How Actor Jim Carrey Was Involved in the Birth of New England’s Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties

We've all been to an ugly Christmas sweater party, and let's be honest, some of them are a blast as long as you're not trying to impress anyone with your fashion sense, but rather how hideous you can dress.

I've been to one in Boston and one in Portsmouth this season. I even saw parties at restaurants in Portland with everyone donning their ugliest Xmas sweater.

At this point, we either have these ridiculous sweaters (possibly several of them) in our closets over the years from such parties, or we've grown beyond ugly to outrageous, expensive, or elaborate. Either way, they're not typical fashion statements unless they involve a party, and many of us have our grandparents to thank for them (particularly the truly ugly ones we never really wanted).

So it should come as no surprise that senior citizens ignited the idea that college students then took further. Inspired by their love of actor Jim Carrey's outrageous sweater in the movie Dumb and Dumber, the first ugly Christmas sweater party commenced in 2002, according to Mental Floss.

It happened when residents of a retirement home in Vancouver, Canada, started pulling out their crazy Christmas sweaters, wearing them, and showing them off, eventually trying to outdo each other. The more ostentatious the sweater, the better.

According to HuffPost Canada, one of the employees at the retirement home was a college student who loved seeing the fun the residents were having, and thus, the idea was born.

But he and his friends wanted to go even uglier and more absurd. Enter their love for Jim Carrey and the movie Dumb and Dumber, where the characters wear hilariously gaudy Xmas sweaters.

The party started small with a few friends, but soon grew in popularity. The gatherings were then moved to larger venues like local pubs in the Vancouver area, and finally Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom, according to HuffPost Canada. Eventually, they became a worldwide trend.

Now, you may be thinking you recall seeing ugly Christmas sweaters in '80s movies like Christmas Vacation. You did. However, when they started getting mass-produced back then, they were known as jingle ball sweaters. And no, they're not something you'd ever wear in public unless forced. Now we can't get enough of them in public, as long as a party is involved.