Calm down. We’ve all been there. You’ve been invited to a friend/coworker/mother-in-law’s “Ugly Christmas Sweater” party, and while it sounds like a hoot and a half, you just don't have time to scour local thrift stores for said ugly sweater. Well, cheer up, you grumpy ol’ misfit toy. Brother and sister Martha and Jack McCarthy will save your holly, jolly heinie with their online store UltimateUglyChristmas.com, based out of their parents basement in Wauwatosa, Wis.

 

Jack and Martha McCarthy

"Each year, more and more people are buying ugly sweaters and trying to outdo their friends in having the ugliest sweater," Martha said. "We just scavenge for the good ones, put up some photos and funny descriptions, and ship them all across the country."

Just about any Christmas sweater could be considered ugly in post-ironic America, but people are willing to pay top dollar for the truly garish and cheesy ones that are busy with color and patterns, and trimmed with bells, Santas, sequins, holly, mittens, stockings, reindeers, teddy bears, wreaths, presents, snowmen, candy canes, nutcrackers - you get the idea.

For years, these were considered festive and cute, especially by your grandmother. Now, to the young and hip, they're so ugly they're cool. Since the craze began about four years ago, ugly Christmas sweater parties and pub crawls show no sign of letting up.

That's good news for Jack and Martha, who are laughing all the way to these parties and the bank. ...

– JSOnline.com (12-18-11) via AsSeenInWI.com

The McCarthy kids scavenge through resale shops in the Milwaukee area for the sweaters,
brother Jack and his friends model the merchandise, and sister Martha markets it all online. The sweater prices range from $19–$45. They call everything unisex because (obviously) the worse a sweater fits, the funnier it gets. However, Martha did tell JSOnline, "It seems like the women's sweaters have the most tackiness and are most ugly basically." So true.

Photos: UltimateUglyChristmas.com