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AIBU?

Dressing up at short notice for older dc

68 replies

mum9876 · 10/11/2014 23:05

Is it just me? I'm finding it increasingly a problem than I'm asked to "dress" a junior school dc in fancy dress clothing with no notice.

This week - 4 days to turn them into a superhero.

Now I'm prepared to be shot down, but my 10 year old has precisely no dressing up clothes in the box that fit any more. Neither does she have any desire to dress as a superhero or anything else out of the ordinary.

So how in god's name am I going to get her to dress "as a superhero" this Friday. And pay a pound for the privilege.

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WalkingInMemphis · 10/11/2014 23:10

You're not in Wales are you?

I had a text from school today telling me the dc have to dress as superheroes on Friday.

Luckily I have a spiderman costume that will fit ds2. I have nothing for ds1, but i'm going to have to go and spend £15 on one for him as I don't have the time or inclination to try and make anything!

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WalkingInMemphis · 10/11/2014 23:12

And now i'm derailing your thread because this is not relevant at all...but you just reminded me about Friday, so I've popped onto Tescos website to see what they have available and I saw this:

www.tesco.com/direct/gorilla-cage-costume/370-8871.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=370-8871

How absolutely amazing is that? If money were no object i'd be buying that for one of the dc for next Halloween!

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MrsKitty · 10/11/2014 23:12

A logo'd tshirt? Or a plain blue T-shirt with a superman logo stuck to the front? Pants over trousers (going for the 'so bad it's funny' comedy option)...

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mum9876 · 10/11/2014 23:13

No, slightly further down the M4. We got away with it last time for "significant person day" wearing a Dr's coat with arms up to her elbows. But I thought that was the last straw tbh.

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EatShitDezza · 10/11/2014 23:15

I'm from leeds and got the text today about superhero dress up for Friday. Only a £1 was mentioned.

Luckily he has a Spider-Man outfit from halloween

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motherofmonster · 10/11/2014 23:15

Feel for you op. My ds goes to a school that always thinks up 'fun' things like this with only a couple of days notice...drives me batty

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MrsKitty · 10/11/2014 23:15

Or go as Clark Kent / Jessica whatsername /other 'normal' alter ego and wear smart clothes/glasses/hair up.

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mum9876 · 10/11/2014 23:16

That is indeed spectacular Memphis - I'm not sure if the person in the cage is an accessory or not.

But that's pretty much the point - spend cohoolas to comply with this ridiculous request. When your dc is very, very much against looking anything out of the ordinary and hideously embarrassed about just wearing the wrong socks.

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stealthsquiggle · 10/11/2014 23:20

As I understand the children in need thing (my DC are not doing it, thank goodness) it's made up superheroes - so minimal cost and the main thing is for the DC to think about what their superpowers would be?

OP - do you have the means/time/patience to make a basic cloak and she can add a logo of some sort? That way she could wear it over otherwise normal clothes (maybe black jeans and top if she has them?) and ditch the cloak if/when she has had enough?

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WalkingInMemphis · 10/11/2014 23:20

Ah bless her. Could you just try and get her a funky superhero-mask? So she can join in with the spirit of it but not feel stupid if dressing up isn't her thing?

What about dressing her all in black and something like this? www.amazon.co.uk/Superhero-Fancy-Dress-Eyemask-struts-6809/dp/B005SBHKPE?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

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mum9876 · 10/11/2014 23:24

Walking - she never has liked or worn anything on her head. But I recognise that's a particular problem (or not) with my dc.

The point I'm trying to make is that no dc have dressing up clothes at this age - they're past it. And you need a hell of a lot more notice than a few days to produce something and persusade them to wear it

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mum9876 · 10/11/2014 23:27

PS had absolutely no idea it was to do with Children In Need - that's not mentioned on any of the letters

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WalkingInMemphis · 10/11/2014 23:29

I didn't know anything about Children in Need either. The text just said dressing up day, bring a pound.

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wanderingcloud · 10/11/2014 23:30

Did the school say nothing about this until today? You'd think they would at least have the decency to tell parents before the weekend so they have a fighting chance of getting things organised. I dread this sort of thing when mine eventually go to school YANBU!

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stealthsquiggle · 10/11/2014 23:34

Maybe it's not, I just made the assumption given that it is in Friday that it would be to do with this

I do take the point, though, OP. For the last "home clothes" day at DC's school they collectively decided that they were going for fancy dress - my heart did sink given the lack of notice but then DS announced that he was planning to wear his dragon onesie, so that was easy.

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FrauHelgaMissMarpleandaChuckle · 10/11/2014 23:41

Trousers, shirt, tie, glasses - Clark Kent? aka Superman?

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mum9876 · 10/11/2014 23:42

Wandering - it's an absolute nightmare - they give you virtually no notice. When they're 3 to 5 or at least can vaguely fit in those dressing up clothes you've bought or inherited.

But beyond 6 they just don't have any. And you're still expected to pull rabbits out of hats at no notice. It's not just a case of you having nothing for them to wear. It's more that you have to gear them up to looking silly and that takes time.

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erin99 · 11/11/2014 00:07

DD wants to go as a Victorian girl. Ugh, I have said no. (Her school thankfully says it's a general fancy dress day.)

Clark Kent in normal clothes is a great idea. Could you rustle up a Harry Potter? He is both heroic and magical - surely they are the main criteria for a superhero?

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mum9876 · 11/11/2014 00:17

No the note came out today for dress up on Friday.

She doesn't want to dress up as anything. It's just so misguided. I don't think any of her friends want to either.

It's a bit like going to work on the Monday and your boss saying, "we're going to have a really amazing time on Friday, we're all going to dress up as superheros".

How much would you welcome that?

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Sixgeese · 11/11/2014 00:27

If a demigod (from the Percy Jackson series) counts as a superhero, you could send her as Annabeth. Normal clothes with a orange Tshirt with Camp Half Blood written on it, shoelace with a few beads, I think about 7 for Annabeth, fewer for Percy) and a baseball cap.

The Percy Jackson costume I made for DS last year was the easiest I have ever made.

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erin99 · 11/11/2014 00:31

Aha. Can they not just go in their own normal clothes and pay their pound then? No one's going to tell them off for not wearing a shiny catsuit, are they? If anyone did question it, they are superheroes incognito.

My DD is only Y3 and the fancy dress thing is still ok by her.

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Littlefluffyclouds81 · 11/11/2014 00:42

My dd refused point blank to get dressed up for the last world book day, when she was in year 5.

I was well up for that kind of anarchy.

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catsofa · 11/11/2014 00:52

If she doesn't want to do it can you just reply to the message saying sorry, I need at least a full week i.e. 7 days notice to organise something like this because I work full time. Copy to as many other parents as possible, send DD in with no fancy dress and save yourself a quid. Maybe either they'll give more notice next time or at least lots of other parents will send a similar reply.

Different if she had her heart set on doing it of course.

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Biggles398 · 11/11/2014 01:16

Last time our school did this, I made my daughter a tail and stuck some cardboard ears on a headband and she was cat girl. We also had lots of made up one - "Arts and Crafts girl" was another that stuck out! So maybe make one up? Is she into any hobbies at all? ("Swimming girl", "horse riding girl" etc?). Some parents went out and bought expensive costumes just for one day, which seemed a bit ridiculous to me

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sashh · 11/11/2014 06:17

Can't she go as a Dr again? Either a specific one or a generic 'my superhero is a Dr' type thing?

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