My Famous Christmas Sweater Collection

This is the blog post you’ve been waiting for. Yea, even my most-requested blog post. My Famous Christmas Sweater Collection.

When I was around 11 or 12 years old, my awesome mom found some Christmas sweaters at the DI. She, my sister, and I sported them here and there throughout the season. It was the 1990s, after all, and Christmas sweaters were kind of (maybe) still a real thing, not a joke.

At first, I really did like some of my sweaters (I was the kind of young girl who mostly wore tennis shoes, jeans, and a T-shirt with a screen print of ducks on a pond or a little needlepoint/cross-stitch home with a “Home is where the heart is” sign. You can tell it’s real by the specificity). I remind you it was the 90s.

As I grew older, I started to settle into my weirdness. I love Christmas and I liked a little entertainment on the side. As the sweaters went out of fashion, I refused to retire them, even though my mum and sister eventually did. This was OK because it allowed my collection to grow.

My sweaters saw me through high school. They graced my college years. And they’ve now been a solid part of my work environment for 8 years. And I wear them every day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you teach school?

NO! Why is there an automatic assumption that someone who wears Christmas sweaters in real life is an elementary school teacher? It’s not fair that they get a free pass at weird and I don’t.

Do you have one for every day of the month?

Nearly. I currently have 23 sweaters/turtlenecks/a dress. My collection is a work in progress.

Where do you get your sweaters?

Deseret Industries, the Ogden Valley Charity Garage Sale, other garage sales, and random people who find out about my collection and feel a desire to donate to my cause. Ugly sweaters are the cool thing these days and you can buy them in lots of stores, but mine are more authentic because they were legit sweaters at one point in time, not designed to be ugly.

Do you wear them to work?

Yes. But not all of them. Because I’ve been in the same workplace for 8+ years, my sweaters have almost become a part of our office Christmas. Every year, I think, “Man, can I really do this again?” And every year, around November, co-workers start asking, “So, uh, when do the Christmas sweaters come out?” I am expected to wear them and everyone loves them. Because I’m serious about it, I line up my sweaters in rank order from tame to wild, leaving the best for last of all the game. But…some of them are, well, not pretty at all. I do have a small sense of decorum, and there are a few that I won’t wear to work. And on days I have important meetings, I opt for a simple red and green matchy-match outfit instead of the sweaters because that’s really mature and professional.

Do you wear them to Church?

Obvi. The reindeer dress is a particular favorite as it’s a one size fits all and one year we even got the roommates to wear it one Sunday each in December. #success

Do you really think all your sweaters are ugly?

Yeah, well, it depends on who you ask. Lots of people I know wear very similar sweaters and they’re serious about them. And they actually look fine on them. And festive! But I’m 32 and single, so I don’t think people look at me in these sweaters and say, “Ah yes, that is one classy lady and it makes no sense why she’s single.” If you’re uncomfortable with the word “ugly”, other words like “fun”, “festive”, “cute”, and “interesting” are words used to describe my sweaters.

Are you ever afraid these sweaters hurt your chances at finding a date during the holiday season?

Absolutely. Sometimes I go to normal parties and am overly conscious of what I’m wearing and wonder, “Why do I always have to be so weird?” But, hey, I can’t get a date when I’m wearing normal clothes, so why not just be who I am. ALSO, 2/3 (not a reduced fraction. Actually 2 out of 3 so take this for what it’s worth) of the guys I’ve dated were guys I dated through the holiday season, and they were fine with my sweaters. So there.

But, you didn’t come here to read about my sweaters, you came to see them.

Photo Credit: Leah Stitt

Location Credit: Grandparentals’ home

Weird ideas for pictures credit: nieces and nephew (see if you can find them in some of the pictures)

The Collection

Sweaters “appropriate” for work

 

 

 

 

 

Sweatshirt Central (Not work appropriate)

The Turtleneck/Home-sewn Jumper Duo of Delight

 

The Grand Finale: The Reindeer Dress

 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!