Students looking forward to an ugly sweater party during the Christmas season can join the EIU American Marketing Association at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Penalty Box.

The association has been planning this for the last five weeks, and Colin Severing, the vice president of the organization, said different Christmas themes would be used during the party.

Melinda Olson, the vice president of events, said the party shows the campus what “great” marketers the organization includes.

“An event like this something fun that students would be looking for on a Friday night anyway,” Olson said. “It says we are both a great academic organization and a fun organization.”

Olson said a lot went into planning the party, including meeting the owner of the Penalty Box and creating advertising tactics.

She said the idea of the ugly sweater theme was seasonal, and Olson said she knew people would love to dress up in their ugliest sweaters. She said the association got the idea after attending a national conference and hearing about another chapter doing something similar

“We’re hoping to create a fun, care-free, silly environment with lots of holiday spirit,” Olson said. “We want people to dress as silly as they can, and we’re even rewarding them with a Penalty Box gift card for doing so.”

Games and karaoke will also be available. Last semester the organization hosted a party similar to this one, but it was a beach bash. Severing said the group made around $500 to $600.

In the hopes of raising money for a trip to New Orleans, the organization has made the event into a fundraiser. The association plans to use the event as a fundraiser each semester with different themes, Severing said. The trip is a conference that provides students with internship and scholarship opportunities.

Usually the association does a hotdog stand on the corner of Lincoln Avenue, which is a fundraiser that targets students coming from the bars. Olson said members try to appeal to the students in a number of ways.

“We really host things that students on campus would want to come to and/or can benefit from,” Olson said. “We know how to reach our target audience (students on campus) and what they would be willing to pay for to help fund our organization.”

The party is $5 for a wristband and $7 at the door. It is only 21 years old and up for the party. Severing said last semester the association tried to make it possible for people under the age 21 to enter and have different wristbands, but it did not happen.

T’Nerra Butler can be reach 581-2812 or [email protected].