To think that Christmas jumper day is a bad way for schools to raise money?

[Pico2]

DD is in reception, so this is her first year of pay £1 to wear a Christmas jumper to school. A Christmas jumper costs about £10 from Tesco (we live rurally, any savings on buying from Primark would be erased by the petrol cost). Much like other children she grows like a weed, so we'd probably only get 2 years max out of a jumper. We wouldn't buy her one otherwise. So a charity will get perhaps £2 over 2 years out of the £12 spent. I appreciate that it isn't obligatory, but like most parents I try to get DD to participate where possible. Am I the only parent to think that this benefits shops far more than charities?

[citykat]

Lot of unhappy parents last year at our school paying £10 to buy a jumper that you pay £2 to wear that goes to save the children who support work with children earning a pittance to make crappy jumpers in shoddy factories. Makes no sense. Home customisation or nothing.

[BatmanLovesBaubles]

My school is in a very affluent area - about 1/4 of the children have 'proper' Christmas jumpers and the rest pin on tinsel / baubles, or draw Christmas trees / stars etc on paper, cut them out and pin them on.

It is what you make it, I think.

[CalleighDoodle]

My son and daughter are in their second year of their current xmas jumpers. They wear them a lot during december. Not just on one day. In fact they have worn them today for a school christmas fair. We will also wear then on xmas day, plus many fimes in between.

If you dont want to buy a jumoer, don't buy a jumper. Attach baubles to a cardigan of something.

Parents ahould not feel forced to buy a jumper but equally they shouldnt feel forced not to buy them and have to make something instead! I dont have time for that shit!

[AuntieStella]

Fortunately our school bills it as home clothes/Xmas jumper, so no pressure to buy an item you wouldn't otherwise get.

And I do agree about raising more money if people just gave the ingredients money. That's why I always only ever do Rice Krispie cakes, as I think they're the only thing that is guaranteed to sell and do so for a total above my costs.

[crispytruffle]

I have two children and have been given a long list of all the items they need for their school christmas plays, which are not even nativity! I don't want to make the costumes I am over doing that and I don't have the time! Also, it is usually actually cheaper to buy the costume! They will wear all this stuff once. We also have Christmas jumper day and a weekly mufti day to raise money. I just find at Christmas there are far too many demands from our school.

[Bubbletree4]

This has become a "thing". The best thing to do is to buy one that fits the Christmas theme but can be worn all year round. Like a jumper that says "let it snow" or something. Buy it big, get 2-3 yrs out of it. My dd is wearing last years to our school dress up day. After that it will be given to a friend to wear next year.

[Madbengalmum]

What about buying them in the sales in the next size up??

[crispytruffle]

Schools shouldn't be doing cake and doughnut sales anyway, they should all be supporting healthy eating!

[Madbengalmum]

They were in m and s sales for 99p last year, so cheaper than customising your own

[Lancelottie]

DD (young teen) has been wearing hers since Bonfire Night.

But I'm prepared to accept that she's a little odd.

[Pipbin]

Schools shouldn't be doing cake and doughnut sales anyway, they should all be supporting healthy eating!

Fruit sales don't tend to raise much money.

[tillytown]

On Christmas jumper day last year, one of my nephews went in wearing his iron man costume with a tinsel belt, in fact very few of the kids in his class had Christmas jumpers, they just wore whatever they wanted.

[enderwoman]

At our school Christmas jumper day interpretations include:
Christmas tshirts
Christmas sweatshirts
Christmas hair accessories/jewellery
Dressing in green or red

It's like kids turning up in Disney dress up on World Book Day- people follow the theme loosely and try to use what they've already got to wear.

[enderwoman]

Facebook selling sites are great for this and last minute dress up days. There's always people selling/passing on outgrown dressing up and Christmas jumpers.

[bettyberry]

I'm getting annoyed with all these charity/non uniform days.

I like to choose the charity my money goes to. I get annoyed our school does fundraising for certain charities that I do not agree with at all not going to list them because I am sick to death of people being abusive about my choices but these school charity days take away that decision for me.

I am OK with donations for the xmas fairs or fundraising for the PTA because it goes back into the school.

I was angry at the harvest festival that all the food goods that were donated weren't going to the local soup kitchen and the food bank like they were split every year but to a local animal charity who get a ridiculous amount of funding in comparison that turned them into hampers to raffle off for xmas

I wish they would stop. We can teach children the importance of charity, of giving to the those who need it, we can do it without all these bloody non uniform days.


crispytruffle gawd what is it with having to provide a nativity/play costumes?

Wasn't the whole making, mending and sorting of costumes something the PTA did? Going back a few years but my primary school had its own costume supply for all the school plays that were put on. They were reused constantly with the PTA fixing them up or making new ones on coffee mornings. I remember it saved a hell of a lot of hassle and one year we did joseph and his technicolour dreamcoat. PTA member had sewn the coat from loads of charity shop ties and it looked great. It was used loads after too.

[DisappointedOne]

tely with you on this, it goes on and on. Bake sales are the same £10 on ingredients to raise £4 for the school.

WTF ingredients are you buying? I use free range eggs and proper butter, 70% chocolate or organic cocoa and vanilla extract in my cakes and even using gluten free flour it wouldn't cost me more than 25p per cupcake to make (they get sold for 50p).

[merrymouse]

I am very sceptical that 5 year olds learn much from this kind of thing. It's all so abstract - Get your parents to supply an outfit so that they can give money (no concept of value if £1) to something or other. (Particularly when it doesn't actually make sense because you don't like dressing up and your parents are spending more than £1 on your costume).

It's a bit different when older children can be involved in running a cake stall, choosing a charity or making their own costumes.

[meditrina]

The 5 year olds will be learning by watching the older ones (who perhaps run the cake stalls, or collect the non-uniform fees).

And in our primary at least, the pupil parliament chose which causes to support. Yes, this charities may not be the ones that the parents support routinely, but that's not really the point when the children are the ones making the choice and the school as a community acts.

[HackerFucker22]

We buy Christmas jumpers as standard.... but we live in central London and I have bought the cheapest of cheap crap.

I'd begrudge having to fork out X amount and pay the school too, if I wasn't actually buying a jumper for the festive period (I have younger nieces and nephews so hand down to them)

[megletthesecond]

What city said. It's ironic that xmas jumper days are to raise money for charity when they've been made in sweatshops for a pittance. Sequins are probably sewn on by a 10yr old.

Customising isn't cheap either, a decent pack of fabric pens are almost a tenner.

[strawberryandaflake]

Ugh. We had one at school and I was called a grinch for not participating. I pointed out I haven't wasted £10 on tat and have put it towards a new car. A mercedes. Which would they rather?

[MistressMerryWeather]

Pipbin :o

[CombineBananaFister]

Ds always wears a pj top. if he didn't have xmas pj's we 'd be jazzing up a jumper, no way I'd be able to afford an xmas jumper. Look on pinterest - x5 black round eyes and carrot nose on an old white PE tee is a snowman, jobs a good-un

[JohnCusacksWife]

So much moaning! Since when did a Christmas non uniform day mean you had to buy a jumper? Wear green & red, wrap some tinsel round your wrist, wear an antler headband, hang a bauble round their neck, draw a Xmas tree on their cheeks. The school are absolutely not saying you have to spend money on a jumper.

And what kind of cakes are you making where the ingredients cost £10!

[JohnCusacksWife]

black round eyes and carrot nose on an old white PE tee is a snowman, jobs a good-un

Combine, that's a fab idea! I'm stealing that.