To Find Christmas Jumpers Morally Abhorrent?

[MitziK]

Why has this become a thing? Spend twenty-plus quid so everybody can see you're 'doing it for charity', when what you are actually doing is spunking cash on something you will wear for between 1 and 5 days in a year before dumping it in the back of the wardrobe or binning it to buy another one next year?

People who can't afford that twenty pound feel under pressure/disapproval for 'not joining in, it's FOR CHARITY'. Somebody makes a hell of a lot of money for the jumpers and chucks a couple of quid at most to a charity. You've just given them TWO QUID, that's all. The seller still has eighteen quid of your money and you still look like a twat.

If somebody wants to do something for charity, wear your usual jumper, take that twenty quid you would have wasted on some synthetic monstrosity with bells or reindeer ears and buy some food to shove in the collection bins for the local foodbank, don't take fucking photos with all your mates wearing disposable jumpers, thinking you're Really Making a Difference.

This thread inspired me to buy a new Christmas jumper

@MitziK

You are aware that by starting this thread you’ve caused a pop up ad for Christmas jumpers to be generated, so you’re probably personally responsible for even more of the rampant consumerism you’re berating?

@LolaSmiles you've ignored the DIY Xmas jumper suggestion. You can get a 100 xmas stickers for less than a pound.

That would be plenty to see the Radford kids through school 🤷🏽‍♀️

But they still look hideous don’t they? You have to love a twit who will make themselves look awful while you look smart and attractive. That’s my take on it anyway. I am very grateful to the Christmas jumper army.)

I’m not sure you’re making yourself look smart or attractive by putting others down for injecting a bit of festive cheer into their wardrobe, but if that’s how you like to treat others it says a lot about you.

crustycrab
Again, trip to town to find somewhere that sells Christmas stickers that stick to the jumper.

The assumption that people have the time, resources and money to make additional trips and buy additional things for absolutely no reason shows you're not considering the reality for many families.

There is no need for schools to have "spend your own money so you can pay money to wear your newly bought things to school days".
There are many amazing ways to support charities in schools and many excellent ways for schools to raise charitable awareness without days that require parents going out of their way to buy things for one off days to avoid their child standing out.

I have had my Christmas jumper for 21 years. I love it. It still looks great. I may well wear it for another 21 years. Your issue should be with throwaway fashion, not Christmas jumpers specifically - it dilutes your message.

FFS are you always such a joyless bore? Yes, perhaps some Christmas jumpers are a poor use of resources, but you're a fool if you don't think that the vast majority of our clothing nowadays is made overseas by low-paid workers, including high quality items that people pay thousands for.

I don't really see Christmas jumpers as different from, e.g. ballgowns. I have 2 ballgowns, I wear one probably once a year. Wasteful? Yeah, probably, but I'm not turning up to a ball wearing jeans and a n old jumper just because some twit on MN has decreed that occasion clothing is wasteful/morally bankrupt.

Lola eBay. 80p. Free delivery 🙄🤷🏽‍♀️

Or just be like my DC1 and wear ordinary clothes cause he's too cool for Xmas jumpers unlike me

@LolaSmiles I knew I'd been on a thread with you before! And bloody hell, you say I'm out of touch with the reality for many families (I'm quite the opposite by the way!)

You're a teacher, who readily accepts £5-10 gifts from your students and argues that isn't obscene. Ffs. I'll remind you of your previous post regarding class whip rounds for the teacher

"£5 per student isn't obscene. £10 at primary seems a bit much for Christmas though in my opinion.

The way I think about it is that one year my 6th formers bought me a lovely bunch of flowers, some fizz and a voucher for a local cafe. They wrote me a lovely card too. Over time I've had gifts from students range from cupcakes, books, notebooks, gin, flowers, art work inspired by some of my favourite books.
Now the gifts from 6th form/GCSE groups tend to be really well matched to my tastes and some of the books they've bought me have introduced me to new authors. Is it really obscene that they did that at £5/10?

I wouldn't say so, so I can't get hung up over parents organising something at primary when the children are younger."

Well I totally agree with you.

It’s in maybe the last five years or so that ‘Christmas jumper charity day’ has cropped up in school. I’ve never owned a Christmas jumper as I don’t like them - lots of people don’t wear knitted jumpers anymore so to buy one is an extra not just replacing old or grown out of clothing.

As it happens I picked some up for my kids n in the January sales which they have been wearing for the past couple of years - but yeah, in general could do without the ‘spend £15 on a jumper specifically for this day because apparently the £1 you then hand in for charity makes it all worth it’. Especially just before Xmas.

OP is quite clear this is about the charity aspect not just being a joyless bore

PS I still don’t own a jumper but I do contribute to the collection at work!

Cant wait for 1st december. I will be rotating my christmas jumpers from then til 24th. 😍🎄

crustycrab
You're spectacularly missing the point here (and also conveniently ignoring the fact on the previous thread I said I found the whole class reps, WhatsApp groups etc odd and unlike anything I've ever seen in schools)

Either way, let's look at the difference.
If at the end of 2 years a group of A Level students choose to get a thank you gift then that is their choice and it's lovely.

What I have a massive issue with are schools doing mandatory days that place pressure on parents to go and source things especially.

