What are the best ugly sweater contest categories, rules and prizes?
Disclosure: this page contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Oh, you’re in charge of the ugly sweater contest? All hail the Grand Commissioner of Tacky! Somebody has to hold the clipboard, and honestly, it’s the best seat in the house. A good ugly sweater contest comes down to three things: a few awards people actually want to win, rules everybody hears ahead of time, and judges who aren’t competing. Add a tacky ugly sweater trophy and you’ve got a room full of grown adults trying very hard to look terrible.
Short answer: The best ugly sweater contest categories are Ugliest Overall, Funniest, Most Creative, Best DIY and Most Festive, the five awards we found most often across 15 published guides. Use three to five awards, put the rules in the invitation, and let judges who aren’t competing score every sweater the same way.
What are the best ugly sweater contest categories?
The best ugly sweater contest categories are Ugliest Overall, Funniest, Most Creative, Best DIY and Most Festive, because those five turn up most often across the 15 published guides and real contest pages we counted. Ugliest overall leads, named on 11 of the 15 pages.
| Award type | Pages listing it | Share | Wording those pages use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ugliest overall | 11 of 15 | 73% | All-Around Ugliest, Most Hideous, Most Ugly |
| Funniest | 10 of 15 | 67% | Funniest Sweater, Most Funny |
| Most creative or original | 9 of 15 | 60% | Most Creative, Most Original |
| Best DIY or homemade | 8 of 15 | 53% | Best Self-Created Sweater, Best Homemade |
| Most festive | 7 of 15 | 47% | Most Festive, festive |
| Best couple or group | 6 of 15 | 40% | Best Group Sweaters, Best Couple Sweater |
| Best lights or brightest | 5 of 15 | 33% | Best Use of Lights, Brightest Sweater |
| Joke awards | 3 of 15 | 20% | Most Likely to Be Seen from Space |
| Best vintage or thrifted | 2 of 15 | 13% | Best Vintage Find, Best Thrifted |
| Best story behind it | 2 of 15 | 13% | Most Creative Story, Best story behind the ugly sweater |
| Sparkle or tinsel | 2 of 15 | 13% | Best Use of Tinsel, Most Sparkly Sweater |
| Most over-the-top | 2 of 15 | 13% | Most Over-the-Top, Most Ridiculous |
| Crowd favorite | 2 of 15 | 13% | Crowd Favorite, crowd favorite |
| Hanukkah or all-holidays | 2 of 15 | 13% | Best ugly Hanukkah sweater, Best Winter Holiday Sweater |
| Kids or pets | 2 of 15 | 13% | Little Elf Award, Most Festive Pet |
The pattern is clear: a safe ugly sweater contest uses the top five, and a memorable one swaps in one or two from further down. Only 2 of the 15 pages have an award that works for Hanukkah or for every winter holiday, and only 2 have one for kids or pets, so those are easy ways to make your contest feel different and friendlier.
What are funny ugly sweater award names for adults?
The funniest ugly sweater award names are the specific ones. These all come from real lists, so borrow freely:
- Most Likely to Be Seen from Space, The Clark Griswold, Grandma’s Favorite and The Overachiever, from Ugly Sweater Store’s judging guide.
- Prettiest Ugly Sweater, a wonderful contradiction from Trinity Hall’s 2023 contest in New Jersey.
- Best Use of Tinsel and Best Comeback (for a wardrobe malfunction handled with style), from OppoSuits’ contest guide.
- Greatest-traveled ugly sweater, from PaperDirect’s 2013 party guide.
- Most Likely to Make Santa Blush, from Wondermom Wannabe’s printable awards. It’s a cheeky one, so save it for friends.
Two more belong at a party with close friends, not at work: Most Flammable Sweater and Most Rash-Inducing Sweater, both from The Sophisticated Succulent’s award set on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Which ugly sweater categories include people who didn’t buy a sweater?
Best story and best homemade are the two ugly sweater categories that don’t reward spending. Best Story works because anyone can win it with a great tale about a sweater from their closet; PaperDirect suggests judging how it was obtained or reactions it evoked
. Best DIY rewards an evening with a glue gun, and Wondermom Wannabe’s Most Cost-Effective award flips the whole thing into a bargain contest. For a mixed group, use SwaddleAn’s Best Winter Holiday Sweater so everybody’s holiday is welcome.
