Enter cleveland.com's 'Ugliest Holiday Sweater Photo Contest' now!

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Dust off those ugly holiday sweaters, C-Town! It’s contest time!

That’s right, friends. ‘Tis the season to “jingle all the way” into the deepest reaches of your closets and laundry baskets for the ugliest, craziest, most over-the-top holiday sweater you own!

Your “Best of Cleveland” team is celebrating the frigid temperatures, windswept lakefront and the magic of the holidays with Cleveland.com’s “Ugly Holiday Sweater Contest.” We want you (and that loud, gaudy, tacky, garish pullover of yours) to be a part of it!

Whether your sweater has tangles of twinkling lights and baubles, a snowman playing a Les Paul or something that would get you banished from playing any reindeer games, we wanna see it! It’s not about looking good. We want to see delightfully tacky, bombastic and over-the-top.

We have but one request of you, dear readers: nothing X-rated or NSFW (that’s “not safe for work”).

Here’s how to enter: Simply create a free cleveland.com account below. It’s easy! Just click on the link below and create a username and password. Then you’ll be taken to a form to upload your photo and agree to the contest rules. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

Entries will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 9. You must be the photographer or have permission from the photographer to use the photo, and you must be the only person depicted in the photo. So, snap a photo of yourself rocking the most heinously hideous holiday sweater in your collection (hardcore holiday hooligans usually have more than one) and send it our way.

Also, .jpeg format only please.

Selected cleveland.com staff members will review the entries and pick their 20, er, “favorites.” Bonus points for cozy settings, “choice” extras, your favorite fuzzy buddies or a mug of hooch or hot chocolate (extra mini marshmallows, please). Finalists will be posted in a gallery on Dec. 11. The entry that gets the most reader votes wins. To vote (which you can do hourly!) you must have or create a cleveland.com account. Voting for the best of that Top 20 will end at 5 p.m. on Dec. 16.

Why participate? Why not?!? Nothing says “I’m ready for the holidays” quite like an ugly sweater. Plus, the winner gets bragging rights for having the most epically ugly sweater of the year – “It’s a major award!” – and maybe even a little holiday surprise. The best part is a feature story on the winner.

So, shovel out that sweater and let the games begin. After all, the holidays are better when they’re a little ridiculous. Submissions close quickly, so don’t miss out!