It's really not difficult:

• one is a group of students deciding to do something sweet
• the other is a school dictating to parents they have to go out of their way to buy crap for a day that doesn't actually add to learning.

Just like I have zero issue with:

• buying my 6th formers cake/biscuits at the end of term
• having sweet treats for my form at Christmas
• choosing to support some of the charity projects ran by students
• choosing to spend some of my evenings attending school plays/concerts that students are in

But I have a huge issue with:

• schools pushing staff to dress up for world book Day
• schools pushing staff to have Christmas jumper day
• colleagues getting irritable and grumpy about those who are "too miserable" to get involved

Clear difference:
One is me choosing to do something nice for the students, the other would be school pressuring me to spend time and money on tat that adds nothing to my life and nothing to the education of my students.

I've been thinking about this and haven't changed my mind. I have Xmas tea towels and have seen lots of Xmas stuff in the shops like Xmas bleach, Xmas loo roll, Xmas mugs...

There is a lot of environmental problems with Xmas like crackers, wrapping paper, packaging etc and hopefully some cleaver people will design alternatives

What about all the advent calendars out there? Hell of a lot of packaging for 24 bits of chocolate and with the popularity of beauty advents, a lot of plastic packaging etc

Jumpers range from the ridiculous - light up, all the colour of the rainbow jobs to the more muted fairisle style.

Christmas jumpers have revolutionised my Christmas ‘Do’ wardrobe. It used to be dress for Christmas party, Christmas Eve in the pub outfit, Christmas Day outfit and any other event. Now you can just wear your jumpers with black skinny jeans and high heels and look fabulous.

I was in Primark today and the kids jumpers were £7.99 and had popular brands like Minecraft which means it's more likely to be worn multiple times and can be passed on to a sibling or younger child later. Kids need warm clothes- maybe people are buying one less jumper or hoodie and buying a Xmas jumper instead?

All the charity shops near me have a Christmas rail full of lovely Christmas jumpers! Prices usually £2-£4.
I wear my same one every year so no extra cost there..... have had it for 3 years already and it was £4.

I don't have a problem with Christmas jumpers existing. In fact I do think they are quite jolly. But like you I LOATHE "wear a particular item of clothing for charidee" days.

Our school is 260 pupils. Someone decides to hold Christmas jumper day as it's fun. Even if only a quarter of kids have to go out and buy jumpers they wouldn't otherwise need or want, that's 65 fairly unsustainable jumpers bought that week because the decision maker thought it would be fun. Plus the parental time and carbon emissions spent in getting the sodding thing in a hurry.

Multiply it by Pudsey bear, fire of London, Halloween disco theme (the week after sodding Halloween.....) And it's a lot of tat clothing people are reluctantly having to buy throughout the year. Usually in a hurry and usually at far more outlay than ever gets donated to charity.

doritosdip
I suppose if you're using the same Christmas table runners / Christmas tea towels etc each year then it's just like Christmas decorations isn't it?

I think you're right on the disposable side of Christmas tat though.

The one I saw on Facebook marketplace was someone getting rid of last year's decorations because they've got a new theme this year. Some people clearly get a new theme each year, which seems a waste to me.

Don’t be so fucking ridiculous Op.
Find something more worthwhile to be offended by , there’s 1000’s of things more worthy of your rage than Christmas jumpers ..

deplorabelle
But without all these wear something for charadee days how will the school get some nice photos for the newsletter/social media

The shops are full of jumpers and pyjamas. There are charities with but a xmas jumper campaigns. They are unnecessary.
And as we must seriously cut down on our consumption, the production and selling of ore of them is not necessary. Would the world he a worse place without xmas jumpers? Coukdnt we recycle the ones that exist? Just for a start?

I buy Xmas things and add them to the pile. They get used every year until they wear out or break. I have Xmas crockery (on it's 5th year running this year) and a plastic Xmas tree (that's only 2 years old as we got rid of the 10+year old one once the wires started poking through making it dangerous). My Xmas jumper collection is great. I bought a new one this year but I also have 2 older ones from years back. I wear them most days during December then carefully put them back in the draw until next year. They probably get more wear than my shorts!

We've sorted the decorations box and we are good for baubles (most of them 10+ years old but the tinsel is looking pretty threadbare so I might be a few strands of that this year. The outdoor lights are ok but there seems to be something wrong with the tree lights so it looks like they need replacing too.

I don't know anyone who buys a Xmas jumper, wears it once and bins it. Some of you live in an odd world!

But the shops wouldn't have all these trappings in if no one was buying it? To simply say "I dont buy all this stuff" only means you arent out replacing it every 12 months.
For some people, stuff is disposable and will repurchase even if there isnt any need.
The pressure to spend becomes especially intense at xmas.

YANBU

Buy a jumper £15

Donate £2 to charity

Who’s really winning here?

Can’t not buy the jumper. Who wants to be the only kid in school not wearing a Christmas jumper on Christmas jumper day.

You don’t HAVE to buy a jumper .
Dh and I have been wearing the same Christmas jumpers every year ,it’s really not a big deal and I don’t think not making Christmas jumpers will save the planet.
Ffs , this whole thing is getting ridiculous