Ugly is the New Beautiful

Last Friday, M and I hosted an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party. A group of 20 friends from church came to our home for the group's annual Christmas celebration. Since we were hosting for the second year, I decided I wanted to do a theme party. My Pinterest searches led me to the Ugly Christmas Sweater theme.

After spending way too much time searching the internet for free printables, and coming up empty, I decided just to make my own. These were attached to the prizes:

Here is a sample of some of the food and drink labels I created:

Although it went against every type-A bone in my body, I attempted to "ugly" my own Christmas table settings and decorations. With a little help from my local Dollar Tree, by mixing various prints and colors, and adding a little sparkle, here is what I came up with:

M and I in our festive attire:

The party was so much fun! 
Now, to go a little deeper...
One thing I have been reminded of recently is that beauty (and ugliness) is relative. What one person may see as ugly, tacky, and down-right awful, another person may see as beautiful or amazing. It was this line of thinking that led me to create the "I'd wear that ugly sweater" prize. 
Did you know God has a different perspective of us than we do of ourselves? When He looks at us, He sees righteousness and beauty. He doesn't see the sin, the ugliness. All of that was erased with Jesus, God's perfect gift. Let's celebrate that this Christmas!