Last night, I attended my first-ever Ugly Sweater Party. The invitation instructed we come dressed in our ugliest sweater, bring an appetizer to share and arrive ready to play Bunko. Believe it or not, I had a hard time coming up with something I thought would fit the bill. It’s certainly a switch of mindset when you go to your closet intent on finding something ugly as opposed to something flattering. Not having had time to flock to the thrift stores like some of the participants, and in a moment of “it’s almost time for the party” panic, I threw up my hands and searched my husband’s side of the closet. And yes, I did find something there. It’s really not THAT ugly. In fact, I’ve always liked this sweater on him. But…I probably wouldn’t grab it for me if I were looking to flatter myself. However (and I think Troy will be glad to know this) I did NOT win the Ugly Sweater Contest. I didn’t even win second prize, or third. But I did take photos of the other gals in their ugly sweaters and thought it might be fun to give you a chance to vote for your fav. Later, I’ll reveal the real “winner” (as well as your pick) and tell you about my first-ever chance to play Bunko and the cool prize I won for my 6-1 victory. (By the way, Mom, I just read your email saying you had a great Bunko night, too. I finally know what you’re talking about…guess we both were on a Bunko roll the same night!)
A few quick related stories to share. When one of the gals walked into the party, one of the other partygoers said, “Hey, I used to own that sweater!” Apparently she’d brought it to a local thrift store a while ago and, well, seems it found its way back to her in a roundabout way. It was a happy, knee-slapping “reunion.”
Another participant reported that when she brought her ugly-sweater purchase up to the counter at the thrift shop, the cashier remarked, quite seriously, “What a lovely sweater.” To which she thought to herself: “Gee, that wasn’t the reaction I was looking for. Guess I don’t have much of a chance of winning grand prize!” Which just goes to show that whether something is ugly or not is strictly a matter of opinion. Beauty is, indeed, in the eye of the beholder, or sweater-wearer.
Above is a rather fuzzy photo of me wearing the hot-pink, fuzzy Bunko “winners’ dice” around my neck, and below, the contestants (minus me) in the ugly sweater lineup. NOTE: In order to protect the identity and reputations of the women caught sneaking out of their homes wearing their horridly ugly sweaters, I have cropped out their faces. Leave comments with your choices if you wish!
#1: 
#2: 
#3: 
#4:
#5:
#6:
#7:
#8:
#9: 
#10: 
#11: 
My Grandmother-in-law used to buy me a number 2 every year for Christmas. And as she wears sweaters like that…..I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I would never wear that. I’m pretty much a blue black gray dresser. So where she figured that I would ever wear something with snowmen or sparkly Santas, I’ll never guess. Finally she just stopped buying them. I found out this year….that my Sisterella who is her hair dresser told her that I never wore any of them. To which I am eternally grateful.
Wow, that is a whole mess of ugly sweaters. I am going to vote for #10 as the champion and I hope that it was a self made creation for this event only. Otherwise I question any person who places brown fringe in an armpit! LOL
Tami, I’ve received my fair share of “interesting” sweaters through the years, too. 🙂 Now I realize it was a waste to get rid of them. I could have won the grand prize.
Liz, I am going to make sure the winner, #10, reads your comments. 🙂 Her mom-in-law added her touches to the sweater to ensure ugliness!