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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Wibu to send ds as Spider-Man for World Book Day?

178 replies

pyjamaramadrama · 04/03/2014 20:48

Seems we missed the letter stating that they'd be dressing up (as usual), I check his bookbag everyday but we had no letter. Apparently it contained lots of cheap ideas.

Found out today they're dressing up on Thursday.

Which leaves me tomorrow to sort something out, and I'm at work tomorrow.

Ds has various character costumes but technically non from books.

He has no striped Dennis the Menace/Where's Wally type tshirts.

What do we do?

OP posts:

Standingonlego · 04/03/2014 23:06

DS1 wants to be Charlie bucket....thank you H&M for stocking yellow hoodies and stationery for having shiny gold card. DS2 - who knows...he keeps changing his mind (have left pirates next door out hoping that catches his eye!)

Pipbin · 04/03/2014 23:07

I hate it too, and I'm a teacher. The problem is that if we didn't do it, for every 20 parents that breath a sigh of relief, there will be 1 who complains. And those complaints will be listened too.
Also, it's a pita making/thinking of/buying a costume but it's even more of a pain trying to teach 35 princesses and spidermen.

Pipbin · 04/03/2014 23:08

To not too.

Backtobedlam · 04/03/2014 23:11

Agree with those saying that as long as the children enjoy reading it doesn't matter if it's disney, Spider-Man, a comic, whatever! There is plenty of time for them to read classics when they are older, primary age is about fostering a love of reading that will last a lifetime, if that's through dressing up as a superhero then fine. My dd will be going as the Snow Queen from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale (and most certainly not Elsa from Frozen).

MiniSoksMakeHardWork · 04/03/2014 23:17

Dd is going as zachery quack, minimonster. Our school have a cat walk for assembly that day for those who have dressed up and want to, encourage children to bring in the book with character to be shared in class and don't give two figs whether you cone as batman or a princess as long as you can bring the book.

Fwiw, I'm with two other posters. So many people seem to have forgotten Disney did not invent all of these princesses (i will give them Sophia in the absence of other evidence). But it's damn handy to have a costume that is recognisable.

RussianBlu · 04/03/2014 23:20

Would you fancy holding a child's party for 6 and a half hours where they all came dressed as Spiderman or Ben 10 or Batman and trying to get them to all sit down and play pass the parcel nicely or eat some food and watch the candles on the cake? No, I didn't think so.

Devora · 04/03/2014 23:22

World Book Day = pile of shite. This year my dd wants to go as Susan from the Narnia series. She wanted a queen costume, i said no way and found an old green tunic of mine that she will wear with a big belt, black leggings and ankle boots, with a bow and arrow. I am rather pleased with my ingenuity, but there will be kids in AMAZING costumes - massive papier mache Chitty Chitty Bang Bang cars attached to their persons, et cetera.

The very next day is their class play. She has to take in plain cotton pyjamas and a wool coat. Do you have Any Idea how hard it is to find cheap plain cotton pyjamas for children? I do, because I've searched the internet, and it's pretty much impossible. And how many kids have wool coats?

She's at a great school but i do get pissed off by their unceasing demands on the parents, and how they shamelessly reward those parents who have silly amounts of time to invest in this stuff. Like the cupcake competition that was inevitably won by the 6yo boy who had apparently, all by himself, baked cupcakes that would put the Hummingbird Bakery to shame (a carrot cake 'concept', complete with darling little carrots, earthenware pots and crumbled up Oreo cookie soil). Or when my dd's class had to make Egyptian boats for their homework. dd came back to tell me that hers was the worst in the class. I bet it wasn't, I said brisky. Oh, but she was right. Next time I went in her class, they were all on display: some were carved out of wood, with moving parts!

I know the teachers laugh at this stuff, and don't take it seriously. But some of the kids do. And as a FT working parent with two kids at the school, I could really live with a whole lot less of this.

Jollyphonics · 04/03/2014 23:23

OP, how old is your DS?

hirple · 04/03/2014 23:23

DS is going as a Red Indian from his Atlas - his favourite book at the moment. Otherwise it would have been Spiderman!

AgaPanthers · 04/03/2014 23:26

I don't think you are allowed to call them Red Indians any more.

Bearfrills · 04/03/2014 23:27

Our school specified no pyjamas, no onesies, no underwear-as-outerwear, and "please do not rush out and buy an expensive costume". They're doing it as a general fancy dress day rather than a book character day and the children can come in either non-uniform or whatever dress up costume they like. There will always be one parent who goes overboard and sends their child in a handsewn costume of their favourite children's chatacter. There will always be one who completely forgets and sends their child in their usual uniform.

