Just sent my son to school without world book day costume

[chandellina]

I thought it was optional but now I'm worried he'll be the only child not dressed up. (DH dropped him off so I didn't get to peruse the scene.) Should we drop round a pirate outfit for him to change into? Or should I hold firm that we didn't have any good ideas this year and that's life?

DS2 has gone in as Stig out of the Brotherband books ( Teenage viking sagas ) Sword, shield, chainmail and all! ( I think they might disarm him in reception ) his best mate hates dressing up and never does it but all the others seem to have gone for it in a big way ...

It's a bit of fun and DS loves it - he's been planning this for weeks - but they shouldn't feel they have to if they'd rather not.

I'd drop off the pirate gear so he can join in if he wants to ...

'Or should I hold firm that we didn't have any good ideas this year and that's life?'

What a crappy attitude OP. Yes, I'm sure it's a pain in the arse but it can't be that difficult to come up with a simple character costume. Poor kid.

Pretty much everyone was dressed up this morning, I have seen the odd child in uniform (and usually in tears at being the odd one out) on other days but not this morning. If mum's forget they normally run home and get something.

I love book day dressing up day, our theme this year was mythological or magical characters.

We also have Shakespeare dress up day in 2 weeks so no sooner have I sorted out one lot of costumes I have to do another, but I love sorting the costumes for them

For future reference, there are well over 60 Star Wars tie-in novels (of various and dubious quality), and Spider-man has been in print since 1962. Though for kids who don't like dressing up, Peter Parker might be a better option

I feel a bit bad as it did slip my mind until a couple of days ago. In the end they went as the same characters as last year, as we have the outfits and they still fit. DD1 went as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and dd2 went as Rapunzel. It turned out that there were a few Rapunzels and princesses in dd2s class, so she was pleased. DD1 was worried that people would remember that she was the same last year, but I don't think anyone did. I would definitely take an outfit to school for your ds. I saw a couple of dc in uniform today and I thought they looked a bit

I used to bring in dressing up bits and bobs from home and keep them in class, along with the outgrown waterproof pacamacs belonging to my children for those whose parents didn't think they needed a coat.
Most of the children enjoy dressing up, or acting in character or being different for a day, and for those that choose to opt out, that's fine. If it is their decision.
It's only a faff if the parents choose to make it so, and are bothered about being judged by other adults.
I've been in this lark for years, buying costumes is a relatively new thing and not necessary.
World Book day has happened every year since 1995. You should be used to it by now.

Doesn't anyone have a dressing up box at home any more?
Mine is in the attic now, waiting to be unleashed on any potential grandchildren.

'Normal clothes would be fine, uniform not!'
First world problem surely? I left it up to my child today - by late Junior School the 'cool' thing is to wear the uniform as rebellion.

dress up as a fairtrade item of food

wtaf?! A banana? Bar of chocolate? Tea bag? These are things that do not lend themselves easily to dressing up. Utterly bizarre.

Yeah?

DS2's middle school must be the epicentre of uncool then they were wall to wall costumes and civvies!

Mind you, if there is a bright centre to the galaxy we are the point furthest from ...

My ds school have loads of costumes in their dress up area so I'm sure the teacher will provide the couple of kids in his reception class who were in uniform with one.

Also loads of darth vada, spider man, buzz light years today. I had to persuade ds not to wear his Skelton pjs (wanted to be funny bones) as he has worn them for Halloween and oj day already.

Of course it's a first world problem.
Clearly fancy dress is really not comparable to oh, I don't know...provision of fresh drinking water for children in Africa and I don't think anybody would say that it isn't a first world problem.

I am amazed at the sheer number of lazy, moaning parents - I really am! How hard is is to get a little costume for a bit of fun.

I'm glad I can be bothered to make an effort and am pretty sure my kids are too and no, I don't think I'm anything special at all for doing so and really don't care what other people dress their kids up in.
But moaning about it as if it's this last-minute task which requires a massive effort is just pathetic.

The next person who uses the phrase 'first world problem' will be thrown in a piranha infested lake.

True, although I must admit I thought it was a school thing so hadn't been expecting it at nursery (don't think they did it last year). Luckily, it was in the newsletter on Monday.

I was planning the witch from Room on the Broom - red top, purple(ish) skirt, black cloak from an old shirt of DH and one of the millions of Pound Shop witches hats we have for Halloween, a Halloween broom and a wand. But DD chose Belle so just went in her Disney dress - hey ho - maybe next year...

That last post not actually directed anyone in particular
There is another thread going with people saying stuff like 'world book day can fuck itself in the arse' nice! - i should have posted it there.

Agree squoosh

Thank fuck our school doesn't go in for this rubbish, they've never done book day dress up as long as I've known it. Both my boys hate dress up and so do I. They'd be going in ordinary clothes as any boy in a Roald Dahl/David Walliams book or similar.

I agree DamnBamboo. What is the point of google if not to pilfer other creatively minded people's ingenious ideas in these situations.

rooners if you need a country could you put him in a big jumper and then he'd be Jersey

Or green top and brown or green trousers to go as Greenland?

Or a sharks fin on his back to be Finland?

Or tie a big tie sound him to be Thailand?

Make him nod his head all day to be from the land of Nod (ok so not technically a real country - have they specified real? Or UN membership? Could be fun and interesting to do if your dc could pull it off, especially if they were happy to talk philosophically about what is a country, who decides when a country is a country (eg Scotland wanting to break free, what's happening in Ukraine and Russia right now, etc), or a nightmare otherwise...

I'm sure there must be a few others where you could think of something easy related to the name rather than do the whole national dress or proper themed thing!

That's coming from me, who realised after I'd already pushed the snooze button too many times this morning that I hadn't sorted ds1's outfit despite having been asking him for the last week what he wanted to be. Ended up wearing jeans, red top and me making a cardboard bottle with grieves marvellous medicine scrawled on it when we should have been in the car!

Will have to get Alex rider for ds1 to read so he can add that to our list of easy costumes!

Aww poor kid.

DS's school did WBD a few weeks ago for some reason and I was all for sending him in jeans and a tshirt with a plumbing magazine as the boy from Gangsta Granny until he decided he wanted to be Scaredy Squirrel! I know of one child this morning who has gone to school as the boy from the Cat in the Hat ie just wearing normal clothes - it doesn't have to be hard! Spiderman and Anakin are both totally acceptable outfits too. Our school always seems to be chock full of Where's Wallys every year.

It's fun - most* kids love dressing up, it introduces them to new books and gets them interested in reading. It breaks up the monotony of school uniform too - something adults at my husband's office do every month on mufti day!

*I know not all kids like it.

LOL at 'first world problem'. How does World Book Day even qualify as a problem? Except for the poor kids whose parents can't be arsed (forgetting is a different thing and that is why school dressing up boxes exist).

I didn't know it happened at nursery, until this morning. I don't know whether we were told, and I forgot, or not told.

Bugger! Poor left-out offspring.

Go dressed in the colours of the nation's flag.

May not at all nurseries Tilly. I am fairly sure this is the first year ours have done it. And nurseries almost certainly will have dressing up boxes anyway.

Oh yes, "maybe you can wear something from the box" was what I told my small sad-faced offspring, as an assortment of Gruffolos trotted past.

But still. Bugger!