It's Christmas sweater season and it's getting ugly in New Hampshire
Dec. 4—E very December, a dedicated segment of the U.S. population loses all sense of fashion.
It's not a gradual thing. As soon as the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone, it's go time.
This is Ugly Christmas Sweater season, and the tackier the better.
There's generally four segments of this spirited demographic:
—The first rifles through attics and basements for sweaters left over from the 1980s.
—The second scours online sites and marketplaces for pullovers emblazoned with references to classic holiday movies.
—The third turns to an assortment of animals for inspiration, including Rudolph, Mickey Mouse, cats, the Grinch and even the occasional sloth.
—And the last group employs a do-it-yourself approach, gluing, sewing, taping, pinning and stapling anything and everything to a sweater, including faux greenery and garlands, stuffed animals and oversized ornaments. (Tip: Adding battery-powered lights gives extra oomph.)
No matter the method, Ugly Christmas Sweaters make the season bright, with all that glitter often sparking a sense of community and goodwill.
So, get gaudy, and prepare to dance, run and mingle.
An ugly 4-miler
National Ugly Sweater day may be marked on Friday, Dec. 16, but it's the third Saturday of December that has Manchester making some questionable wardrobe choices.
The Ugly Sweater 4-Miler road race kicks off at 9 a.m. Dec. 17 from the Backyard Brewery and Kitchen, 1211 S. Mammoth Road.
This is the fourth year Backyard Brewery will serve as home for the after-race party.
"People are going to do some crazy, wild things. One thing we found with runners is they like to dress up," said Marcus Doucet, co-owner of the brewery with Joya Doucet.
It's not always easy to run in those embellished outfits.
"Last year it was a weird December day where it was so warm people were ditching the sweaters along the way because it was too hot," Doucet said.
Spectators are invited to cheer on racers along the route, which goes from Manchester into Londonderry and back again.
Since it's a morning event, it's mostly race participants who go to the party afterwards, but onlookers are welcome. And there have been folks who sign up for the walk/run but don't actually take to the course. They'd rather make a donation and then just take in the holiday spirits.
"They want nothing to do with the actual running part, which I get. It's the holiday season, after all," a laughing Doucet said. "We'll do beers and a spiked hot cocoa, which is always fun."
Registration is $35, for ages 21 and older. Go to fmpproductions.com for details.
Proceeds will go to three local animal rescue groups: Second Chance Ranch Rescue, the Humane Society of Greater Nashua, and the Salem Animal Rescue League.
At the Derryfield
What started as a gag between college buddies in 2010 has grown into an annual event that draws up to 800 spirited dressers to one of the biggest Ugly Christmas Sweater parties in New Hampshire.
It's a wardrobe-challenged blur of laughing faces, music, food, drink and dancing at the Derryfield Restaurant, 625 Mammoth Road, Manchester. This year's adults-only event is at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Now in its 18th year, the party has become a holiday tradition for many.
"But there's also more and more new people — younger siblings who have been waiting to attend and have now turned 21," said Gene Brown, a Manchester resident who organizes the big annual fete.
In recent years, the event has raised $15,000 to $20,000 for Make-A-Wish. That figure at one time ranged from $25,000 to $37,000 when tickets were $30, but Brown said he lowered the advance-purchase price to $20-$25 to make it more affordable.
Meanwhile, Brown joked that his own favorite ugly sweater, which he's often worn to the party, is showing some wear and tear.
"It's slowly starting to unwind and fall apart. It's an old ladies sweater, with an 'I (heart) Christmas' (logo) and a funky knitted figure."
It's all part of what Brown calls "sweater folklore." It's not just the ugly sweaters that get passed down; it's the shared experiences of getting to wear absolutely ridiculous clothing in public for a good cause.
For DJ Terry Moran, based in Chelmsford, Mass., the Derryfield event has held a special place in his heart in the past 12 years. "My niece died of cancer when she was 8," Moran said. "It was right after the Make-a-Wish Foundation granted her wish to go to Disney World."
He's helped Brown and his brother Tyler, who had a wish granted in 2015 when he was fighting leukemia, grow their Manchester event.
"I'm a big fan of the foundation, and I know they always have more wishes than they could possibly fund," Moran said.
Moran will keep things hopping in the function room of the Derryfield, where video screens will be set up to display incoming selfies and texts from revelers through the night. He'll also have a photo booth for those who want to document their flamboyant holiday flair.
"Homemade sweaters, I think, garner the most respect," he said.
Go a little Griswold
Another option is to meet up with like-minded dressers at Chunky's Cinema locations in Manchester, Nashua and Pelham at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, for screenings of the 1989 classic "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," starring Chevy Chase as the frenetic, Christmas-light-crazed Clark Griswold.
It's for ages 21 and older. Anyone who arrives in an ugly sweater will take home a lovely turtleneck dickie in honor of Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), who proved that sometimes it's what's under a thin white sweater that counts — the dark, tell-tale square of a fake turtleneck that ends at mid-chest.
Tickets are $5.99 at chunkys.com.
Meet some new friends
For Kate Taylor, who with her husband, Bob, who took over as owners of the Monadnock Country Club in Peterborough last May, an Ugly Christmas Sweater party is part of a mission to restore the club's role as a community gathering place.
"It was known back in the day as the place to be in town, so we wanted to bring back that tradition," Taylor said of the public club. "The holidays can be lonely for some people, and this helps get them out."
The event runs from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, at the function hall at 49 High St. There will be karaoke, snacks and a best-sweater contest.
Bring a couple of non-perishable food items or donate $5 to the food bank. A $5 Secret Santa gift to swap.
As far as ugly Christmas sweaters, Taylor leans toward classic versions from the 1980s and 1990s, when they were a fashion statement, rather than a parody of pop culture. For example, the preppier ones with the silhouetted reindeer leaping across a winterscape of snowflakes.
"They're hideous, but classic," she admitted.