How many categories should an ugly sweater contest have?
Most ugly sweater contests should have three to five categories, the range Ugly Sweater Store recommends. That’s enough for several winners and few enough that voting stays quick.
More than one award matters, too. SignUpGenius’ office party guide says to Use more than one award
so more people win
, and PaperDirect made the same point back in 2013: you can hold a variety of other contests so as many people as possible receive prizes.
Our rule of thumb, which is just our suggestion: three awards for up to 10 entries, four for 11 to 30, and five for anything bigger. Save the grand prize for the very end, the way Ugly Sweater Store announces Ugliest Overall last.
What rules should an ugly sweater contest have?
An ugly sweater contest needs about eight short rules, and they should go out with the invitation so nobody feels ambushed. Nobody enjoys hearing about a rule after the winner has been announced.
| Rule | Wording you can use | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wear it | The sweater must be worn during judging. | SwaddleAn; OppoSuits |
| 2. What counts | Store-bought, thrifted and homemade all count, and so do vests, cardigans, sweatshirts and holiday tees. | Ours |
| 3. One entry | One entry per person, unless the host announces a group category. | SwaddleAn |
| 4. Sign in on time | Tell the host you’re entering by the start time. | SwaddleAn |
| 5. Keep it kind | No discriminatory, political or crude images or slogans. Cheer for the sweater, never mock the person wearing it. | SwaddleAn; Ugly Sweater Store |
| 6. Fair voting | No voting for yourself, and judges can’t win a category they’re judging. | SwaddleAn |
| 7. Share the wins | One category award per person, plus the grand prize if you earn it. | SwaddleAn |
| 8. Final word | The host’s decision is final. | SwaddleAn |
Rule 2 is deliberately looser than most. OppoSuits says many contests accept only real sweaters, cardigans, pullovers or vests, but a looser rule lets in anyone who runs hot or can’t stand itchy wool. eHow’s judging guide also says to tell people what you’ll be judging, including the categories and prizes, in the invitation itself.
How do you judge an ugly sweater contest fairly?
You judge an ugly sweater contest fairly by scoring every sweater on the same few criteria, with judges who aren’t competing, and then adding up the totals. There’s no official standard, and the published systems all differ, as our table shows.
| Who | Scale | Maximum | What gets scored |
|---|---|---|---|
| Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (2024 form) | 0-10 each, 25% each | 40 | Originality, Creativity, Festiveness, Overall Ugliness |
| Ugly Sweater Store | 1-10 each | 40 | Ugliness, Creativity, Festiveness, Commitment |
| SwaddleAn | 1-10 each | 50 | Ugliness, Creativity, Effort, Holiday spirit, Crowd reaction |
| OppoSuits contest guide | Weighted | 100% | Creativity/Originality 40%, Theme Adherence 20%, Execution/Effort 20%, Audience Response 20% |
| OppoSuits themes guide | Weighted | 100% | Creativity & Originality 35%, Visual Impact 30%, Execution Quality 25%, Entertainment Value 10% |
| eHow | 1-10 or 100 points | 10 or 100 | Your own list of what you announced |
| White Elephant Rules | Judges rank their top 3 | 3 points per judge | First pick 3 points, second 2, third 1 |
Of the five systems that name their criteria, all five score creativity, four score festiveness or theme, four score effort, three score ugliness itself and two score the crowd. Even one retailer doesn’t agree with itself: OppoSuits’ two guides weigh creativity at 40% and 35%.
What is a simple scoring rubric for an ugly sweater contest?
A simple ugly sweater scoring rubric uses five criteria, each scored from 1 to 10 and multiplied so the total comes to 100. This one is Ugly Sweater Party’s own suggestion, built from the pattern above. We gave ugliness the same weight as creativity, because it would be a strange ugly sweater contest otherwise.
| Criterion | What the judge asks | Score | Multiply by | Most points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creativity | Have I seen this idea before? | 1-10 | 3 | 30 |
| Ugliness | Is it gloriously, deliberately awful? | 1-10 | 3 | 30 |
| Festive spirit | Does it shout “holidays”? | 1-10 | 2 | 20 |
| Effort | How much work and nerve went into it? | 1-10 | 1 | 10 |
| Crowd reaction | Did the room laugh or cheer? | 1-10 | 1 | 10 |
Here’s a made-up example of how the math works. Entry 4 is a homemade tinsel reindeer scoring 9, 6, 7, 8 and 9, so it gets 27 + 18 + 14 + 8 + 9 = 76 points. Entry 9 is a thrift-store knit scoring 6, 9, 8, 5 and 8, so it gets 18 + 27 + 16 + 5 + 8 = 74 points. Entry 4 wins by two points, even though Entry 9 is the uglier sweater, because creativity and effort made the difference.
