, it might be a thought to prove to your friends that you “rate” as an ugly sweater wearer, by including a digital photo of yourself in your own ugly sweater. It could be an incentive.

In a perfect world, everyone on the guest list owns an ugly sweater. Some may not, and may be considering going ugly sweater shopping to try to find one. This doesn’t need to be a daunting task. If anyone asks for a recommendation or you would like to seek an even more hideous garment for yourself, try the following:

1. eBay
2. thrift stores
3. garage sales
4. factory outlets

Regarding eBay, just put “ugly sweater” in your eBay search and you’ll find a wide variety of choices!

It does need to be made very clear that ugly Christmas sweaters are definitely welcome at the event, it’s just that unsightly sweaters exist that are in a more generic capacity.http://www.cinematical.com/photos/the-crafts-of-fandom/721362/full/

Vintage stores are another possibility, but one person’s concept of ugly might be another’s idea of a beautiful thing. Additionally, vintage stores tend to charge more because their merchandise is “trendy.”http://www.lavintage.com/ The sweaters worn to an ugly sweater party should not be trendy.

There are ways to determine if a sweater is suitable garb for the party. Here are details to look for.

1. An artifact that protrudes from the sweater itself – that is, something not inherent to the fabric or yarn. Examples of this would be miniature sweater appliqués sewn onto the sweater.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/midnitesnuggo/really-ugly-christmas-sweater.jpg
2. A combination of icons that most normal humans would not utilize when designing one item of clothing. Here is an example: brown sweater, pink buttons, pink pig appliqués eating grass appliqués and a floppy collar made of curly pink and white yarn.http://dwightjohnston.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/ugly-pig-sweater1.jpg

Unravel the Sweater Race – Do not announce this ahead of time.http://www.craftyplaces.com/826/the-recycled-yarn-tutorial-how-to-unravel-a-sweater/ Here is what you’ll need. Ask for volunteers who are willing to dismember their sweaters for the sake of a good time. If a volunteer is wearing only their sweater, have a backup garment handy, lake a large T-shirt. The sweaters that work well for this are the handmade sweaters.http://www.bhg.com/crafts/knitting/wearables/a-basic-knitted-sweater/ The object of the game is to find the end of the yarn used to make the sweater. http://www.yarn.com/ Sweater vests may or may not count – this will need to be your decision. Or, take a vote. Anyway, even if they need scissors to get it started, begin at the end of the sweater and start unraveling. You will need a referee. The unraveling needs to be in one continuous string. If the guest hits a truly impossible knitted knot, or a tight appliqué, exceptions can be made to briefly assist with scissors. But you cannot cut the main piece of yarn into pieces. It must be unraveled. The first one to finish wins the prize! In this instance, the grand prize should be…and ugly sweater. Make it a large one so that the winner of the race can put it on, irrespective of his or her size.

Ugly Sweater Contest – You do not need to divide this categorically if you don’t want to. Like, all Christmas sweaters, or men’s sweaters, that sort of thing. http://www.uglychristmassweaterparty.com/ Let all contestants form a ring and parade, fashion-show style, as the rest of the guests vote. The vote is based on the least ugly, or most attractive sweater. As soon as someone is “out,” they join the other guests as judges. The contest winner is the one that everyone agrees is sporting the most ugly sweater. Competition may be fierce and it may get verbal. Take the edge off the voting with drinks of some sort. More on that later. The winner, who is still in his or her ugly sweater, might receive a gift certificate to a nice clothing store as the prize.

Food:If possible, keep the food and drink in line with the theme of the party. If you choose to serve Christmas cookies, even if the party is in February, see if you can find a cheap ugly Christmas sweater (this should not be too hard) and put the plate of Christmas cookies on top of it, as sort of an enlarged place mat.

Here are more ideas: Halloween sweater, pumpkin bread. School days sweater, sliced apples. Harvest sweater (or gardening sweater) – any vegetables you like, such as a crudité platter.http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1597002 Gaudy beaded sweater – Jelly Bellies. Pigs on a sweater – baked ham. Chickens on a sweater – hot wings.http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,hot_wings,FF.html If you look at a long list of repulsive sweaters, such as those on eBay, party menu ideas will almost suggest themselves.

Drinks: Rainbow stripe sweater – Jell-o shooters to match the colors of the stripes (not really a drink, but fits the category).http://brands.kraftfoods.com/JELLO/explore/lounge/ Palm tree sweater – tropical drinks. Lime green striped sweater – Mojitos. Sometimes you may feel like matching the color of the sweater with the drinks, not just the motif.

Decorations: With all those sweaters as place mats, you’ve also provided some party decorations.http://uglysweaterparty.org/Site/Welcome.html Consider a really tasteless plaid tablecloth. It will certainly quarrel with the sweaters. If you can find some accessories, such as argyle socks, they might look good tacked to the walls. Also knit caps. For the general decorations, work as hard as you can to make them even tackier than the sweaters. If you can, match some of the sweater motifs, such as poodles.