To object to Christmas jumper day?

[Drummingisfun]

DS school have already put on the calendar that they are doing Christmas jumper day, for a £1 donation to save the children.

AIBU to feel uncomfortable about it?
I am not just being a scrooge, I don't object to most festive activities but:
1)parents on a very low income are out under pressure to buy and jumper and also contribute £1. Note that there are THREE OTHER non uniform days scheduled before this also with a £1 donation.

2. It means people buying jumpers which will barely be worn, which is terrible for the environment. Bad if they are made of nylon/acrylic/polyester as all plastics, bad if made from cheap unsustainable cotton due to massive water consumption and pollution by factories. Anyone who watched the recent Stacey Dooley documentary will know what I'm talking about.

3. the irony of donating the money to save the children when most people will have bought their child the cheapest jumper they can find for a couple of quid, meaning that children are likely to have been harmed at some stage in the production either by sweatshop labour, massive unsustainable farming, factories polluting their living environment and water source...

AIBU? I love Christmas but I just feel that school shouldn't be promoting pointless consumerism like this.

Certainly is a waste of money if buying a jumper to say by wearing this "I am contributing to charity". Can the school not see the mad economics in doing this. Definitely would go with decorating an old jumper. Hope the other three dress down days aren't based on the same stupid format.

so design a Xmas top, white long sleeved t-shirt, and felt tip... or don't join in.

Our school have Christmas jumper day but a festively coloured top with a bit of tinsel is fine too. Also if children don’t hand their £1 in nothing is said. The school don’t make a big show of collecting the money.

As for Christmas jumpers bring wasteful, I don’t agree. I buy my children’s in November. They are so excited about Christmas they wear them straight away and as often as possible. More than any other top they own. They also wear them into the new year. I’ve got a photo of my then 9 year old wearing his (long sleeved t shirt style) ‘Christmas-aurus’ top in the Easter holidays!

I had to hide my youngest child’s Christmas jumper in April this year. It was a proper thick woolly jumper and the weather really wasn’t that cold! Not to mention the fact that he’d grown quite a bit and the sleeves looked to short. 😂

*too

Sorry bit harsh. I just don't like this new attitude of 'if someone can't do it, nobody should do it'. Sure there might be a few parents who can't afford £1 but the vast majority can! But their children should miss out? Would the teachers really stop a child from wearing the jumper if they couldnt pay the £1? As a teacher, I wouldn't. Also yes, some compankes are exploitative but they aren't all. And some people might choose to make their jumpers! So I think you're picking out the worst possibilities and acting on that

Decorate an existing jumper
Wear it more than once
Donate it to a charity shop
Put it in a rag bin to be recycled for matress fillings etc.
Don’t partake
But a second hand Christmas jumper

Many ways of non impacting on the stuff manufacturing Merry go round.

But their children should miss out?

On what - wearing a different jumper to school?

The £1 isn’t the problem. The issue is that most of the money spent is gong to people who sell jumpers.

Of course there are other ways to look Christmassy, but then why mention jumpers at all?

Our pta do second hand uniform sales so you can get pinafores, skirts, trousers for £1. We do a non-uniform day at the beginning of December for £1 or a donation to the tombola. Most kids wear a Christmas jumper. This year we have decided to do a Christmas jumper second hand sale in advance to try and raise pta funds, save parents money but for me it’s mainly to reduce the environmental impact.

Exactly merrymouse Why not just make it 'Christmas non-uniform day'? Why the silly adult-trend-mimicking emphasis on 'Christmas jumpers?'.

I've just realised what a deprived childhood I had back in the day. Not once did I get to wear a Christmas jumper because they weren't even going to be a thing for another forty years

I totally agree op but my dc hate feeling left out so i go along with it. I had a nightmare last year as I couldn't find one in my ds's size so ended up driving to 3 separate shopping centres to buy one. Shops were full of stressed mums buying them. It's an extra expense I could do without. Hopefully, this year, they'll still fit in last year's ones.

YABU. You don’t need to buy a jumper, as many have said, just stick some tinsel on a top

I'd agree with that but my dc wouldn't go along with this...they'd be moaning about their friends having proper ones.

It’s about being charitable. Teaching our children about giving. It’s £1. However difficult your situation is, a pound doesn’t hurt

A pound could be important to some people. I hate seeing people who struggle financially being told they should be charitable. It's not very charitable behaviour is it to make skint people hand over their cash.

Does the school have a Facebook page? You made some excellent points, maybe post that when you get the reminder for jumper day.

@formerbabe this!
'its only a pound' makes me feel even worse about counting literally every penny on our shopping. Spending £10 a week we can make do. £9? Like I said above it would mean a week of small dinners for me. We'd have to lose something, and I couldn't sacrifice DD's food, so it would be mine. Because her school wants more charity donations. Oh, irony.

YANBU! It's getting a bit much when schools apply guilt-trip thumbscrews ("it's Xmas, after all") in the name of "charidee" to justify sucking dry even more of the limited financial resources available to parents.

And, given the recent bad publicity that some charities have attracted due to some very unsavoury accusations, I would like to direct my precious dosh to a cause of MY choice, not have it requisitioned by the school for their chosen 'worthy' charity.

I usually get DD one from the charity shop where I volunteer. It gets redonated once it's been used for the few days it's worn. I would not spend the money on a new one unless it's not too Christmas related (one year I got one with a penguin skating on and another one with a cat playing in the snow), you can get some which aren't overly Christmassy but more Winter themed and pass them off as Christmas jumpers, yet use them throughout the chilly months, versus something with Santa and rudolf on which would get worn purely for a day or two...

If you have a daughter buy one a little bigger and wear as a dress?
My DD wearing the same charity shop brought jumper for the last 3 years. Was dress. Then a bit shorter worn over leggings now a jumper.
If you don't want to take part then don't. Our schools school council have just voted to wear one for CJ day. The PTA are setting up swaps and asking for donations to cheaply sell or loan out.

I suppose no one read my post.

I would like to direct my precious dosh to a cause of MY choice

Which you can also usually do in a way that enables the charity to claim gift aid of 25p for every £1 donated.

Teaching our children about giving. It’s £1

Unless the £1 comes from their pocket money they aren’t giving anything.

A Christmas jumper is for life, not just for Christmas!

DS2 just now:

If you don't want to take part then don't

Not as easy as that. Kids want to fit in...if all the other children in the school are wearing one, they don't want to be the odd one out.

Yes I don't like Christmas jumpers at all - the latest thing that people seem to do each year - a waste - I did see the Stacey Dooley fashion report (so I am not buying any more clothes unless essential - let alone a pointless Christmas jumper)….

Unfortunately young children like to feel included and so many will want to do this despite yet another expense for the parents....

I can easily afford it despite having several children to cough up for but it is another 'thing'.... another band wagon the Christmas jumper...

For some families yet another £1 per child may be a real struggle though.