kellynoel: Famous Thamas: For Christmas last year my mother in law got matching sweaters for her and her three daughters to wear in a big family photo. These sweaters must have been created in some kind of demented elven sweatshop as they were easily the most atrocious things I've seen.

My gf got out of wearing it because she doesn't have kids, but her other two sisters had to wear these things. One of those pictures ended up on the family calendar and I get a hearty laugh when I see the look on her sisters faces.

No.

HAHAHHA BUSTED

The ironical fashion of wearing these has not reached South Carolina, where women still wear these in earnest. Granted, the youngest of this group is probably in her 40's, but I've been to dinners at fancy restaurants with my parents where I was the only woman in the the room over the age of 20 or so NOT wearing a holiday themed sweater. It didn't stop with women, either. My stepfather used to wear Christmas-themed ties, vests, suspenders, and socks that played "Jingle Bells" when you pressed a button; he only stopped doing so when he retired.

All of this is part of the reason that I now barely even decorate my house for Christmas. A nice gift with a shiny bow is about all the gaudy Christmas decoration I can stand. Put a wreath on the front door and a candle in the window; what else do you need?