Image by Dan Friedman

By Dan Friedman November 16, 2016

I got a call from Marina at the front desk.

“You have an ugly package. Please come and pick it up.”

So I went along to pick it up. What she meant was that the packaging was bright green and the shape was uneven. But, as I ripped it open I saw that the Tipsy Elves had sent me a Hanukkah sweater.

There was no note included, just that it was shipped from Nashville, Tennessee, to “Don Friedman, Forward.”

So doing some modern sleuthing (#ThisJournalistLife) I posted a photo on social media. Nothing. I googled Forward.com and found our Hanukkah swag list from last year including a “Challah” sweater. Not so seasonal, but fun.

The Tipsy Elves website says they have dedicated themselves to the entirely honorable cause of “making the most outrageous clothes known to mankind in order to make your life more fun.” And it’s working. After a grim few days, this was the best thing to come from a red state for a while.

There are some excellent jumpsuits on the sweater page, including a blue Hanukkah one that I could totally rock after my punishing six month diet and swimming regime. And, though the sweater page features no Hanukkah sweater, if you click the Hanukkah jumpsuit,(#ThisJournalistLife) you get some really happy ugly similar items, including the wonderfully weird Llamakkah. And the one I received, with dreidels is on sale. Mystery solved? Perhaps.

Image by Tipsy Elves

But I didn’t write the swag list last year. Maybe I received the sweater because I wrote this piece about Whoopi Goldberg’s ugly octopus sweater. (Can you feel a Hanukkah listicle preparing itself?)

So I have emailed them to say:

I received a lovely Hanukkah sweater. I have some questions.

And I’ll let you know what I find out.

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

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