How to organise Christmas jumper swap for primary school?

[MammaRoly]

Wise Mumsnetters I need your help!

I am on my DC school PTA and with the cost of living crisis, I really wanted to suggest the above idea at our September AGM. Trouble is I have no idea how to go about it! 😒 I feel I probably need to go to the meeting with a plan, otherwise I risk being shot down by other more vocal, more wealthy committee members who aren't worried about how they are going to pay their bills!

So if I ask for donations of Xmas jumpers from previous years from parents from October then suggest a swap event? What about if not enough donations? We are a small village school of 125 children.

Help please!

Do you do second hand uniform?

I would ask for donations of halloween & x mas jumpers & uniform, then hold a sale shortly before half term, any unsold go to charity shops.
So not a straight swap but low chary of £1 or £2?

I agree with Teendivided. A large scale swap sounds complicated. Ask for Christmas jumper donations and sell them very cheaply. Perhaps the school could keep one or two back in case certain families can’t afford £1 or £2 (but I’m not sure of the diplomacy around that.). Friends will still swap on an individual basis.

My DDs school are very “ enterprising” - they hold a sale of second hand jumpers donated by parents and then have a Christmas jumper day where you also have to pay. 🤷‍♀️ ( that’s a capitalist society for you).

It may be worth bringing in the limited use, environment angle as well which might help get on board better off parents who aren't struggling and don't care about those who are.

Great idea!

The only possible pitfall I can see is parents donating 1 jumper but buying 2 (for their latest starter/previous jumper chucked out). I'd be miffed if I donated my old jumpers, believing I was going to get a swap and then found there weren't any left to get and I had to shell out for new ones. Then there's a sizing issue. I'd make it clear donating doesn't guarantee you a swap jumper available in the size you need - it's as much about saving the planet as cost.

What a great idea. If PTA won't take it up, contact the school office and pass on the suggestion to the school council.

If you want a straight swap, could parents be issued with a raffle ticket for each jumper they donate (adult sizes welcome for staff?) so that they can then only buy/take the same number that they take?

I think a sale would be preferable though because some people might donate but not want to take 1, so you might actually help more people with a very cheap sale.

Well done OP, I've been saying since Christmas Jumper Day became a thing that this should be a standing event in all schools.

Definitely promote the environmental benefit as well as cost saving aspect.

I think asking for old jumpers to be donated to an event where people can then buy 'new' ones for a token sums to raise money for school funds would be the way to go. Do you have an autumn fair/harvest festival type event that it could be part of?

I'd actually suggest that you cancel Christmas jumper day. If you still want to raise money, the children can wear their own clothes, perhaps decorated with some tinsel or something. The whole idea of Save the Children doing this as a fundraiser when most of the jumpers worn are probably made in sweatshops is ridiculous.
If you do go ahead, get everyone to donate their jumpers before Oct HT. Then spend a couple of weeks ensuring they're all clean and sorted into age piles and possibly girl/boy/unisex.
Then think about how you're doing the swap. You'll want to hold it in plenty of time before the event, perhaps late November. Do those who donated get early access? If you've donated one jumper, can you just take one or can you take more? If you donated, do you pay less than those who haven't?
What are you going to do with any leftovers? Keep them for another year? Donate them to charity?

Do you live in a place where everyone celebrates Christmas? If not you are excluding some kids. Jewish or Hindu children for example.

You might want to think of another thing to swap to make it more inclusive.

How about mugs?

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and for other things to take into account. Please do keep them coming!

I like the idea of promoting the environmental benefits as well. This might well attract some parents who may not otherwise take part, and hopefully would help reduce the stigma of taking part.

We do have a second hand uniform sale already through our PTA website but these are the school uniform logo items so everyone knows what they are getting with the description - size 7/8 school jumper for example. I had wondered if we could extend this to include the Christmas jumpers but wasn't sure how that could work.

And we are a C of E school and part of a church diocese academy so the school definitely celebrates Christmas but I will be mindful so as not to exclude anyone of no/different faiths.

DDs school did this last Christmas. Not primary so wasn't an enormous uptake but you took your jumper in you didn't want and were then given a token to use to take a different jumper, any left over were sold for £2 each with the profits going to one of the schools chosen charities.

Honestly I really would keep it simple and do it as a collect in and sale basis.

Maybe say to the school that if they want to take any for families in need to send a member of staff along at the start and they can pick suitable ones for free to give out quietly if desired?

This isn't something I would worry about being inclusive (wrt faith) about (especially in a CofE school) People can choose to buy or not.

I think the idea of swapping is far to complicated.
Just make it a sale.
Ask people to donate their old ones, and then advertise that you will be selling them all for just a pound (or whatever you decide) to make sure everyone who wants to join in with Christmas jumper day is able to have one if they want to. Bonus is it will raise £50 or so for the PTA. Very little work. Most people would be happy to donate outgrown Christmas Jumpers.