This Christmas, make light of those stressful family situations and the money that comes with finding perfect gifts by wearing the ugliest, most obnoxiously-decorated sweater you can find.  

Can’t find one? Get creative and make one yourself. It will remind you not to take life too seriously and that the little things in life that bother us don’t really matter at all.

Trends in pop culture tend to show that fashion is cyclical, which means that what was once popular in one decade, might not be popular in the next decade, but instead might come back in style 20 years from now. Ironically, the ugly sweater trend began with prominent TV personas with questionable taste.

I know you’re probably wondering, since when did wearing ugly sweaters become a thing?  The trend began approximately in the ‘80s on the family sitcom “The Cosby Show” and from Chevy Chase’s holiday classic “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” according to an article in TIME. It was very common for relatives to give the Scroogy gift to their kin. I wonder if our elders actually took some kind of perverse joy in making us wear the trifecta color wheel of hideousness.

Not only for girls, ugly sweaters can make guys suffer too. Remember the young character of Ralphie from “A Christmas Story?” Well, in this extreme example, for Christmas Ralphie’s aunt Clara gives him a pink bunny suit. Then to make matters worse, Ralphie’s mom made him wear the onesie with bunny ears sticking out of both his hood and feet. I cringed for the poor soul.

Another example is when Colin Firth in the movie “Bridget Jones’ Diary” wears a Rudolph embellished sweater his mother gave him to a Christmas party, according to the same article in TIME. Oh, the embarrassment of a grown man wearing such decorated ensemble.

Indeed Christmas sweaters were a fashion faux pas until it began snowballing in the beginning of the 21^st century when bloggers and comedians such as Jimmy Fallon poked fun at the sweaters.

Recently, blogger Anne Marie Blackman noticed that the sweaters were being sold like crazy and therefore decided to make her very own online ugly Christmas sweater business, which attracted more than 1 million website visitors last year, according to myuglychistmassweater.com. Other websites offer do-it-yourself sweater decorating kits, such as the Retrofit Ugly Christmas Sweater Kit that comes with a long-sleeve red or green sweater and all the little-kid arts and crafts materials you could want.

However, you don’t need a kit. Stores such as JoAnne’s, Michaels, and even Walmart can provide you with the tools of your own personal choice. If sewing isn’t your forte, then buy a blank Hanes sweater in the color you like and use stencils and spray paint to put words on your sweater.

Also, keep in mind that you can always glue gun virtually anything you would like. Heck, throw some Christmas lights if you’re one of those people who are hard core about getting in the spirit of Christmas.  The great part about building your own is that it does not matter if you mess up and your sweater does not come out exactly as you had envisioned it. 

I mean, it’s supposed to be ugly, after all.

Wear it ugly and wear it proud.