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Sorry, but these days, something you pull out of your mom’s closet isn’t going to win any Ugly Christmas Sweater contests. Although you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing those Walmart clothing atrocities on any other occasion, people are really stepping it up when it comes to creating truly revolting holiday ensembles, usually complete with flashing lights, garland, and bells. If you want to compete for the prize, you have to DIY.
Ugly Christmas Sweaters (and Ugly Hanukkah Sweaters or any Ugly Holiday Sweaters) are actually the perfect DIY project because you literally can’t screw it up. The uglier, the better.
Nevertheless, here’s the step-by-step how to:
1. Pick a theme.
Your sweater can resemble anything from a Christmas tree or reindeer to a present or chimney. You can even just stick of photo of your cat with a Santa hat on it. The possibilities are truly endless.
2. Gather supplies.
Grab an old sweater from Goodwill or the back of your closet to breathe new life into. You’ll also want to gather up lights, ribbons, ornaments, bottle caps, tinsel, or whatever else you want to use on your ugly sweater.
3. Plan it out.
It’s tempting to grab the hot glue gun and just start sticking things onto your soon-to-be masterpiece, but resist. Instead, lay out where you want everything to go before gluing or sewing.
4. Go crazy.
Spend the better part of your day ignoring your phone and putting your work of art together. Turn mistakes into wonders – you can’t go wrong when the whole point is to make an ugly sweater.
5. Show it off.
The final step is to wear your Ugly Sweater with pride. Bring home that prize, champ!
Check out these truly heinous sweaters for some inspiration.
If DIY-ing your Ugly Christmas Sweater sounds too taxing, you can always just purchase one of these hilarious ready-to-buy creations.
