Did Microsoft just create the ugliest Christmas jumpers ever?

Like chocolate, crackers and Mariah Carey, revolting jumpers are synonymous with Christmas. And these latest jumper designs by Microsoft (yes, you read that right) might just be the ugliest ever.

The three Windows-themed winter warmers were revealed this week, and include designs based on Windows 95, Windows XP and, perhaps most excitingly, Microsoft Paint. Because while there's no shortage of advanced tools for graphic designers out there, there'll always be room for Paint.  

Available to preorder now on the Xbox Store, the soft-wear is in fact for a good cause. For every purchase between 1 and 23 December, Microsoft has pledged to donate $20 to Girls Who Code, a non-profit whose mission is to "close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does".

As for the designs of the jumpers themselves, we'd say they somehow manage to be both hideous and glorious at the same time. The Windows XP jumper (below) with its festive recreation of the operating system's famous wallpaper is particularly garish – we kind of love it.  

And it seems we're not alone – all three jumpers sold out almost immediately after going on sale. Thankfully, Microsoft recently announced a reprint (below), and you can currently snap up all three jumpers on the Xbox Store. Speaking of Xbox, if you haven't bagged yourself the brand new console yet, here's where to buy an Xbox Series X.

Along with the jumpers, Microsoft is also offering offering free video call backgrounds (above) so you can make your love for Microsoft Paint even more clear. All in all, we're big fans of Microsoft's fun, festive campaign, which is up there with the Xbox fridge when it comes to the company's quirky marketing stunts. That said, Sony's recent PS5 London Underground stunt might still be the best of the bunch.

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