Chris Boyd remembers when he was first exposed to ugly Christmas sweaters.
At the time, in 2002, he was working at Parkwood Manor in Coquitlam and saw many elderly residents break out their brightly coloured threads for the holidays.
Amused, Boyd called up his friend, Jordan Birch, to host an ugly sweater-themed party with friend Scott Lindsay. And from there, their momentum for giving built.
They hosted ugly sweater events at SFU and Coquitlam’s Boone County Cabaret before moving to The Commodore Ballroom, adding a large charitable component as well as a 5k dash, which currently runs out of Rocky Point Park in Port Moody.
To date, Boyd and Birch — under the Now That’s Ugly Society — have distributed more than $250,000 to such programs as Basics for Babies, The Salvation Army, Make-A-Wish and the Children’s Wish Foundation, the latter of which saw a woman with cancer travel to Disneyland with her husband and daughter before she died.
The society’s campaign is so iconic that the city of Vancouver and the provincial government have declared the third Friday in December as Ugly Sweater Day.
Now, the duo has yet another fundraiser under the Ugly banner: a children’s book.
Released last month, The Ugly Christmas Sweater Rebellion is meant to teach kids the same lessons the society preaches — i.e., to give, (re)connect and be kind.
Penned by the pair and a ghost writer in March, with illustrations by Adam Record, the story follows an ugly Christmas sweater that, along with its companions, is in a thrift store. “They don’t like what they’re seeing about the lack of connection, and the focus on the toys and electronics,” Boyd told the Tri-City News last week.
Soon, though, turtledoves carry the sweaters to children; however, Scott doesn’t get one so he asks his grandmother to knit a sweater for him as well as others.
Told in rhymes, with light and fun descriptions, the book has positive messages and is geared to children ages two and up. “We want to put our society’s values in motion and educate the next generation,” said Boyd, who works as a therapist.
The book, of which part of the proceeds will be donated to help feed kids in need, is available in hard and soft covers through Amazon.ca, and at The Village Toy Shop (262 Newport Dr., Port Moody); The Parkside Brewery (2731 Murray St., Port Moody); Western Sky Books (2850 Shaughnessy St., Port Coquitlam); and Patina Brewing (2332 Marpole Ave., Port Coquitlam).
Meanwhile, because of the global pandemic, the Ugly Christmas Sweater Dash 2020 will be virtual. Participants can sign up for the 5k walk/run, hit the treadmill, track or road with an ugly Christmas sweater and raise funds for the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation, until Jan. 1, 2021. And those who share their online run by Dec. 25 will be eligible to win prizes. This year’s registration includes an Ugly Christmas Sweater mask and race kits. The cost is $30 for adults, $20 for youth and $5 for kids.
• Visit uglychristmassweaterbook.com/events.
