Outlandish tinsel. Giant bows. Obnoxious bells. Colorful puff balls.

No, it’s not a cat-walk catastrophe or a fashion disaster. These atrocious sweaters are all the rage. But only during the holidays.

What was once an outlandish fashion faux pas has swept the nation as one of the easiest party themes, and now nearly everyone has been to an “ugly sweater” themed holiday party.

The gist is simple. Dig up your ugliest Christmas sweater or ask to borrow your great aunt’s favorite festive quilted vest, and then strut your stuff. Usually the ugliest and most unique sweater earns a prize.

Websites completely dedicated to selling the ugliest of Christmas sweaters have popped up, the holiday racks at every local thrift store have been picked clean. Walmart has a section just for tacky sweaters.

There are create-your-own ugly Christmas sweater kits, do-it-yourself guides, and some crafters are finding ways to profit from this funky trend.

Karen Benson of Kalispell has made the tacky sweater industry work in her favor. This year, Benson opened Mama Shark Productions, an online custom clothing store that specializes in ugly Christmas sweaters.

“Every one of them has a lot going on,” she said, touching bells and garland on one sweater. “And they all light up.”

Benson got the idea last year when she couldn’t find a sweater to wear to her office’s ugly sweater party. Instead of settling for something ordinary, she created her own, using a man’s tie, several choice holiday decorations and her glue gun.

The result was ugly all right, but in the best way. She won the competition for worst sweater.

This year she decided to spread her talent around, creating custom-made tacky sweaters for her customers. She has several sweaters ready to go, or can build a new one from scratch.

Benson said one of her biggest surprises has been her clientele.

“I originally thought it would be mostly women, but men have been my biggest customers,” she said. “I’m guessing they don’t want to have to put in the effort to make their own, but they still want to join in on the fun.”

The trend is in full force in the Flathead Valley.

This year, both Flathead and Glacier high schools hosted ugly sweater contests, giving out prizes to the best staff and student sweaters. Several local bars and restaurants, including the Scoreboard Pub and Casino, gave gift cards or free drinks to the winner at their parties. And the Daily Inter Lake’s ugly sweater contest is Tuesday.

When not making delightfully tacky sweaters, Benson works in food service as a banquet server. However, she said she likes the sweater business as a creative outlet.

Her creations can be found on Facebook under Mama Shark Productions, or call 471-5259 to place an order.