Microsoft debuts an 'ugly' Clippy sweater in time for the holidays

This’ll surely spice up your family’s holiday party.

Ugly holiday sweaters feel like a decidedly early-2010’s trend, but that hasn’t stopped Microsoft from introducing one that’s actually pretty good. For the “low” price of $75 on the Xbox merchandise store, you can get a festive sweater depicting the OG Microsoft Office assistant Clippy wishing you (and whoever looks at your sweater) "Happy Holidays."

Ain't that beautiful. Credit: Microsoft

In case you don’t remember, Clippy (officially named Clippit, but nobody has evercalled him that) was a little paperclip who would pop up in the corner of your computer screen asking if you needed help while you were writing in Microsoft Word. Clippy was a fixture in Microsoft Office software from the late ‘90’s until the early 2000’s, at which point Microsoft slowly phased the friendly paperclip out of the spotlight because, well, people actually kind of hated its constant interruptions.

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But, as the saying goes, you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. In the 20 or so years since Clippy’s quiet demise, nostalgia has brewed among people old enough to remember when they hated Microsoft's helpful paperclip. The company even challenged fans in 2021 to give a tweet 20,000 likes to bring Clippy back in the modern version of Office. The tweet currently stands at more than 166,000 likes.

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Anyway, $75 is probably a bit much for an ugly sweater featuring an old computer animation from the CD-ROM days. But you can do whatever you want with your money. At least Clippy’s getting a second chance at life in a world that properly appreciates its service.