Last year DS went in wearing a Viking-style raider costume I panic bought from Asda - dark green trousers, green and brown tunic, faux sheepskin jerkin, helmet and an axe. When I got asked which book character he was I told people he was Timmet Son of Timmet :o

Ludoole · 04/03/2014 23:27

Ds2's school usually have lots of power rangers, spidermans, etc, but this year they are saying to dress up as a character in a traditional book.

Ds2 doesn't want to dress up as a 'traditional' character so is refusing to dress up at all.
He had planned on dressing as Steve from Minecraft (and taking his Minecraft book) but obviously that it most definitely not a 'traditional' character.....

Refoca · 04/03/2014 23:28

DS is insistent he's a pirate...sure we'll find a book with a pirate so he has a name to go with the costume by Thurs... :-/ yanbu

storynanny · 04/03/2014 23:30

Pipbin my classes are always like that too. I wear a witch hat or a pair of cat ears on a headband. I hate dressing up days, lost bits of costumes, fancy shoes that cant go out to play , help needed to get out of costumes for the toilet, grumpy ones who didnt want to dress up, grumpy ones who did want to but had nothing to wear etc.
Now I am a supply teacher I am "unavailable" for work if there is a hint of dressing up.
When middle son was 7 over 20 years ago I enthusiastically made him an elaborate native American Indian outfit complete with beads and a plaited wool wig as he requested. On the dressing up day he would t put it on. Stick to simple, buy them from asda and reuse over and over again

Poppylovescheese · 04/03/2014 23:32

Fudge you are a twat. That is all.

unlucky83 · 04/03/2014 23:33

I don't think we have to do this this year (if we do I've missed it - never really saw the point
(I don't even like the £1 books/vouchers - parents who go to book shops anyway use them - others either won't bother or will come out of a shop feeling like books are a luxury they can't afford - much better sending them down the library or directing them towards charity shops...)

Anyway noticed some children's clothing website (maybe tesco or asda or matalan or M&S or BHS or debehams ????) were advertising costumes for WBD ...
I thought it was a cop out - and a way of cashing in on something else (like nativity costumes) and pretty sure there was a spiderman costume or similar ...
Maybe it will help someone who doesn't have time to mess about if it isn't too late...I'll see if I can find it...
(I was looking for plain white pants for my DD to wear under a white leotard for a ballet show...almost impossible to find! - ended up having to buy a pack of 5 pairs from M&S - even though she has loads of bloody pants anyway...grrrr )

Changebagsandgladrags · 04/03/2014 23:36

DS1 is going as the person out of Beastquest, Tom I think. Apparently he looks like a pirate. Result.

dS2 has to go as a motherfucking bear. Because they are doing bear stories. Never mind that he loves Meg and Mog and wants to dress up as a witch.

I wouldn't mind. But last week was Bastarding Roman dress up day.

unlucky83 · 04/03/2014 23:47

Right Tesco do have World Book Day costumes - link images are a princess and spiderman
Matalan on the first kids page has costumes ...Captain America and Spiderman
Others I can't see one - but I definitely saw a different image to these two - so if you can think of a major clothing retailer I've forgotten in that list where you might be looking for young girls pants it might be that!!!

JennySense · 04/03/2014 23:55

This thread has cheered me up. This years theme is Heroes and Villains FFS. I'm sending in a witch.
In the past the school have had design a hat which was a bit more inventive. I loathe this dressing up.

YellowDinosaur · 05/03/2014 00:06

I got all angsty about this a couple of years ago and told ds1 he wasn't allowed to go as Ben 10 because he 'wasn't a proper book character'. What a twat I felt when not only every other boy was dressed as Ben 10, but also the stall selling new books as part of book day included several Ben 10 books. Since then the boys have worn whatever they want and I've chilled the fuck out :o

ArtexMonkey · 05/03/2014 10:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Crowler · 05/03/2014 10:24

My son just told me he was going as a gladiator, to which I replied: you have to be a fictional book character. He said his teacher told him a gladiator was fine. What's the point in World Book Day if they can just dress up as gladiators?

DontHaveAtv · 05/03/2014 10:31

My teenage daughter is dressing up as a clown. She's going as Pennywise from IT.

BuilderofDuplo · 05/03/2014 10:33

My DD wants to go as the little girl from we're going on a bear hunt, blue denim dress and white ankle socks, phew no complicated costume sewing for me.

Gileswithachainsaw · 05/03/2014 10:44

Has fudge been on the glue?

It's fine. Don't give it a second thought.

If that's what you have then use it. Comics are books too.

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