DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket

2 min read September 13, 2026 Missy and Kristen
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Each year we love to get together with our friends and have a fun, holiday filled, gathering where we exchange wine! This exchange is a unique alternative to the classic cookie exchange and this year we added an ugly sweater aspect to make this exchange extra fun! We wanted to encourage guests to get as creative and "ugly" as possible, so to sweeten the pot, we created the ultimate wine themed ugliest sweater prize! This basket is perfect for the theme and is easy to assemble with our simple tutorial!

Project Time
20 to 30 min
Difficulty
Beginner
Step
1

Start creating the ultimate ugly sweater prize basket by applying a custom wine bottle label to the front of a red metal tub. Next, fill the labeled red metal tub with green tissue paper to create a soft and decorative base within the tub.

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 1 part 1
DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 1 part 2
Step
2

Now, add ugly sweater themed beverage covers to a few bottles of sparking wine spritzers.

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 2
Step
3

Remove the "Ugliest Sweater Award" photo prop from the photo prop package and insert it into the back of the red metal tub.

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 3 part 1
DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 3 part 2
Step
4

Place a few ugly sweater themed napkins in the red metal tub. Don't forget to include some fun red and white striped paper straws!

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 4
Step
5

Dress up a bottle of your favorite wine using custom ugly sweater wine labels and another ugly sweater wine charm! Add a cute ugly sweater wine charm to the tub for an extra detail.

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 5 part 1
DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 5 part 2
Step
6

Place a few coordinating ugly sweater shot glasses into the tub.

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 6
Step
7

Now its time to get extra crafty! Gather up the set of wine glasses, some red and green glitter and some mod podge. Apply a thin coat of mod podge to the base and stems of the wine glasses using a foam paint brush.

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 7
Step
8

Add the red and green glitter to the stems and shake off any excess glitter.

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 8 part 1
DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 8 part 2
Step
9

Grab a few spare ugly sweater wine bottle labels and trim the word "ugly" from each one. Adhere the trimmed ugly sweater wine bottle labels to the front of each glitteredwine glass.

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 9
Step
10

Add an ugly sweater wine charm around the base of the stem of each wine glass.

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 10
Step
11

Add your decorative glasses to the prize bin and award it to the guest who is wearing the ugliest sweater!

DIY Ugly Sweater Wine Exchange Prize Bucket step 11

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