Brian Miller - Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book: The Definitive Guide to Getting Your Ugly On

EDITOR: Jennifer Levesque
DESIGNER: Glenn Gontha at Gontha Design Studio
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Alison Gervais

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Miller, Brian.
Ugly Christmas sweater party book : the definitive guide to getting your ugly on/
Brian Miller, Adam Paulson, and Kevin Wool, a.k.a. Team Ugly of UglyChristmasSweaterParty.com .
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8109-9752-3 (alk. paper)
1. ChristmasHumor. 2. Clothing and dressHumor. I. Paulson, Adam. II. Wool, Kevin. III. Title.
PN6231.C36M55 2011
793.22dc22
2010046228

Text copyright 2011 Ugly Ventures, LLC
All photographs copyright 2011 Ugly Ventures, LLC, except the photographs on pages

Published in 2011 by Abrams Image, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sysatem, or transmitted in any for by any means, mechanical,
electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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Introduction:
The Legend and Lore of the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

Many subjects are often disputed across the landscape of this great nation. Issues relating to politics, foreign policies, and even athletics have been topics that have dominated many disputes. But recently a new argument has polarized the masses: Where was the first Ugly Christmas Sweater Party held?

Solid arguments have been made as to where and when this phenomenon was spawned. Folks in Kansas City have waved their BBQ-saucestained hands in protest as they are convinced that the idea originated there, while the fine citizens of San Francisco have spit out mouthfuls of Rice-A-Roni at the claims that the tradition started anywhere other than northern California. Countless students claim the first parties were thrown at their respective colleges or universities, and many families swear that their annual Christmas gatherings, whether accidentally or purposely, are the true birthplace of the parties.

In our quest to uncover the truth, our research has taken us far and wide. For well over forty-five minutes, we dug through dozens of periodicals, gossip magazines, and old photographs and came up empty-handed. We came to the conclusion that just as we will never know who invented the George Foreman Grill, we may never truly know who threw the first Ugly Christmas Sweater Partybut we have a pretty good idea of where it was held.

In 2001, while Americans were trying to figure out what to do with the surplus of food they stockpiled for the Y2K crisis that never was, our neighbors to the north were trying to figure out what to do with the surplus of Ugly Christmas Sweaters that they had amassed since Canada was founded in 1867. It turns out some creative Canucks from Vancouver not only found an answer to their nations most pressing issue, but started what has become the fastest-growing holiday tradition.

It has only been during the past few years that the popularity of Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties has taken off. The huge surge of interest has been attributed to the beginning of www.UglyChristmasSweaterParty.com in 2007. The website was started to get the word out that theres actually a use for those Christmas sweaters that Grandma keeps buying you. It has since evolved into the worlds premier stop for all things Ugly-Christmas-Sweaterrelated. Often imitated but never duplicated, www.UglyChristmasSweaterParty.com has become the foremost authority in the Ugly Christmas Sweater industry.

Over the years, we have acquired an abundance of Ugly Christmas Sweater Party knowledge. So we decided it was time to share our treasure map to happiness with you lucky folks who hold this guide in your hands, so that you can throw the best Ugly Christmas Sweater Party of all time.

Ugly is the new black, so getting people to come to your party shouldnt be tough. Well walk you through choosing which type of party to plan, when to schedule it, and how to get the word out.

Its often said that variety is the spice of life, and Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties are no exception. Everywhere you look during the holidays, Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties seem to be, well, everywhere! People are turning charity events, office parties, family get-togethers, even pub crawls into Ugly Christmas Sweater Party extravaganzas. Your mission, should you choose to accept hosting duties, is to pick whichever type of party works best for you and your potential guests.

The most popular form of Ugly Christmas Sweater Party is the charity fundraising event. Hosting a charity event is a great way to benefit your community, involve local businesses, and even get Too Cool Tracy (SEE ) to don her ugliest sweater. The downside to this type of party is youll be taking on a lot of extra duties as hostfrom finding a deserving charity to securing a location and soliciting local businesses for raffle prizes. Your job will seem never-ending. All the same, the rewards may well be worth it. To ensure a great night of fun and increase your odds of raising a chunk of charitable change that you can feel proud of, consider the following:

Start planning two months ahead of time.

Decide if the event will be private or open to the public.

If youre holding the event at a bar or restaurant, ask the owner if he or she will match cash donations collected at the door, or if the establishment will provide a special menu and donate the proceeds.