Ugly Christmas Sweater Day 2026: Friday, Dec. 18, and Charity Sweater Runs

Ugly Christmas Sweater Day 2026 falls on Friday, Dec. 18, the third Friday of December, a rule reported by CBS News Detroit and FOX 5 Atlanta. The day is an informal observance: we found no congressional resolution or proclamation for it. This story adds a computed date table through 2031, the difference from the UK’s Christmas Jumper Day, two charity sweater runs and a free printable contest sheet.

When is Ugly Christmas Sweater Day each year through 2031?

CBS News Detroit wrote in 2021 that “every third Friday of December recognizes the festive garment that we save for this time of year.” FOX 5 Atlanta wrote in 2019 that “the celebration is always planned for the third Friday in December.” The two newsrooms agree on the rule, so we computed each date from it. In 2026, the Fridays in December are Dec. 4, 11, 18 and 25, which makes Dec. 18 the third.

Year	Third Friday of December
2026	Friday, Dec. 18
2027	Friday, Dec. 17
2028	Friday, Dec. 15
2029	Friday, Dec. 21
2030	Friday, Dec. 20
2031	Friday, Dec. 19

The rule matches past reports. CBS News Detroit’s 2021 story named Friday, Dec. 17, FOX 5 Atlanta’s 2019 story named Dec. 20, and a CBS News Detroit video from 2023 named Friday, Dec. 15. Today.com’s list of December observances for 2025 put the day on Dec. 19, 2025. Mark Dec. 18 on the December 2026 printable calendar.

Is Ugly Christmas Sweater Day an official holiday?

No. We found no congressional resolution or proclamation for it, so it carries no official status, and no agency sets its date. We also do not state who started it or in what year, because the sources we can cite do not say.

How is it different from Christmas Jumper Day?

Christmas Jumper Day is a UK event run by Save the Children UK. Its page says: “On Thursday 10 December 2026, Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day is back.” That is eight days before the US date above. Our Christmas Jumper Day 2026 planner has the UK details.

Save the Children US ran a similar US campaign in 2014. A press release dated Dec. 8, 2014 said: “On Friday, Dec. 12, by donning your most “festive” sweater and donating $5 to Save the Children.” We could not check the charity’s US page for 2026, so a 2026 US campaign is not confirmed.

Which charity sweater runs are on in 2026?

These two have organizer pages. They are examples, not a complete list.

Event	Date and time	Price	Benefits
Ugly Sweater Run, Olmsted Falls, Ohio (Run The Land)	Sunday, Dec. 27, 2026; 5K starts 8:30 a.m.	$35, rising after 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Nov. 30, 2026	Christians in Action food pantry serving Olmsted Falls
Christmas Eve Ugly Sweater, Puyallup, Washington	Dec. 24, 2026; 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST)	$40	No beneficiary stated

Details come from each RunSignup page; check the organizer for current prices and rules before you register.

What can an office or classroom do on the day?

Save the Children UK’s Christmas Jumper Day page suggests several ideas that carry over to any sweater day:

• Hold head-to-head jumper contests with donation boxes for a week.
• Ask your workplace to match the total raised.
• Run a bake sale.
• Take song requests for a donation.

Free printable sweater contest sheet

The printable has a setup checklist, those four ideas and a four-category scorecard (most festive, most over the top, best lights or add-ons, funniest) for Friday, Dec. 18. The categories are our own suggestion, not from any source. A printable weekly calendar can hold the planning dates. For the rest of the month, see our December 2026 important dates list, and for a giving date that falls earlier, Giving Tuesday 2026.