How to Host the Best Ugly Sweater Party in 2024

It’s never too early to start planning for your ugly sweater party whether as a host or a guest. Sourcing a sweater that’s just the right amount of ugly is an art, and it’s best to allow yourself ample time to browse thrift stores or your father’s closet (sorry Dad).

As soon as the temperatures drop, you know there are plenty of holiday parties and gatherings around the corner. If you’re looking to throw your own ugly sweater party, you might have a few questions.

What is an ugly sweater party anyway? What are the rules for ugly sweaters? Or even party planning basics. This article has you covered party ideas, themes, games and more.

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• What is an Ugly Sweater Party?
• What Are the Rules for Ugly Sweater Parties?
• Ugly Sweater Party Ideas for Adults
• Ugly Sweater Party Decorations

What is an Ugly Sweater Party?

The holidays used to be about time with loved ones, cookie exchanges and maybe a gift or two, but along the way, ugly sweater parties weaseled their way into the holiday routine for many. The trend started back in the 1950s with “jingle bell sweaters”, originally designed to be at least somewhat stylish.

No one can nail down exactly when or why these ugly sweater parties became a thing, but a famously ugly sweater worn by Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation certainly pushed things in the right direction.

Today, friends and loved ones gather together to proudly show off their most distasteful or unsightly knitted garments. Other than the sweaters, it’s typically just an excuse to get together and celebrate. 

What Are the Rules for Ugly Sweater Parties?

The main thing with an ugly sweater party is that guests are encouraged or even required to wear an ugly sweater. You can get more specific with your theme and request that guests “keep it tacky” or ‘wear bright colors” if you want to, but even without these extra “rules”, you can’t go wrong. 

Hosting a best (or is it worst?) ugly sweater contest is always a fun activity, but setting a few rules is essential to a fair outcome. Consider adding rules like: sweater must be winter or holiday themed; only things attached to the sweater count (no headbands, shoes, etc), longsleeve shirts or turtlenecks don’t count on their own, you must be wearing your sweater or vest when you arrive and throughout the party. 

Ugly Sweater Party Ideas for Adults

1. Make Sweater Cookies

There are tons of festive cookie cutters out there, including a sweater-shaped one. After buying or making your own shortbread or sugar cookies shaped like sweaters, make cookie decorating an ugly sweater party activity.

Stock up on colorful tubes of frosting so guests can re-create their own holiday sweater on a cookie. This can easily be done for a work Christmas party idea at the office or another venue.

2. Danish Hygge Theme

The word Hygge means “cozy” in Danish, and it makes a perfect theme for your ugly sweater party or holiday gathering. Think tea lights, candles and plenty of blankets.

You could encourage guests to wear or make holiday robes in place of sweaters or stick to tacky pajama sets. Serve traditional items like ginger cookies and open-face smorrebrod sandwiches. 

3. Cheese Ball Ornament

This Christmas party food is affordable, delicious and perfect for a crowd. Stick with the Christmas theme and serve up a big cheese ball decked out like an ornament. Soft cheese coated in dried herbs like red pepper or parsley is a festive and delicious appetizer for your ugly sweater party. 

4. Walk the Red Carpet

The most important part of any ugly sweater party is showcasing the sweaters of course. Make sure everyone gets a good look at all the tacky, hilarious and slightly hideous designs by making a small runway for each person to strut.

Take pictures and cheer each model on before voting on the best ugly sweater.

5. Movie Marathon

There are so many nostalgic Christmas or holiday movies to watch when the weather changes, and your ugly sweater party is the perfect time to let them roll. You can make it a movie-watching party or simply have them on in the background for extra festive ambiance. 

6. Make Your Own Ugly Sweater Station

For a small to medium-sized group of people, adding an ugly sweater decorating station is a fun way to make your party interactive. Guests can show up with a relatively plain turtleneck or sweater to serve as the base for their designs. Provide things like felt sheets and scissors, pom poms tinsel and hot glue guns or pins. 

Spend your time snacking, sipping and creating your tackiest holiday creation. This is one of the most memorable ugly sweater party activities out there and takes the pressure off of finding one at a thrift store.

7. DIY Garland

Any and all holiday preparations make the perfect activity for your ugly sweater party, like homemade garlands or wreaths. Find the supplies at your local craft store and you can always request that your guests bring a few items as well. 

Set up stations for people to glue and pin together cute holiday garlands or miniature wreaths made out of tinsel or faux greenery. They will love and cherish their designs for years to come. 

8. Gift Exchange

Turn your ugly sweater party into a holiday gift exchange. Build the anticipation by having your friends draw a name out of a hat before the party. See if they can guess who picked them based on the gift.