If you have the time, hand the sheet to each judge and add up all their totals at the end. eHow suggests that judges score on their own first, which keeps one loud opinion from steering the others.
Who should judge an ugly sweater contest?
The best ugly sweater contest judges are people who aren’t competing. Ugly Sweater Store puts it plainly: Choose judges who aren’t competing.
It also says it’s fairer for the host to judge or emcee, and suggests a panel of three. Real contests have fun with this: the Tobermory All Seasons Market in Ontario picks 3 market vendors for its Ugly Sweater Beauty Pageant Contest, and Beakers and Ink’s classroom contest lets other teachers choose the favorites.
Should guests vote or should judges decide?
Use judges for the main prize and a guest vote for a crowd favorite, so each group gets a say. Ugly Sweater Store lists all three options: a judging panel, a guest vote, or a mix. A guest vote needs a rule against self-voting, and a Weinberg College staff contest at Northwestern University shows how playful it can be: voters there used chocolate coins as votes in 2023.
How do you break a tie in an ugly sweater contest?
You break a tie in an ugly sweater contest by re-voting on only the tied sweaters, then holding a runway walk-off if they’re still level. Decide the order before the contest starts, so nobody can argue with it later. Here’s the order we suggest:
- Higher creativity score. With our rubric, the sweater with the higher creativity score wins. That’s our own suggestion.
- Re-vote on the tied sweaters only. SwaddleAn recommends this one.
- Runway walk-off. OppoSuits sends tied contestants back out for applause, and Ugly Sweater Store calls it a cheer-off.
- Coin flip. SwaddleAn keeps this as the fallback when time is short.
What are good prizes for an ugly sweater contest?
The best prizes for an ugly sweater contest are small and funny, usually a tacky trophy plus a treat. The bragging rights do most of the work, so nobody needs to spend much.
Confession: we think the trophy matters more than the prize. A spray-painted thrift-store trophy that has to sit on someone’s desk all year? That’s pure joy, and it’s the kind of silly tradition we love most.
- A traveling trophy. SignUpGenius suggests
a funny trophy that passes to a new winner each year
. For a homemade one, Jennifer Rizzo’s DIY ugly sweater trophy starts from a thrift-store trophy, with one joke rule: the winner displays it until next year. Or buy a ready-made ugly sweater trophy. - Ribbons, medals and sashes. Holiday award ribbons and gold medals in bulk work for lots of categories. OppoSuits likes
Ugly Sweater Royalty
sashes, and a custom party sash is an easy way to copy it. - Gag gifts. eHow suggests silly holiday socks or drink koozies, and funny Christmas socks are hard to beat.
- Treats. Ugly Sweater Store and SwaddleAn both list holiday treats, and a coffee gift card is another of SwaddleAn’s picks.
- A good deed. SwaddleAn also suggests a small donation to a charity in the winner’s name.
- Next year’s head start. OppoSuits suggests a DIY kit basket for next year, and Ugly Sweater Store suggests a vintage sweater for the winner to wear next time.
Are ugly sweater contest gift cards taxable at work?
Usually, yes: the IRS treats gift cards from an employer as cash equivalents, not as a small tax-free perk. IRS Publication 15-B (2026) says cash equivalents such as gift cards, no matter how little, are never excludable as a de minimis benefit
, while it does list holiday gifts, other than cash, with a low fair market value. So a trophy or a box of treats is the simpler office prize. If you’re set on gift cards, check with payroll first.
How do you run an ugly sweater contest at work?
You run an ugly sweater contest at work by keeping it optional, keeping it kind, and sending the rules ahead of time. Judge the sweater, never the person wearing it. HR people say the same thing about holiday parties in general; in a 2023 article for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Forrest Hartman reported on advice from David Lewis, president and CEO of OperationsInc:
Lewis added that it’s important for management to communicate expectations to employees in advance and then actively monitor what happens at the party.
For an ugly sweater contest, that means five small steps:
- Keep every part optional. SignUpGenius says it directly:
Keep every game optional.
