Tag Archives: Ugly Christmas Sweater

Thursday Thoughts

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It’s Not Just for Dessert Anymore
Last Sunday after Mass we stopped for breakfast at Steak ‘n Shake Restaurant, which is right next door to the church. It’s quick and inexpensive – darnright cheap, in fact – and isn’t half bad. Anyway, we began looking at our menus, and suddenly I saw the placard on the table which read Breakfast Shakes – Solving the breakfast problem. First of all, I didn’t really realize that breakfast was such a problem. Maybe it isn’t for me because I’m retired. Perhaps working people begin stressing about the problem of breakfast the night before. Maybe it even keeps some people awake. But Steak ‘n Shake has your back. You can have cereal and milk all in one beverage. Oh, and don’t forget the ice cream. Because you see, it’s a breakfast milk shake: milk, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, and ice cream. Breakfast of champions…..

It frankly didn’t even sound remotely good to me. However, the peppermint shake with chocolate chips did. I will return sometime before the holidays are over and the peppermint shakes are gone until next year.

Binge
I rarely binge-watch a television program. That isn’t to say that I won’t sit down and watch several programs in a row in the afternoon while I’m crocheting. But I usually like to hop around. But the other day, I sat down to watch Season 3 of Broadchurch, the gripping Netflix mystery that takes place in a little seaside town in England. Each season, there is one mystery that the two detectives solve over the course of eight episodes. This season it was a violent rape of one of the citizens of the small town. I literally sat on my chair and watched all eight episodes in a row. I simply had to find out who was guilty of the crime. As in Seasons 1 and 2, the solution was a total surprise. I won’t give it away, but I recommend this program. Just make sure you have enough time in your day!

It Isn’t Ugly; It’s Just Seasonal
I got a telephone call the other day from Adelaide. Nana, she said, Sunday is our annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Day with our youth group. Can Alastair and Dagny and I borrow one of your Christmas sweaters? You might remember that they borrowed sweaters last year for the same purpose. I agreed, managing not to be insulted by the request. The truth is, I went through a period where I bought a new Christmas sweater every year, and the more garish it was, the better I liked it. So the two girls came over later and selected their sweaters, choosing one of my sweaters for their brother. They returned them on Tuesday, and proudly informed me that Dagny won the prize for the ugliest sweater. I admit I teared up; maybe it was from pride but maybe it was from embarrassment.

Open For Business
One of the new pieces of furniture I bought for our family room was a coffee table. Our old table didn’t work with the new colors. I selected one that not only had storage on the bottom, but opened up to be a table. I envisioned times when I would work at my computer while watching television. In fact, it’s Cole who broke it in earlier this week, using it as his lunch table as he watched Boss Baby……

Ciao.

The Ugly Side of Christmas

Posted in Whimsies by

Ho, Ho, Ho, there’s really nothing better
Than a beautiful girl in an ugly Christmas sweater
Ho, Ho, Ho, and now I can’t forget her
That beautiful girl in an ugly Christmas sweater – Garth Brooks and John Michael Martin

Singer Andy Williams and his brothers proudly wear their Christmas sweaters. Admittedly, this was back in the 1960s.

Singer Andy Williams and his brothers proudly wear their Christmas sweaters back circa 1960.

For as long as I can recall – at least in my adult life — beginning on Thanksgiving Day and going on through Christmas Day, I have worn a Christmas sweater. There was a time when I owned so many Christmas sweaters that I could just about wear a different sweater to work every day during that period of time.

As you can imagine, in order to own that many sweaters, they can’t all be tastefully designed. In fact, you might be in the rather large camp that believes there is no such thing as a tasteful Christmas sweater. For much of my adult life, that didn’t matter, because the fact of the matter is that the gaudier they were, the more I liked them. I accented them with holiday-themed turtlenecks, Christmas socks, and Christmas earrings. It became, well, my thing. People would come to my office to see what sweater I was wearing that day. My sweaters ranged from fairly dressy all the way down to sweatshirts (those I saved for the weekends).

A lot of my Christmas sweaters disintegrated with age and had to be tossed away. The bells no longer tinkled when I walked and the Santa lost the cotton ball on the tip of his hat. After I retired, I will admit that I gave away some of the more garish styles to Goodwill, where I’m certain they were purchased and worn as jokes. After all, NOBODY would be seen seriously wearing such attire.

Still, in the boxes that I store under the bed in our guest room live a fair number of Christmas sweaters, and a relatively embarrassing number of them would be considered within most social strata to be eligible for Goodwill.

All of this is background for a story I have to tell you. Late morning on Sunday, my cell phone rang. I was alerted that it was a call from Addie. When I answered, she greeted me unnecessarily with, “Hi Nana. It’s Addie. I have a favor to ask you.”

Hmmmm.

She went on to tell me that later that evening, her youth group at her church was having their annual Christmas party, and the theme was – wait for it – UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS. There was, in fact, a contest for the ugliest sweater.

“Nana, do you have any sweaters that my friends and I could use for our party?” she asked me.

Oh. Do I ever.

You see, I’m not sensitive to the fact that my Christmas sweaters are ugly. I know now – have always known, in fact, that they are garish.

So a bit later, our doorbell rang, and there were Addie and some of her friends to take a gander at my sweater collection.

“Oh my,” they said in unity, and with great awe and, well, joy as they gazed at my sweater collection. So many from which to choose!

Perhaps unnecessarily, I will tell you that the sweaters worn by Addie, Alastair, and their friends were a hit at the Wellshire Presbyterian Youth Group’s Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest. In fact, one of the sweaters won the grand prize for the ugliest Christmas sweater, earning its wearer a $20 gift card and the pride of wearing the ugliest sweater……

Left to right -- Spencer, wearing the prize-winning sweater; Alastair Luci, Addie, and Mettie. Apparently, when it comes to Ugly Sweater Contests, all sweaters are gender-neutral.

Left to right — Spencer, wearing the prize-winning sweater; Alastair, Luci, Addie, and Mettie (who, by the way, is wearing someone else’s sweater; happily, I must not be the only one in possession of such items). Apparently, when it comes to Ugly Sweater Contests, all sweaters are gender-neutral.

I’m happy for him (though frankly, I think the sweater Addie wore should have taken the prize), and delighted that the kids had such a nice time. But now I need my sweaters back so that I can wear them once again!