Spreading Christmas Cheer One Ugly Sweater At A Time

Hipsters find them ironic. Children love their bold colors and loud designs. Others just enjoy spreading holiday cheer.

But Brian Clark Howard, co-author of "Rock Your Ugly Christmas Sweater" with Anne Marie Blackman, says one thing's for sure: "You can never have a bad day in an ugly Christmas sweater!"

Ugly Christmas sweaters have exploded in popularity in the past decade, with countless parties popping up across the world.

Howard tracks the rise in popularity to a 2001 party in Vancouver. Two friends hosted an ugly sweater party, took some photos that went viral online and a craze was born. Now there are ugly sweater concerts, pub crawls, even charity runs.

And the sweaters get kitschier and kitschier. Howard's favorite is one that his co-author, Blackman, made for him. It features three-dimensional reindeers jutting off his chest. They even sing "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town."

Howard has been a fan of ugly sweaters since he was a kid (if you don't believe us, just check out the slideshow above). And while he seems to fall into the ironic camp, his mom and grandmother are more earnest.

Howard says when he showed his mom a copy of "Rock Your Ugly Christmas Sweater," she agreed that many were ridiculously hideous.

"But she said, 'My snowman sweaters are pretty!'" Howard exclaimed!