I love the holidays; the smell, the snow, but most importantly, the sweaters. Ugly holiday sweaters are a tradition in my family as well as at New Trier. When the holidays roll around, there’s no telling what you might see in the hallways. Junior Annie Sheehan shares this excitement. “My friend has one with actual 3D presents on it.”

Many Trevians like to show their holiday spirit by dressing up. Senior Chloe Madvig said that her sweater is “a vest that has a teddy bear on it and also has little bells that jingle.” Sophomore Maggie Lake likes to wear holiday sweaters as well. She said that she “wears one that has a giant snowflake on it and sparkles. Sheehan said, “I love them, they’re so spirited.” Lake agrees, “They are so fun and a great way to show holiday spirit.”

However, junior Jessica Bleiweis thinks that “they’re all right but people over do it.”

There are many factors that go into making a sweater ugly. Junior Lizzie Schaff thinks that an ugly sweater is “an ugly material like wool or an ugly color like puke green or florescent red.” She added that it could also have “weird patterns with weird animal characters.”

Senior Britney Schuldt added that an ugly holiday sweater had to have “an elaborate design and [look like] something your grandma would wear.” Sophomore Jen Fishman agreed with the idea that it had to be busy saying, “I think the fact that there is way too much going on in one sweater makes it ugly.”

Madvig also said that it was not just one thing, but a compilation of many wrongs. “It’s a combination; it has to be a unique pattern. Material is also important.”

Since these sweaters are fairly common at New Trier, especially the Friday before winter break, it’s hard to tell if students are wearing them seriously. Sheehan thought that “it’s a joke for sure.” Bleiweis had a slightly different view on them:”I think it’s a serious joke, because people actually like the sweaters they have, but they play it off as a joke so they don’t feel uncomfortable.”

Though often ridiculed, there is a significant number of students and faculty that rock the holiday sweater look. Madvig said that “All the cool people do.”

So, if you are looking for an ugly holiday sweater, or if you want to be “cool,” look no further. There are a variety of different places that you can go to get an ugly holiday sweater, from big-name stores like Bloomingdales to Chicago second-hand locations like Ragstock and Hollywood Mirror. There are many different places to shop for an ugly sweater, and if you can’t find one here, you always the option to raid your mom or grandma’s closet for one.