School nurse shares holiday spirit with 25 days of ugly sweaters
BUFFALO – Leading up to December, when many people bring out the Christmas decorations, Kelley Glackin also brings out her tub full of ugly sweaters.
From Dec. 1 to Dec. 25, Glackin sports a different Christmas-themed sweater every day.
Glackin made about half of them herself using felt and hot glue. One of her favorites features the abominable snow monster and a whole slew of other characters from the original stop-motion film “Rudolph the Red–Nosed Reindeer.”
While Glackin shows a lot of skill, “the secret key to success is a good pair of scissors,” she said.
She started the tradition of a different ugly sweater each day for the first 25 days of December before she became the school nurse for Buffalo High School, New West High School and Clear Creek Middle School seven years ago.
At the suggestion of a friend, Glackin grew her ugly sweater collection from three to 25 in one year, relying heavily on what she could find in thrift stores. Some of her sweaters have come and gone, but her collection now stands at about 30.
While she hadn’t known she would become a school nurse when she started the tradition, Glackin said, it feels fitting to spread cheer through her sweaters when she goes to work.
It’s clear, however, that the school staff appreciate her sweaters far more than the students do. An occasional student will get a kick out of them – when they notice.
“Whether they are laughing with me or at me, I don’t care. Did it bring a smile to their face?” she said. “I love my sweaters.”
Glackin also gets the family into it, though it’s a little “begrudgingly” for her husband.
One of the favorite sweaters she’s made, Glackin said, was a llama sweater created last year for her eldest daughter, Charlotte. Last year’s theme for the family’s sweaters that they wore to the annual ugly sweater party was Feliz Navidad, or Merry Christmas in Spanish.
Glackin’s youngest, Maddy, wore a cactus onesie last year. This year, however, will be the first time Maddy wears a proper ugly sweater.
Maddy and Charlotte’s favorite ugly sweater in their mom’s collection is of two polar bears hugging a penguin and a moose. The sweater used to belong to Glackin’s father, so she likes to play “who wore it better?” every year.
To choose what sweater to wear each day, Glackin follows themed weeks of her own making, such as spending one week wearing only movie and TV show-themed sweaters.
Another week is animal themed. A favorite is the week when she wears only ugly sweaters covered in cats. One of them is a sweater from the ‘90s featuring cats caroling for Christmas.
“Apparently cats and ugly sweaters just go together,” Glackin said.
Starting this year, Glackin has begun to collect and create Christmas-themed earrings too. Glackin said that, by next year, she may build her way up to a set of 25 pairs – the perfect number to match her sweaters.
This story was published on December 19, 2024.