The Ugly truth about the Ugly Sweater Party.

The Ugly Sweater party was a BUST.  I don't have really ugly sweaters like some had.  I picked the ugliest sweater I owned, but it was too cute to even be considered ugly by most people.

It seems to be big business, because I actually went to the thrift store to see if I could find something uglier than this one.  I was blown away because the thrift store had signs showing Kids' Sweaters, Women's Sweaters, Men's Sweaters, and UGLY Sweaters.  Yes, there was an an actual rack marked "Ugly."  And they were twice as expensive as the other sweaters.  Seems everyone must be having an Ugly Sweater Party this year.
Since I had never been to my friends' house before, I set my camera on the window ledge and snapped away, not knowing if anything was in focus or not.  Some were, some were not.

They had moved from one house in the country to another not far from where they had lived the last time I visited them.

Many shots showed the railroad tracks I followed most of the way.

Boring maybe, but I like to take photos as I travel.

And it turns out these are the only photos I have of the event.
I went through several towns.

I went over bridges, surprisingly dry even though we had experienced a lot of ice between last Thursday and Monday morning.

The roads however, showed no ice or even standing water.  It was as if the ice storm had never happened, even though thousands had lost electricity, with some homes still without power even today (Thursday).

And sadly, this is where the story ends.  The ugly truth is I was TOLD (not asked) I was NOT allowed to put any photos on the internet of the party, the house I went to, or any of the people at the party.  These people wished to remain nameless and faceless.  I wasn't even allowed to take photos for my own private collection, so, although I would love to show you photos of the event, the silly prizes people received, and the sweaters, I can tell you that I had NO idea there were so many sweater categories.  There was a prize for the best Reindeer Sweater, the best Naughty Sweater, the best 3-D sweater, the best period sweater (like 70s, 80s. etc), the best glittery sweater, the best sweater with lights, the most outrageous, the most non-ugly (which I might add I won), the most shameful, and the overall most ugly.

My friend the hostess is not very artsy, but she put together the most incredible banner that spread across her entire living room.  She had made a TON of ugly sweaters out of construction paper and strung them with clothes pins.

She used argyle socks to wrap containers that held drinks on the table, which included eggnog, cocoa, and cider.  She cut up sweaters for place mats under the food which was served buffet style.  She baked two cakes that were shaped like outrageously ugly sweaters, too.  The centerpiece was a "tree" made from stacked tin cans that had been painted green.  To the stacked cans, our host added garish ornaments, some oversize, which made me think the tree would topple at any minute.

Those of us who stayed over were treated to a breakfast of egg and cheese "muffins" which were cooked in muffin tins, and blueberry muffins, with whole blueberries throughout the muffin.

I was not the only person who was disappointed not being able to take photos.  Several others brought their cameras, fully expecting to take lots of photos of the event.  However, everyone was told they were not allowed to use their cameras or their phones to record the event.  They were also told they couldn't tweet the event or announce it on Facebook.  Privacy seemed to be the answer to the Ugly Sweater Party.

On my way home, as I made my way onto the highway, I snapped a photo of my friends' home just outside their driveway, but you will never know where it is by the looks of it.

Aside from the fact I was not allowed to take photos, I had a wonderful time.  Laughs, great food, humorous decorations, and silly games dominated the over-the-top kitsch.  Thanks for joining me as I had a two day photoless, albeit fun filled time.