Trendspotting: ‘Tis the season… for Christmas jumpers

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat and every Irish man is trying to track down the most garish festive jumpers imaginable. Here are six of the best.

By Emmet Purcell

Blame the 12 Pubs of Christmas yearly pub crawl or festive nostalgia, but garish Christmas jumpers have made a huge comeback in recent years, with even Ryan Tubridy sporting reindeer-emblazoned knitwear on last year's Late Late Toy Show.

Rather than spending the next few weeks asking well decked-out strangers where they got their astounding Santa or snowman jumpers, ensure that you're on the receiving end of the question instead, with our top six festive knitwear for the coming weeks.

Granted, Trendspotting is leaving modern fashion sensibilities aside for one week, but can you blame us? After all, 'tis the season. If we're missing out on particularly amazing jumpers please feel free to leave a link for your fellow readers in the comments below. For now, enjoy the selection below:

Christmas Snowman Jumper - The Costume Shop, €44.99

Mistletoe, presents, a well-wrapped up Snowman - what more could you ask for?

Reindeer Piggyback Race Jumper - Gammy Christmas Jumpers.ie, €39.95

It's described as a 'piggyback race', but considering that the supplier describes the jumper as "new and naughty for 2011", they evidently know exactly what those reindeer are up to.

Santa Outfit Jumper - Christmas Jumper.co.uk, €45.71

Yes, it's expensive, but who wouldn't be envious of this incredible creation? Santa hat sadly not included.

Mens Snowman Jumper - Amazon via Fuzzdandy, €33.29

We won't beat around the bush; this is an absolutely awful piece of clothing. Isn't that the point though?

Ronnie Reindeer Jumper - Christmas Jumper Shop, €29.99

We're not sure if the white gloop below Ronnie's bright red nose is his mouth or if he's in dire need of a tissue but either way, this a great design at a very wallet-friendly price.

Burgundy Reindeer Cable Jumper - Topman, €44.55

As this is the style section, we figured that we'd have to run with at least one fashionable option, and thus we plumped for Topman's burgundy reindeer cable jumper. If people don't notice that you've got Santa's finest emblazoned across the knitwear, you might be able to wear it all year round.