And the winner is... MUMMY! (Lighthearted)

I was HoD in a Scottish high school.

One of the teachers in the department had an S1 class reading a book called "The Wee Man". She said she'd give a prize to the pupil who made the best "house" for the wee man, using a shoebox.

The winning entry had a full set of furniture, a disco ball and was illuminated by a bulb powered by a battery.

My DSIL always took over the home projects that her son had been assigned because he went to a posh private school where it was the thing for the parents to 'help' although the creations were presented as the child's work. By the time he was 9yrs, he was quite fed up with not being able to make his own creations. When it came time for him to present his latest diorama, he walked to the front of the class and said,
"This is supposed to be an Eskimo village. My mom did the whole thing and wouldn't let me help at all". Then promptly sat down. I was very proud of him for outing DSIL! 🤣

That not my experience. A lot of adults don't know the difference. When we had members of the public as judges, they always chose the parents' efforts.

A girl in my DS year had a dad who was very creative and handy (carpentry workshop in the garden type). She had an Easter bonnet one year that if she pulled a lever on the brim, a bunny popped out the top!

The best one we ever created was an upside down KFC bucket with chicks glued to the top! An idea shamelessly poached from MN.

i refused to do the Easter bonnet competition this year after last years Mother’s Day baking where half the mums either bought the cakes (whipped them out of packaging on the day) or had grandparents do them - whilst there’s me slaving away after a full day at work with two young kids covered in flour and icing cream

A 10 year old could spot the difference between them.
You don’t need to have been a teacher to tell them apart.

When you said Linda, i thought it was going to be Linda McCartney!

This is why I adored my kids primary. It was always the creation that clearly a child had made and spent time on

Our school always gets a couple of retired teachers in to judge. They know what's kids vs parents' handiwork.

Our school is great at picking dress up winners (WBD, Halloween) that are home made. Shop NEVER wins over home made.
The years I've resorted to buying something I've apologised in advance that they won't win 😂😂

My kids made their own with Hot Glue Supervision but they're quite neat and sensible so probably do look a bit "bored mom short on time" lol

My other DD is gifted at art (unlike me!) so I actually got her to do my parent's entry for the Easter competition a few years ago. She/I came third! The PTA person running it (but not judging it) was a friend of mine and messaged afterwards to say was my entry done by [DD] because it was too good for it to be me 🤣 She was bang on the money!!

Yep - ditto egg competitions. I remember taking my eldest in with her tissue paper egg creation - to see massive diaramas clearly made by other parents eggs with hand stiched costumes we are supposed to believe a 5 year old made. I mean, I don't think there are rules that parents can't help but it is heartbreaking when your kid really has tried their best. In Yr6 now and it's finally nearly over after 12 years of Primary School.

Yes! I confess I gave up when I realised I was supposed to be doing all the work!

DD has just created an amazing entry for an Easter competition that she did all by herself when she found out (I didn't tell her for reasons above). It's brilliant and she would be a deserving winner but I'll be seriously hacked off if a parent guided entry wins.

Here’s the terrifying fox and chicks Easter bonnet for those who need to see it.

Did you mean ‘not required’?

Surely the obvious solution is that nurseries and early years kids should make these things at nursery or school. It’s a perfect fine motor activity, they have all the right kit, it’s not another damn thing on the parents’ to do list and it means the child has definitely made their own bonnet.

^^
Craft projects should be required at home.

Homework at primary school should be worksheets or things that are easily done by the child alone. Not projects of any kind or anything that involves logging on to a system or remembering passwords etc.

Update on the bonnet parade yesterday.... The girl who won had a hat with a moving ferris wheel on it (6year old)

@ErrolTheDragon I share your pain re the sticky backed plastic
also they always had packaging from some fancy item that was never ever bought in our house
Once, by a miracle, we did actually have some sticky backed plastic (probably for lining kitchen shelves)- at about that time Valerie Singleton demonstrated how we could transform our wellington boots into trendy fashion boots, by decorating them with sticky backed plastic.
What I ended up with were black wellies with random red shapes stuck all over them, they were not remotely trendy and even I could see that.
I'd like to say I drew some important life lesson from that experience but I think all I learnt was not to squander sticky backed plastic on dodgy craft projects.

Needs the laughing emoji!

Hate Easter Bonnets. I’m not artistic or into crafts and was working full time when DD was in the Easter Bonnet zone. A lovely friend used to talk about how she’d trawled charity shops etc for bonnet decorations.
I remember being on a residential and sewing Ester chicks on a straw hat for DD. (Parade compulsory). The staff from other schools were incredulous.
Easter bonnet parades can get in the bin.
Am I bitter 25 years later? Absolutely.

I clicked on this thread in the hopes that someone had shared it! 😁

Way back in the day and I was in the brownies, it was Halloween and we had to dress up for a competition. There weren’t the shops or obviously on line shopping in those days. Lots of the brownies dressed up in some lovely outfits obviously made by their parents. My parents ( like myself) had absolutely no artistic talent at all. I went to the event wearing a sack tied in the middle with string , wearing a rolled up and sellotaped black paper hat, and holding a twig. I won because the judges felt I had actually made my costume myself. There were some very disappointed parents and other brownies that night. Personally I was chuffed with my certificate and chocolate that I won.

My 5yo ds made his last night. I overheard him this morning telling his sister that if he won, he'd share the chocolate prize with her. Bless him, he decorated the hat on his own so I doubt he will be in the running :(

I remember my Primary School ran a photography competition where you had to take a picture of a family member. I came second.
The winner was Linda, you know Linda, the one who's father happened to be a professional photographer.
Look, it was only 35 years ago, I am sure I will get over it soon 😀

Dd got an honorable mention one year in her Easter Bonnet which was her sun hat with daffodils daisy chained around the crown. Which I did make in a panic on the walk to school after picking them from the garden! But the winners were always extraordinary adult crafted affairs. Same with cake decoration, wooden spoon decoration or anything competitive really.
I did once get really into making a model penguin for DS class, and he got congratulations on his own work, as clearly my craft skills are shit.