Football Ugly Sweater Party Ideas: Themes, Games, and Contest Categories

The best football ugly sweater party ideas borrow straight from game day: teams, rivalries, a little trash talk, and a scoreboard. Add a room full of loud holiday sweaters, and you already have most of a party.

This guide gives you four party themes, five games with full rules, a two-part contest with a printable scorecard, printable bingo cards, invite wording you can copy, and a planning timeline that leaves time to get everyone’s sweaters.

Football Ugly Sweater Party Themes

Pick one theme and build everything around it. A clear theme makes the invite, the games, and the contest much easier to plan.

Team Pride Night

Everyone wears their own team. This works best when most guests already have a favorite. At the door, have each guest write their team on a name tag, then keep a running tally on a whiteboard. The team with the most fans in the room gets bragging rights for the night. Guests without a favorite can pick a team by its colors or come as neutral fans.

House Divided Rivalry Night

Split the room in two. Each side gets its own snack table, its own end of the couch, and its own cheer. Division rivals make an easy starting point, but any two teams your guests root for will work. A few division pairings to start with:

• Buffalo Bills vs. Miami Dolphins (AFC East)
• Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears or Detroit Lions (NFC North)
• Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles (NFC East)
• Kansas City Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders (AFC West)

Lions blue or Packers green? Same division, two very different holiday looks.

Office Party: Draft a Division

Not everyone at work follows football, so don’t make them pick a favorite. Instead, draw names to place coworkers into small groups, and name each group after an NFL division, like AFC East or NFC West. Keep the groups big enough to compete: two divisions for up to 12 people, three for 13 to 24, and four for larger offices. Groups compete in the games below and earn points for their division. Fans can wear their own team; everyone else can wear any ugly sweater in the colors of a team from their division.

Game-Day Sweater Party

Host the party on a December game day and keep the game on. Check kickoff times in your own time zone before you send the invite. During the game, stick to activities that can stop the moment play resumes, like bingo or a quick trivia round, and save special-award voting for halftime. The Sweater Combine takes longer than a halftime break, so run it before kickoff or after the final whistle.

Ugly Sweater Party Games With a Football Twist

Each game below lists how many players it needs, what to prepare, and how long it takes. Pick two or three. The first two take the most setup and add the most to the party.

The Sweater Combine

Players: 6 or more contestants, plus 3 judges · Time: 20–30 minutes for up to 10 contestants; add about 2 minutes for each extra contestant · You’ll need: painter’s tape, a phone timer, one scorecard per judge, a prize

Run every contestant through three stations, like a scouting combine for sweaters:

1. The 40-Yard Strut. Tape a runway about 15 feet long. Each contestant struts to the end, turns, and shows off the back of the sweater.
2. The Touchdown Celebration. Each contestant gets 10 seconds to perform a family-friendly end-zone celebration in the sweater.
3. The Sweater Breakdown. Each contestant gets 30 seconds to pitch their sweater like a scouting report: what’s on it, and why it deserves to win.

How to win: The three judges watch all three stations, then fill in the scorecard once for each contestant. The contestant with the highest average score is your Overall Champion. The full scoring rules are in the contest section below.

Sweater Bingo

Players: everyone · Time: runs all party · You’ll need: one printed card per guest (print a mix of the three versions in the party pack), pens or candy for markers

Guests mark a square when they spot it on someone’s sweater or see it happen at the party. To keep people mingling, a single sweater can only mark two squares on your card. The first guest to complete a row, column, or diagonal shouts “Touchdown!” and then shows the host where they spotted each square. Several squares come from the games in this guide, so if you skip a game, treat its square as free.

Download the printable party pack (PDF): three different bingo cards, the Overall Champion scorecard, and a special awards ballot, all on letter-size pages (about 50 KB).

The Ugly Sweater Draft

Players: 6–20 · Time: 30–45 minutes · You’ll need: one wrapped gift per guest at an agreed budget, numbered slips in a bowl

This is a gift exchange run like a draft. It’s about the gifts, not the sweaters.

1. Each guest brings one wrapped gift and draws a number. That number is their pick.
2. Pick 1 opens a gift.
3. On each turn, the player either opens a new gift or takes an opened gift from someone else.
4. If your gift is taken, you choose right away: open a new gift, or take a different opened gift. You can’t take back the gift that was just taken from you.
5. A gift is locked once it has been taken twice. Locked gifts stay put for the rest of the draft, including the final turn.
6. The turn passes to the next number when someone opens a new gift.
7. After the last pick, Pick 1 may swap for any unlocked gift. Then the draft ends.

How it ends: There’s one gift per guest, so everyone finishes with exactly one.

Two-Minute Drill Trivia

Players: teams of 3–5 · Time: about 15 minutes · You’ll need: a list of 20 questions, paper and a pen for each team, a timer

All teams play at the same time, so nobody hears another team’s answers. Split the 20 questions into four rounds of five. The host reads a round’s questions out loud, then teams get two minutes to write their answers quietly. After each round, teams swap papers and the host reads the answers. The team with the most correct answers after all rounds wins.

