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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wish World Book Day should fuck the fuck off!

302 replies

Toraleistripe · 24/02/2016 18:56

Grrrrrrrr. I'm hate it. I am all for celebrating reading and books but this yearly dress up activity at school drives me mad!

I have 2 Dc, they both want me to buy ready made costumes which will cost £30 or more! So not happening. I will still have to cobble something together though. I can't be arsed. We don't have anything. I have scoured the Internet for ideas. Kids either don't like the ideas or I don't have the stuff.

Sod off WBD!

OP posts:
DaphneWhitethigh · 27/02/2016 16:58

You'd think so Penny. But that's the sort of thinking that leaves you with a carefully prepared set of Quidditch robes, a broomstick saved from Halloween and some fake glasses, just ready for the school to announce on Monday "This year's theme will be the works of Roald Dahl"

Edith1 · 27/02/2016 17:44

Dread it dread it!!!. In yr6, can't wait until they are in secondary school, to get away from it. Great idea that kids just bring a favourite book in, rather than dress up! My DS hates dressing up and most boy characters in books just dress normal anyway.

TooMuchOfEverything · 27/02/2016 18:02

Daphne YES you have just explained my dilemma. We passed on all outgrown fancy dress stuff, except for a couple of WBD outfits, then got slammed with a theme one week before the day Angry

DrSeussRevived · 27/02/2016 18:24

Penny, it also depends how much you want to let your kids dress as a book character they've actually read about fairly recently (some schools want kids to bring in and talk about the books)

Kathsmum · 27/02/2016 18:27

Roald Dahl revolting rhymes has most of the fairy tale ones in there
Good luck

TooMuchOfEverything · 27/02/2016 18:36

Our theme isn't actually Roald Dahl but it's the principal- you can't be prepared for WBD. It will always fuck you over somehow.

DrSeussRevived · 27/02/2016 19:09

"you can't be prepared for WBD. It will always fuck you over somehow."

Adding this to my classic MN phrases collection!

weaselish · 27/02/2016 19:44

Year 1 dd's school has a space/ science fiction theme. Doesn't want to be an astronaut, robot or alien. Has no clue what star wars is yet. Any ideas?! Really haven't got time for this and don't want to have to shell out for something. She has an elsa costume (surprise).. But not much else...can't actually think of many relavant kids books either. Help!

stubbornstains · 27/02/2016 20:01

weaselish Aliens love underpants! Paint her blue or green and make sure she wears a big pair of spotty pants over her trousers.

NerrSnerr · 27/02/2016 20:02

Does she have any yellow clothes to be the sun or red clothes to be Mars?

weaselish · 27/02/2016 21:30

Thanks - she refuses to be an alien but great plan re Mars. That may just work.. Cheers

PurpleThermalsNowItsWinter · 27/02/2016 21:40

Just bought dd a new elsa dress today as she has suddenly grown taller and nothing fits her. Ds has all the avengers & Star Wars outfits to choose from.
I made the mistake of making a costume once. Everyone else turned up as a Disney princess or superhero. We've had roald Dahl day already and I made an effort for that.
My DC read everyday and enjoy it. That is more important than a day of dressing up. If they want to wear a pre made costume for a few hours thats ok with me.

SueTrinder · 27/02/2016 22:57

OK, we are sorted. DD2 is going as Tiga Whicabim from Witch Wars. Conveniently the world under the pipes is devoid of colour so I thought 'great, black and white normal clothes, that will be easy' but she HAD to have a spotty skirt and HAD to have a hat (not a pointy witch hat) so it hasn't been a cheap and easy option but at least I got a lovely spotty skirt (from M&S no less!!) that she will be able to wear again.

I am slightly concerned that some of the other kids will make mean comments because she's wearing normal clothes and is dressed as a character from a proper book and is not a Disney princess but I think she looks fab in her costume.

TypicallyEnglishMustard · 27/02/2016 23:14

Urgh, I'm a TEACHER, and I have to dress up for it... I'm a SENIOR SCHOOL teacher! And year 7 and 8 are invited to dress up as well... Surely they should be over this by now?! And they're not allowed to be a remotely pedestrian character (a la Penny in Girl Online), it has to be a full-on costume, or school uniform only.

And my department has made it a rule that it's Roald Dahl-themed only for us.

I have to teach A-level and meet with my sixth form tutor group that day. And we all have to attend staff training after school, being the only department of lemons who are dressed up.

FML. Fuck World Book Day.

Keeptrudging · 27/02/2016 23:50

That's a particularly bad punishment, did you piss off the HT? Grin

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 28/02/2016 00:07

Ooh the theme ones are annoying.

Otherwise you could all pull a Wednesday Addams and go in your everyday clothes, saying "I'm a psychopath. They just look like everyone else".

Roald Dahl teacher theme - there's that bloke in Danny Champion of the World, you could go as him - paint on a moustache and carry a cane. Or Mike TV's mum in Charlie an the Chocolate Factory - she was fairly innocuous.

TooMuchOfEverything · 28/02/2016 00:21

Having to be a full on character is very unfair. Also - does anyone else have to pay? Our school is asking for a £1 donation for the privilege!!!

Mrscaindingle · 28/02/2016 07:13

This is my last year of this stuff and I am so happy about it and I love dressing up and even pulling together costumes when I have the time to do it. Being a single parent with a full time job these things just add to the stress levels, eg DS2 last week .." Oh mum I need to bake a cake with a Commonwealth theme for Friday..." this was on the Wednesday Hmm

Previous good suggestions I have seen are Percy Jackson (normal clothes with a pen in the back pocket) or a muggle. This was what we did one year when I came home from a 12 hour shift at 9:30 pm to find both DC still up saying we need costumes for world book day tomorrow. Shock

Snowberry86 · 28/02/2016 07:24

My nieces school had a Julia Donaldson theme so she is going as a scarecrow. Checked shirt and dungarees. We made some felt flowers to stick on a hat and stuffed straw in her pockets. Easy peasy.

Washediris · 28/02/2016 07:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Flashbangandgone · 28/02/2016 07:38

My nieces school had a Julia Donaldson theme so she is going as a scarecrow. Checked shirt and dungarees. We made some felt flowers to stick on a hat and stuffed straw in her pockets. Easy peasy.

Hmm. Surely only easy peasy if you happen to have to hand:
Checked shirt
Dungarees

Flashbangandgone · 28/02/2016 07:40

Felt
Straw hat
Straw

To hand

I would have the felt, but that's it...

livvylongpants · 28/02/2016 07:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Snowberry86 · 28/02/2016 07:51

We have rabbits hence the straw, and the hat was an old straw style summer one we had lying around.

If you you get into town then lots of shops have hats in at the minute to design eater bonnets with. I saw them in wilko and the works yesterday.

Snowberry86 · 28/02/2016 07:52

Her school insist on no shop brought costumes so it has to be home made.