I bet that Christmas Sweater still brings joy to someone. A well knit sweater is a joy forever.
Again, there are Arans and there are Arans. Many of Gladys Thompson's sample Arans were knit at 7 stitches per inch out of Aran weight yarn with 9 or 11 stitch panels front and back. (18 or 22 columns of stitch work the body). A sweater of that tightness is just about the right weight to wear sledding on Christmas day. Knitting cables and traveling stitches that tight is some effort. That is a bit different from modern Aran patterns which are knit more loosely and do not have as many stitch panels.
Me? I have done a few 12" by 9" (10,000 stitches) swatches of GT's Aran fabrics. Enough to REALLY respect anyone that has done a full sweater. On the other hand, there seems to be 10 skeins of Aran yarn spun in Scotland that simply will not stay in the stash and seems to keep appearing on my desk. . . . . No, it was a cheap yarn and is not worth that much labor .... It is fairly soft and uniform with no veg matter. No, it was a cheap yarn and is not worth that much labor.. . . . . But, I respect the Buddhist monks that rake sand into intricate patterns. . . . What would be the difference?
Aaron