This begs an additional question, namely, when did the ugly Christmas sweater party originate? As a folklorist, it seems to me that the collective ridicule/ritual celebration of a previous generation's fashion shortcoming is unique. Ridicule of previous fashions is universal, but going the next step of having a party to cast fashion-related aspersions seems to me to be without precedent. When did this start?

edit: Thanks for the Reddit Silver. This question is something my wife and I were pondering: we abhorred and scorned the fashions of the Greatest Generations, but we never gathered in a party, wearing their ugly looks so as to make fun of them (now, of course, many of their looks are the ultimate in cool). This Millennial inclination for group ridicule seems to be a new phenomenon, and I think it's great!

edit #2: I had a private question about whether I was being sarcastic with my final statement - not at all. My response included the following: inter-generational conflict now is different from what it was in the 60s - from my perspective. I have heard it said that millennials hate baby boomers, but love their parents. Perhaps it is possible to generalize (recognizing the flaw in any generalization) that baby boomers were in awe of a generation that survived the depression and fought fascism, but they hated (at least in the 60s) their parents for being racist and restrictive. An ugly fashion party for baby boomers would have had a cruel element to it. The millennial parties are more joyous, and I find the whole thing fun and in good humor.