Christmas sweater celebrations gaining popularity

Thick black, green or red knitwear embellished with snowflakes, Santa Claus, reindeer or candy canes is the embodiment of the typical Christmas sweater.

These wardrobe staples, which date back to the 1970s and '80s, provide many with festive humor each year. From smallscale get-togethers to large, ticketed events, ugly Christmas sweater parties have become a holiday tradition.

The trend of ugly Christmas sweater parties is said to have started 10 years ago in Vancouver, B.C. According to christmassweaterparty.com, the event started as a house party with a small group of friends who wanted "the cheesiest feel-good Christmas party ever" and continued to grow each year.

Missouri has bragging rights for one of the largest ugly Christmas sweater parties in the country. The annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party in Kansas City is now ....