Ugly sweater party games

A contest, a few sweater games, and a couple of holiday classics. Everything you need for the night, nothing you don't.

The sweaters are the main event, so build the night around them. Run the contest first while everyone's fresh, then roll into games. Each one below has a line on how to play and what you need.

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Contest categories

Pick five or six so lots of people win something.

Ugliest overall. The one that made the room gasp.
Most handmade. Glue gun, felt, and real effort.
Best lights. Anything that blinks, glows, or needs batteries.
Most 3D. Pom-poms, bells, stuffed reindeer, whatever sticks out.
Best pun or slogan. Words on the sweater earn extra credit.
Best duo or group. Matching sweaters, couples, or a whole department.
Most likely to be worn again. Ugly, but secretly cute.

How to judge

Let guests vote. Hand out slips when people arrive; they write a name next to each category and drop it in a bowl.
Or use a judging panel. Pick two or three people who aren't competing. Have them walk the room and score.
Do a runway walk. Each contestant gets a 10-second strut to music. Fast, funny, and it gets everyone in one place.
Announce winners together. Read all categories at once so the night keeps moving.
Keep prizes small. Candy canes, dollar-store crowns, or a paper certificate work fine.

0:00 Arrivals: Hand out voting slips and name tags.
0:20 Runway: Everyone walks; voters fill in slips.
0:35 Games: Two sweater games while you count votes.
0:55 Awards: Announce winners in every category.
1:05 Holiday games: One or two group games to finish.

Sweater-themed games

Sweater scavenger hunt. Call out a feature ("find a sweater with a reindeer") and the first person to point at one scores. Need: a list of 15 to 20 features.
Decorate-a-sweater relay. Teams race to decorate a plain sweater or paper sweater cutout with craft supplies, one item per runner. Need: plain sweaters or paper cutouts, tape, tinsel, pom-poms, stickers.
Sweater swap race. Pairs race to swap sweaters with each other, ugliest-on-top style. First pair fully dressed wins. Need: the sweaters they're wearing.
Guess whose sweater. Before the party, guests send a photo of their sweater on a hanger; show them one by one and guess the owner. Need: photos and a screen or printouts.
Count the ornaments. Hold up a busy sweater for 10 seconds, then have everyone guess how many decorations it has. Closest wins. Need: one very busy sweater, paper and pens.

Holiday games for the rest of the night

Sketch & Guess: Holiday Edition. Two teams take turns; the drawer picks a holiday word card and has 60 seconds to get their team to guess it, no letters or numbers. Need: paper and pens. Works for 4 to 20.
Crowd Picks. Read a quick question, everyone secretly writes an answer, and teams predict the crowd's favorite before you tally. Need: slips of paper and about 5 minutes of prep. Works for 6 to 30.
Christmas song charades. Act out a song title without words; your team guesses. Need: song titles on slips.
Pass the parcel. Pass a gift wrapped in layers while music plays; whoever holds it when the music stops removes one layer. Need: a small prize, wrapping paper, music.

Host tips

Tell guests about the contest in the invite so nobody shows up in a plain sweater.
Keep a couple of spare ugly sweaters by the door for anyone who forgets.
Put the voting bowl somewhere obvious and give a "votes close" time.
If someone hates the spotlight, let them skip the runway and still be eligible.

That's it. Pick your categories, print the slips, and let the sweaters do the talking.

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