There are plenty of variations of Christmas gifting to incorporate if this doesn’t work for you. Or, go the white elephant route and give unique Christmas gifts to friends or coworkers. 

9. Make Homemade Ornaments

Making your own ornaments is just one more way to get crafty at your ugly sweater party. Puff paint pens or draw-on glitter paint are an easy and cheap way to decorate your own ornaments.

Other supplies like acrylic paint and brushes, tinsel or little puff balls belong on your craft table as well. If you take this seriously, you just might end up with the perfect, homemade Christmas gift for mom.

10. Christmas Karaoke

Karaoke is one of the easiest and cheapest party activities for your ugly sweater party. Stick to purely holiday jams as you sip and sing your hearts out. You don’t need a fancy karaoke machine either, as most of these classic songs offer singalong versions online and a plug-in microphone is easy to find.

11. Create a Collaborative Party Playlist

Good music is essential to a good party, and your ugly sweater party is no exception. Make sure everyone gets to hear their favorite song by creating a collaborative playlist on Spotify or Apple Music ahead of time.

If you don’t want to go the collaborative route, just make sure to set aside some time in the days leading up to your party to put together a well-thought-out playlist to set the right vibe. 

12. Christmas Pictionary

Board games are always fun and they give your guests something to do other than eat, drink and be merry at your ugly sweater party. A round or two of Christmas pictionary is sure to bring out the competitive fire in more than one friend. You can also play Christmas charades with no game supplies necessary. 

13. Go Skating

If you live somewhere where the lakes (or ponds) freeze over, tell your friends to bring their skates for your ugly sweater party. After a game or two of pond hockey or just skating around in circles, everyone will be ready to come inside for some hot chocolate and party snacks. 

Ugly Sweater Party Decorations

14. Make it Tacky

After finding the ugliest sweater money can buy at your local thrift store, pick up a few extras. Additional sweaters can be saved for next year, and they make the best ugly sweater party decorations, hung up on the wall or laid down in the middle of your table. Find the gaudiest, tackiest tableware possible and if none of it matches? That’s even better.

15. Gift Wrapped Doors

Buy a few rolls of cheap gift wrap from the store and add some over-the-top Christmas cheer by gift-wrapping the doors of your house. It’s a lot easier than you think to add this quick decoration to your ugly sweater party, plus for those who have never been to your home, you can let them know the bathroom is the one with the red and white striped wrapping paper on it.

16. Awkward Photos

People love to study and recreate the Awkward Family Photos series, and this can be a fun decoration or activity for your ugly sweater party. Snap photos on a Polaroid or your iPhone and host a fun little contest. 

You can hang a bunch of these hilariously uncomfortable photos on a garland as some cheap and easy décor and entertainment. 

17. Photo Booth

Make your own photo booth with or without a Polaroid camera to snap pictures. An empty wall is the perfect place to hang buffalo plaid tablecloths, copious amounts of tinsel and whatever else you like. Showcasing your outfit in front of this wall is like a rite of passage at your ugly sweater party.

18. Get Festive Drink Charms

You never know what you’ll come across at your local craft store or holiday market that could double as a useful party decoration. With multiple people walking around talking, snacking and drinking, you’ll need something to help people keep track of which glass is theirs.

Find some teeny tiny elf dolls to make a hilarious wine charm or drink topper. Make tiny cocktail skewers with shiny puff balls or snowballs for your ugly sweater party; one of many cheap and fun DIY Christmas decorations.

19. Cozy Beverage Station

Your adorable holiday-themed beverage station doubles as a refreshment spot and festive décor at your ugly sweater party. Set up a small folding table with a cute tablecloth to offer homemade hot chocolate, complete with all the holiday toppings like whipped cream, chocolate-covered marshmallows, a dusting of cinnamon or a sprinkle of red hots, served in cute cups of course. 

This can easily be done for an alcoholic beverage of your choice as well, to make it an ugly sweater party for adults. Check out festive holiday cocktails ahead of time to plan for an extravagant dessert cocktail or a big bundt pan ice cube to chill your holiday punch.

Hosting your first holiday party together is a rite of passage, and a really fun Christmas date idea (maybe not the first date, though). As soon as the temperatures start dropping, you’ve got the green light to plan your ugly sweater party. 

The best part about it, whether you lean into a swanky cocktail affair or a comfy pajama party, is that no one really has to stress about what to wear. You can host just about any type of party you like and add on the ugly sweater dress code.

For even more fun party ideas, check out other experiences happening on Classpop!