- Put the dress line in the invitation. HR Insider’s 2013 piece offers a wonderful line you can borrow:
Dress nice, not naughty. Santa will be watching.
- Keep awards about the sweater. SwaddleAn’s office advice is to avoid any prize or category that singles out a colleague’s appearance. SignUpGenius adds:
The goal is to make everyone feel seen, not to embarrass anyone.
- Welcome every holiday. Offer Best Winter Holiday Sweater so a Christmas theme isn’t the only way to win.
- Use safe awards. Our office set is Most Festive, Best DIY, Best Use of Lights, Best Group, Best Winter Holiday Sweater and Ugliest Overall, and it’s the set printed on our office ballot below.
How do you run an ugly sweater contest in a classroom?
You run a classroom ugly sweater contest by having students design a paper sweater, then voting on the results or simply displaying them all. That way no family has to buy anything. Marissa Will’s December 2023 guide for Arizona PBS lays out five steps: define ugly sweaters, set the rules, pass out sweater templates, vote, and display the sweaters. She notes that you can narrow it to the top five, and that the finished sweaters make great hallway decor
.
Beakers and Ink’s classroom guide has students compete for the funniest, most original, festive and creative sweaters, with other teachers choosing the winners. Winners get reward tickets, a candy cane and a certificate, and the teacher warns: I guarantee the hardest part will be the judging!
For real sweaters, Trinity Hall’s 2023 contest used six categories, including Best Self-Created Sweater and Best Group Sweaters. Our classroom ballot below uses four kid-friendly awards: Funniest, Most Creative, Most Festive and Best Homemade.
How do you run a virtual ugly sweater contest?
You run a virtual ugly sweater contest by collecting a photo of each sweater first, showing them on the call, and voting with a poll. Number the photos so voters only have to pick a number. The poll tool depends on what your team already uses:
| Tool | Who can set it up | Useful detail |
|---|---|---|
| Google Forms | Anyone who can make a form | Turn on Limit to 1 responseunder Settings, then Responses. Voters must sign in to a Google Account, and their usernames aren’t recorded unless you collect email addresses. |
| Microsoft Teams polls | Meeting owners and presenters only | A Multiple Choice Poll takes up to 12 answer options, and there’s a Ranking Poll too. For more than 12 sweaters, use a form instead. |
| Zoom meeting polls | A licensed host, with meeting polling turned on | Polls can be anonymous, the host sees results live, and a report can be downloaded afterward. |
Here’s a poll you can paste in. Add one question for each award and list the numbered sweaters as the answers:
- Which sweater is the Most Festive?
- Which sweater wins Best DIY?
- Which sweater has the Best Use of Lights?
- Which sweater is the Ugliest Overall?
How long does an ugly sweater contest take?
An ugly sweater contest takes about 25 minutes with 10 entries and about 45 minutes with 50 entries. Ugly Sweater Store suggests 20 to 30 seconds for each runway walk and 10 to 15 minutes of voting. The table is our own arithmetic, using 30 seconds per walk, 15 minutes of voting and 5 minutes for awards.
| Entries | Runway walks | Voting | Awards | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | ||||
| 25 | ||||
| 50 |
Where can you get free ugly sweater ballots and judging sheets?
You can print our free ugly sweater ballots, judging sheet and certificate right here, with no signup. Each one opens in your browser, ready to print on US Letter paper:
- Office ballot (4 to a page, six HR-friendly awards)
- Classroom ballot (4 to a page, four kid-friendly awards)
- Judge’s scoring sheet (13 entries, with our 100-point rubric and tie-break order)
- Winner’s certificate (landscape, the Certificate of Magnificent Tackiness)
For the paperwork, a few clipboards and a roll of raffle tickets for numbering entries are all you need; ugly sweater party supplies take care of the rest of the room. Be a little careful when you search for other printable ballots, because plenty of “free printable” results are junk pages sitting on hacked websites. For more ideas as we find them, our free newsletter is the place to be.
Now grab your clipboard, Commissioner. Keep it kind, keep it tacky, and may the loudest sweater win.