Mix easy football questions with Christmas ones. Here are six to start with:

• How many points is a touchdown worth? (6)
• How many points is a field goal worth? (3)
• How many players does each team have on the field at once? (11)
• How many reindeer pull the sleigh in “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”? (8)
• In “A Christmas Carol,” what is Scrooge’s first name? (Ebenezer)
• Which plant are people supposed to kiss under? (Mistletoe)

Ornament Field Goal

Players: any number · Time: 10–15 minutes · You’ll need: shatterproof plastic or fabric ornaments, a laundry basket, tape

Mark lines 5, 8, and 12 feet from the basket. Each player gets three tosses from each line, and an ornament only counts if it stays in the basket. Tosses from 5 feet score 1 point, from 8 feet score 2, and from 12 feet score 3. Highest total wins. For a tie, go to sudden death from 12 feet.

Safety: Use only shatterproof or soft ornaments. Set up in a clear space, away from the tree, lights, glassware, and anyone not playing. Let kids toss from the 5-foot line.

Ugly Sweater Contest Categories and Scorecard

A single “ugliest sweater” prize leaves most guests out. Run two contests side by side instead: special awards chosen by guest vote, and one Overall Champion chosen by judges with a scorecard. Keeping them separate means a great accessory or a great rivalry pair can still win something.

Special Awards

Pick three or four awards for a small party, or all eight for a big one. Every guest gets a ballot, the most votes wins each award, and the host breaks any tie.

Try instant replay: photograph each guest, put the photos up on the TV, and vote after everyone has seen them again.

Overall Champion Scorecard

Three judges who aren’t competing each fill in their own scorecard, rating every contestant from 1 to 10 in four columns:

• Theme Spirit: team pride or holiday spirit, whichever the guest brought. Non-fans aren’t penalized.
• Holiday Creativity: how much Christmas the sweater and outfit pack in.
• Ugly Sweater Factor: how gloriously loud the look is.
• Presentation: how the guest shows it off, including the Sweater Combine stations if you run them.

To pick the winner, add up each judge’s total for a contestant, then divide by three. That average is still out of 40, and the highest average wins. If two contestants tie, the higher average Holiday Creativity score wins. If they’re still tied, the crowd votes. For a party with fewer than 10 guests, one judge is enough; just use that judge’s total.

Full-page scorecards and award ballots are in the printable party pack (PDF). On a phone, swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Ugly Sweater Party Dress Code Wording

One clear line on the invite saves a lot of questions. Copy the one that fits your crowd:

• For friends: “Dress code: your team’s ugliest Christmas sweater. Rival colors are welcome, but expect to be heckled.”
• For the office: “Wear your favorite team’s holiday sweater, or any ugly sweater if football isn’t your thing. Prizes for Team Spirit MVP and Most Festive.”
• For family: “Ugly sweaters required, team colors encouraged, all ages welcome. Kids’ sweaters count too.”

Add one more line for guests who don’t follow football: “Not a fan? Pick a team by its colors, or tell us and we’ll draft you one.”

Sweaters for the Whole Crew

If you’re hosting, you’ll likely end up helping a few guests find a sweater. A few things make that easier:

• Start with their team. Every NFL team has its own collection, and our NFL ugly sweater gift guide has picks for different kinds of fans.
• Collect sizes early. Adult sizes run S–6XL, and most designs also come in kids’ sizes Toddler 2T–Youth XL. The adult and kids’ charts measure the chest differently, so send guests our size chart instead of guessing.
• Ordering several at once? U.S. orders over $99 ship free with standard shipping.
• Adding names? Many designs let you add custom text at checkout, which makes a sweater feel like a game-day jersey. Personalized sweaters can’t be exchanged for size, so confirm sizes first. See our Returns & Refunds Policy.

For a football-themed contest, look for designs with bold team graphics, visible holiday patterns, and details guests can show off during the Sweater Combine. Here’s one that checks all three:

Looking for a different team? Browse all AFC teams or all NFC teams.

Party Planning Timeline

Work backward from the party date. Invites go out first, so you know who’s coming and which sizes to order. Sweaters come right after, because they take the longest.

Every sweater is made after you order. Standard delivery estimates include 2–4 business days for production and 7–14 business days for shipping. These are estimates, not guaranteed delivery dates. International and remote destinations may require additional time. Ordering about five weeks ahead simply gives you more room. If your date is tight, email [email protected] before you order. Full details are on our shipping information page.

FAQ

When is National Ugly Sweater Day?

National Ugly Sweater Day falls on the third Friday in December. It’s a natural date to plan an office party around.

What should guests wear if they don’t follow football?

Any ugly Christmas sweater works. Non-fans can pick a team by its colors, join a division at an office party, or compete for Rookie of the Year.

How do you judge an ugly sweater contest fairly?

Keep the Overall Champion and the special awards separate. For the Overall Champion, use three judges who aren’t competing, average their scorecard totals, and decide the tiebreaker before the contest starts. For the special awards, let guests vote.

Can kids join the party?

Yes. Sweater Bingo and Ornament Field Goal work well for kids, especially from the 5-foot line. Most designs also come in kids’ sizes Toddler 2T through Youth XL, so they can match their team, too.

How early should I order sweaters for a group?

Send invites about six weeks before the party and order about five weeks out, once sizes are in. Delivery times are estimates, not guarantees, so if your date is tight, email us before ordering.

Get the Party Started

Pick a theme, print the party pack, and sort out the sweaters early. After that, it’s just snacks and trash talk. Find your team in our AFC and NFC collections, or start with our NFL ugly sweater gift guide.

Prepared by The NFLUglySweater Team. How we put our guides together.