To dislike the waste of ££ on World Book Day

[Mimmi78]

Straight up, I love reading! I've always had a book on the go and feel a bit naked if I go out without having one handy. It's World Book Day this week, I love this idea too, creating a lifelong love of reading is a fundamental cornerstone of education. However, in my kids school there are 400 pupils, many of whom have parents who will spend anything from a few pounds to many pounds on a costume this week. Retailers are the big winners here I think. I've estimated that the money could represent around £2,000 at our school, it took the PTA 3 months to raise that to buy essentials for the school. AIBU to wish it was more about books and less about commercial dressing up! Prepared to be slated but interested in anyone else feeling conflicted whilst wondering how to dress a six yo as Tom Gates

I'm torn. I love books too and I've had a great time cobbling together a costume for DS this year from stuff we have lying around the house. But I do completely take your point.

Maybe there should be an option - kids can either dress up OR come in pyjamas clutching their favourite book?

bestbefore Brilliant idea!

I agree OP. I like homemade/simple costumes, and I understand that most people don’t have the time or the inclination to make them, but I don’t see the value of hundreds of children coming to school in shop bought costumes, that will only be worn once. It is very wasteful, and not exactly educational as far as I am aware!

Our school has an eco recycling theme for WBD costumes this year, I think it's great. School have been encouraging parents to share and recycle costumes, and to use what you have already rather than going and buying yet another bit of cheap tat.

My school has stopped the dressing up bit. It was either competitive parents vying for best original costume, time poor parents buying last minute tat off Amazon Prime/supermarket or left out kids without costumes cos their parents couldn't be bothered.

So glad they now celebrate in more inclusive ways.

@bestbefore that's such a great idea!

My DD(4) has tons of "princess" dresses that were a hand me down from a friend, so she's already decided she's wearing one of them.
DS (9) isn't bothered, I bought him the cat in the hat costume and asked if he was going to wear that again & I can get him a new one next year.
Anything like this sends me into a bit of a tizz as I'm not creative in the slightest but don't want the kids to feel left out.

Totally agree OP. I'm so happy my daughters school is going for a "wear pjs and bring your favourite book in" theme.

I agree. It’s gone more about the (bought) costume than the books. Facebook becomes full of smug parents posting pictures of their offspring in expensive costumes. I love the idea of pjs and taking your favourite book in.

Usually it's pyjamas at my kids school but this year most classes are avoiding it altogether and one year group is doing roald Dahl. I happen to have a bfg costume in the dressing up box anyway so I'm ok for that one (my mum buys them when they're cheap as my kids are always dressing up anyway).

Our school always urged people not to go out and buy a costume. It suggested DC wore one they already had or accessorised normal clothes (many suggestions of how to to this if you google).

Yanbu.
I find it baffling that so much money is spent on costumes on tax-avoiding Amazon. Even less money for schools 🤷‍♀️.

The dc's school stopped costumes a couple of years ago. I used to customise charity shop finds badly.

I am SO glad that our school has opted out of this charade this year.

World Book Day should be about celebrating books and reading. It should not be about parents buying cheap polyester costumes from Amazon or the supermarket.

Piece of nonsense.

All costumes will be reduced right after WBD so grab one and put away for next year. I hate the way something that started out with such good intentions has now been hijacked by who's got the best costume. The real message has been lost and it's just become Fancy Dress day. Gone are the days when I stuck my son in stripey jumper and jeans, and he went in as Horrid Henry.

Just on the expense front, at this time of year savvy charity shops have an excellent selection of potential costumes available, so there's no need to spend a fortune.

YANBU

Much to my horror, both my DCs - who are at secondary school in Y7 and Y10 - have been told to dress up for WBD this year. I thought this shit finished in primary school??!!

Luckily they, and all their friends, are just dressing as characters from Wimpy Kid / David Williams books etc - i.e. jeans and trainers.

I'd much rather just give £20 to the PTA at the start of each year. I'm fortunate in that I can afford to. I feel sad for the families who feel pressurised to buy costumes / Xmas jumpers etc when it's a struggle for them to do so, and some families just can't do it at all so their kids end up feeling left out. It's rubbish for them.

My son is at nursery. I think it's hard to find costumes, especially for boys. I looked in the supermarket (making is not an option at all), and they had hardly anything for a boy. I've got no idea what to send him as this year. Need to try and find something, and find the book to go with it. No idea where or how..

YANBU. I don't think it has much to do with books - especially when everyone is told which book they have to dress up from. Less chance if choosing a costume from things you already have and no chance fir kids to show genuine enthusiasm when it might not be a book they actually like.

Books are my life (literally, as I work in publishing) but I hate fancy dress and if I had kids I would absolutely abhor this kind of rigmarole. Surely parents have enough on their plates already?? It was bad enough being regularly badgered to turn up at work in fancy dress myself when I was salaried.

Couldn’t agree MORE!
I’m a book addict but it pains me to see Tesco selling shitey plasticy costumes

Our school is deliberately trying to reduce the cost of the school day and the first thing to get jettisoned was dressing up for WBD. They are doing a themed reading day where the kids read a paragraph from their favorite book, and describe why they like it to others. Along with paired reading between the older/younger pupils. No cost, more literacy, less waste, possibly a bit less fun but the older ones hate dressing up anyway.

My DD loves dressing up as characters anyway, so we have a costume from last year's sales for her to wear. It IS actually from one of her favourite books, but so many of the costumes are actually TV/Film characters and I question whether many of the children have actually read the book? I would much rather send them in PJs with a favourite book - they might actually then talk about books!

A friend on FB was talking about her hatred of World Book Day dressing up and said she’d rather give the £25 or whatever directly to the Head to buy much needed books for the school. I have to say I totally agree with her

The school my DC go to have a mufti (own clothes) day the week before and you bring in a book (not enforced, so no worries if you don't have one spare)

WBD they go to school in pyjamas and have stories read to them in the afternoon, and then do a book sale after school with the books brought in the week before, they are sold off cheaply but still raises quite a lot

This is my dds second school world book day I'm not spending a penny last year last year she wanted to be the cat in the hat I dressed her in black and made a hat out of white and red cardboard made a bow tie out of the same. (I am not crafty but it looked OK) this year she wants to be Lucy from the lion the witch and the wardrobe I'm finding her most ww2 looking outfit and making her an evacuee card label. I absolutely refuse to pay £15 for a crap fancy dress that will never be worn again. Although my much more organised friend waited until they were all reduced to £1 and bought enough to sort her dds until they finish primary school wish I'd thought of that!

I completely agree that it a huge waste to spend so much money on costumes from supermarkets or wherever, which I have been a sucker for in previous years. I have been trying to spend less money, so this year we started early and made my son a paper mache (unsure of spelling, sorry!) head mask of Greg Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid character), and we made a game out of it, doing it as crafts on the weekends. My son has loved it, as he loves the books, so it's been fun for us. Then I will stash it away somewhere and let my youngest wear it in a few years haha! This is the first year I've put much effort in though!

Done properly it doesn't have to involve a bought costume or a lot of effort and can help the child engage their imagination thinking about how their favourite characters look and how that can be achieved. Buying a costume defeats the object entirely.

There a so many costumes that can easily be done very cheaply from normal clothes with just a prop or two. For example; Charlie from Charlie and the chocolate factory, George from George's Marvellous Medicine, Matilda, The demon headmaster, Sophie from BFG. Any of the famous five or secret seven. Christopher Robin from Winne the Pooh, any of the main children from the Narnia books, wally from where's wally.