Sources and further reading
- Ugly Sweater Store: How to Judge an Ugly Sweater Contest (October 19, 2026) — categories, 40-point scoring, judges, cheer-off, timing
- SwaddleAn: Ugly Sweater Contest Rules (October 16, 2026) — rule wording, tie-breaks, office advice
- OppoSuits: Ugly Sweater Contest (Jeff Almond, November 8, 2025) — categories, weighted rubric, walk-off, prizes
- OppoSuits: Contest-Winning Ugly Sweater Themes (Jeff Almond, December 3, 2025) — a second weighted rubric
- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay: 2024 Ugly Sweater Contest Registration and Judging Form — four criteria at 25%, 0-10 points, eligibility rules
- eHow: How to Judge an Ugly Sweater Contest (Kathryn Walsh, updated January 10, 2023) — categories, scoring, prizes
- White Elephant Rules: Beautiful Ideas for an Ugly Sweater Contest (Roberta Jeeves) — 3-2-1 ranking points
- SignUpGenius: Office Christmas Party Games (Trey Mosier) — office advice and awards
- Happily Custom: 60 Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Ideas (Emily, September 24, 2026) — award names
- Wondermom Wannabe: Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Printables (Corinne Schmitt) — award names
- The Sophisticated Succulent: Ugly Holiday Sweater Awards + Ballot (Teachers Pay Teachers) — award names
- PaperDirect Blog: How to Host an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (November 15, 2013) — award names
- Carolina Country: Host a gaudy party to remember (Family Features, December 2014) — award names
- Trinity Hall: Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest 2023 (December 18, 2023) — a real school contest’s categories
- Bruce Peninsula Press: Tobermory All Seasons Market Happy Holidays Market Event (November 26, 2025) — a real market contest
- Announcing Ugly Sweater Contest Award Categories (Shippensburg alumni email) — a real contest’s categories
- Northwestern Weinberg Staff Advisory Board: 2023 WSAB Award Winners (December 6, 2023) — chocolate coin votes
- Jennifer Rizzo: DIY ugly Christmas sweater trophy (December 17, 2015) — a thrift-store trophy makeover
- Beakers and Ink: Your Guide to the Ugly Sweater Contest in the Classroom — classroom contest
- Arizona PBS: Ugly sweater contest, a creative classroom activity for December (Marissa Will, December 8, 2023) — five classroom steps
- SHRM: How to Survive Your Office Holiday Party (Forrest Hartman, November 14, 2023) — David Lewis on communicating expectations
- HR Insider: Stressed About Dressing for the Holiday Party? (December 9, 2013) — dress line in the invitation
- IRS Publication 15-B (2026), Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits — de minimis benefits and cash equivalents
- Google Docs Editors Help: Publish and share your form with responders — Limit to 1 response
- Microsoft Support: Poll attendees during a Teams meeting — who can create polls, poll types
- Zoom Support: Conducting polls in meetings — requirements, anonymous polls, reports
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Reese’s Law release (September 11, 2023) — button battery hazard and what to do
- National Capital Poison Center: Swallowed a button battery? — National Battery Ingestion Hotline
- Epilepsy Society: Photosensitive epilepsy (updated September 8, 2026) — flash rates
- National Today: National Ugly Sweater Day — third Friday of December
Questions and answers
What are good categories for an ugly sweater contest?
Ugliest Overall, Funniest, Most Creative, Best DIY and Most Festive are the five most common, based on our count of 15 published guides. Add Best Couple or Group, Best Use of Lights or Best Winter Holiday Sweater for variety. Three to five awards is plenty.
How do you judge an ugly sweater contest?
Score every sweater on the same criteria, such as creativity, ugliness, festive spirit, effort and crowd reaction, from 1 to 10 each. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s 2024 form used four criteria at 25% each. Judges who aren’t competing should score on their own, then add the totals.
What is a good prize for an ugly sweater contest?
A tacky trophy plus a small treat works best, and a trophy that passes to a new winner each year adds a tradition. Ribbons, silly socks and a donation in the winner’s name are good too. At work, remember the IRS treats gift cards as cash equivalents.
How do you win an ugly sweater contest?
Aim for creativity first: all five published scoring systems we compared score it. Add something people haven’t seen, make it clearly holiday-themed, and show off during your walk. As OppoSuits puts it, Judges don’t reward accidents, they reward intentional ugliness.
When should you hold an ugly sweater contest?
Any time in December works, and National Ugly Sweater Day is an easy pick: it falls on the third Friday of December, which is December 18, 2026. Send the rules with the invitation, so people have time to find or make a sweater.