THE TRADITION of ugly Christmas sweaters has been around for years and is great fun with friends and family. Every year, everyone tries to find the most ridiculous sweater possible — think flashing lights, reindeer, snowmen, Santa Claus, and even little 3D decorations. Part of the fun is seeing how creative or extravagant everyone can be. These traditions have been around in families and family competitions for generations.
The best part is that it doesn’t matter if your sweater is ugly or weird; what matters is having fun and feeling the Christmas spirit. Christmas parties are a big reason some people dress up in ugly sweaters. “My family and I don’t have an ugly Christmas sweater party, but I know that at my parents’ work parties, they dress up every year. I always see them wearing sweaters with lights, reindeer, and other Christmas decorations. This year, my mom even ripped up her ugly sweater and put an elf on it, and she won the best sweater contest,” Sofia Gonzales (11) said.
Some Lancers like to dress up with their friends in ugly sweaters. “I like to wear ugly sweaters with my friends. The uglier and crazier the sweater, the better, and we always take lots of pictures,” Liam Thompson (9) said. Ugly sweaters make for a lot of fun with family. “This year, my dad wore a Santa Claus sweater that moved, and he wore it for a month, then showed it to my whole family. It’s definitely one of my favorite Christmas traditions,” Thompson said.
Ugly Christmas sweaters are an evergreen tradition. “My family has a big tradition around ugly Christmas sweaters, so I grew up with it. Now, at school, I love seeing everyone else embrace the tradition, too. It’s one of the few times of the year that it’s totally OK to look silly on purpose, and it makes December way more festive,” Gabriela Morales (11) said. “I always look forward to the laughs, the decorations, and the goofy holiday photos with friends,” she added.
Many Lancers put a lot of effort into their sweaters. “I love the creativity, some of them have lights, moving parts, or are just super weird. It’s funny, and it makes the holidays feel more exciting. It’s also cool to see how much effort people put into their sweaters, and it always makes me smile when everyone starts laughing together. Ugly sweaters really bring people together in a fun and silly way during the holidays,” Daniel Herrera (10) said.
Professor Allan Kendall noticed that few students wore sweaters on Ugly Sweater Day. “I wore an ugly sweater this year for Ugly Sweater Day, and I noticed that almost no one else wanted to wear one. For my sweater, I used lots of Christmas decorations like lights, bells, and snowmen. My students really liked my ugly sweater idea, and many thought I had bought my sweater like that, but I made it all from scratch with my cardigan,” he said.
Performers in the winter concert took their holiday fits to new levels of ugliness with glitter, lights, and decorations.
Many of the students at Granger High School don’t like to wear ugly sweaters during the holidays because they look ridiculous or old-fashioned. But as Lancers saw during Christmas spirit week, many teachers wore sweaters they had designed themselves with a lot of creativity. Many students used it as a joke and embraced the point of having fun, regardless of what others thought. The good thing is that many people understood the point of having fun during the Christmas season.
