The amount of money requested from school especially in December is insane!

That's a lot of trips! My DS at high school has one, admittedly it's a residential costing £650 but we can pay on instalments and the December one is due the end of the month so after Christmas ( and more importantly after pay day).

I ignore any requests that aren't textbooks or trips.

Even then I try and find the textbooks somewhere cheaper first, which 99% I can do.

For the previous poster who said they wouldn't want their child sticking out on Christmas jumper day... Send your child to school in a Christmas jumper anyway. The school aren't going to make them change during the day.

The school can't actually charge you money to wear your own clothes on a day they're not enforcing uniform.

The assumption that all the other kids will be in 'Xmas jumpers' specifically (rather than just normal clothes) doesn't reflect my experience. Might be the case in your kid's class, but not universal.

I'd do the party, perhaps the fundraiser, and the photos if they were nice - the rest I'd happily ignore!

I did the party. But the rest I ignored. I didn't even buy the school photo- I thought £15 for a single digital download was taking the piss - but it was OK, because the package offered "all 5 digital photos for £40!" Fuck off!!!!

I mean, thank fuck I have one child. I genuinely don't know how parents with two or three (or more) manage it!

Send them in a jumper but don't bother paying to do so?
There probably will be some kids whose parents cannot afford a new Christmas jumper, and last years is too small, so no doubt some poor children will have no Christmas jumper or donation. :(

You'd ignore the jumper day. Let your dc go to school in uniform when all their friends are in xmas jumpers. I couldn't let my dc stand out like a sore thumb

Those aren't compulsory though, are they? We only got them every so often, because they actually often weren't that great!

That is a lot, but I'm assuming the trips aren't compulsory? If you take out the trips its about £20 OP, which includes a disco, lunch and gift so not to bad.

The other £380 odd is your choice to pay surely?

I'd do the party, perhaps the fundraiser, and the photos if they were nice - the rest I'd happily ignore!

Worst year I had in their first primary before we moved to new area - £254 admittedly across 3 kids and optional if I wanted to let kids down but all with a week and half and all for less tan£40 max amount's - so not like big trips where there were months to save.

It was made worse by fact that year I took advice from on here and in RL to not present buy for months putting things away and getting carried away but do it in one go.

Luckily my present form DP that year was money enough to cover than and Christmas- I was in tears of relief when I rang to thank them.

It's never been quite that bad since - in fact there's been little this year at all and I've never tried not spreading shopping out again either.

Also forgot school photos. 1dcs smallest package was £25 one was £36. That wwe end Nov.

Surely the trips aren't compulsory? With them being that many of them and a couple sounding like they may be residential.

that must be some amazing trips your kids are going on.

mine are at a state primary in a deprived borough of London (although the school’s catchment area is affluent).
lunches, trips and clubs are free

That’s a lot of trips. Guessing it’s secondary rather than primary because primary schools ime only tend to have 1 or 2 expensive trips at the end of primary whereas secondary schools regularly offer very expensive trips. I can’t afford the extortionate trips at secondary for DC so they don’t go on them. Not like they’re alone in this as they would have been at primary, it’s a big year group with 50 spaces on the bigger trips so plenty don’t go. You’re not forced to pay for the trips.

The other stuff like discos, Christmas jumper day, Christmas dinner etc is all totally usual and happens every year. I have 5 DC so obviously always 5x whatever the cost of those things is but never don’t expect it to happen in December, it’s an expensive month.

We've had the same

In the same 2 week block, we had

school photos (minimum price £15)
School PTA xmas gifts - £5 for a tea towel
School PTA Raffle - £5 for a book of tickets
Kids christmas party - send in food, so £2
Playground fundraiser - £2 entry
Christmas jumper dress down day - £1

I don't mind the requests for money. But when it's all in the same 2 week period, in December it irritates the fuck out of me.

There were no money requests in October or November, yet everything in one hit.

FOUR TRIPS?!

I tend to try to avoid everything optional. Or almost everything. So the donations for non uniform, tombola donations, cake sales etc I just ignore. I really don't have the spare money as my budget is so tight

Oh and college dc. £40 trip to Thorpe park and spends.

Eldest went to a school in a poor area and this was normal 1k skiing trip. £650 spain. £500 France. Each year was one or another. Each time deposit was due mid Dec.

Primary age dc now, not affluent area but also not poor. Bearing in mind they broke up last week so only 2 weeks of Dec.

£2 xmas jumper day.
£2 non uniform day
Donation of a bottle for fancy dress ( they took bucks fizz £2.50)
Each child sent home with £10 worth raffle tickets to sell to family for above bottle tombola

£18 trip to local farm
Cake sake cakes 50p to purchase but also requested donations which again we got pre made as no time to bake

School play outfit £12 amazon. Norm i make it but i literally had nothing i could use and would cost £10 for all the stuff for it.

Then youngest.

£9 xmas party
£5 raffle tickets
£10 play outfit

And yes we don't have to participate in all but the school are good at really pumping the kids and no one wants their dc to be the only one not participating etc

Private school - OK. State school - not OK

That's a lot of trips.