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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to not dress up for world book day?

41 replies

Aliceintheunderworld · 01/03/2020 18:26

I work for a national organisation and earn just above the living wage. I am also a single parent with two children. An email to all staff went out last week telling us that the charity is celebrating world book day and we "can" dress as our favourite character in exchange for £1 donation. That's £1 donation to the charity that I work for anyway. A follow up email informed us that there was a "lovely" costume available for £20 (ie half a day's pay) in a shop nearby. AIBU to ignore the fuck out of this dressing up nonsense and bung them a quid to keep them happy?

I've done 10 years of world book day between my two kids. Last year was the youngest one's last and I was relieved that the whole thing had come to an end. After a decade of buying expensive costumes/making shit costumes the last thing I want is to have to do the same for myself. I honestly can't be arsed. AIBU?

OP posts:
TheTrollFairy · 01/03/2020 18:30

I never understand why you pay £1 to dress up? Surely you should charge the people who don’t (by that I mean the people who don’t dress up make the donation if they want)
I would just ignore it if you don’t want to do it but I think you would be able to do something really cheap/free if you wanted to dress up

purplelila2 · 01/03/2020 18:32

YANBU the school expects kids to dress in costumes and with 2 at primary it isnt cheap .

The costumes only get worn once.
I do get it's a bit of fun for the little ones but even so it's an expense I can ill afford .

Kanga83 · 01/03/2020 18:33

I wouldn't dress up. It's bad enough sorting two kids costumes out - same as you, minimum wage and I'm now a sahp so I've made ours with blood sweat at tears.i volunteer for the town hall and they made they committee dress up last year in celebration of our village schools- I stuck a photocopy of 'why mummy drinks to the front of my outfit' and 'why mummy drinks on my back'. My character was just that- the mum who drinks and swears.

gamerwidow · 01/03/2020 18:37

I wouldn't dress up but would donate a £1 if I could afford it. The charity don't really care what people wear on the day.

YappityYapYap · 01/03/2020 18:40

I wouldn't dress up if I were you. £30 is a lot to dress up for just one day. Fair enough you could wear it again next year but I imagine you've to also get your kids an outfit so this 'day' will end up costing you more like £80-£100? I don't get it. Surely the kids should take their favourite book in then donate more to the charity rather than lining the pockets of massive businesses by buying costumes? Am I missing something? 😂

Original poster
Aliceintheunderworld · 01/03/2020 18:40

I already give them 37.5 hours a week so I think it's a bit cheeky to ask for £1 of what little they pay me back, but I get that digging my heels in wouldn't look good.

Maybe I should go as Oliver Twist. 🤣

OP posts:
MiniMinion · 01/03/2020 19:09

Say you've come as the main character in the autobiography you're writing.

soapboxqueen · 01/03/2020 19:18

Put a couple of plasters on your face and say you are Mr bump

Original poster
Aliceintheunderworld · 01/03/2020 19:23

@Kanga83 i feel you. @purplelila2 yes exactly. And after ten years (ten years!!) of this shit I thought it was over. Never thought they'd siderush me at work in the aftermath. It's a low blow. @YappityYapYap I've never really understood what dressing up has to do with reading. I read every day and don't get dressed up for it. I doubt I'm doing it wrong.

OP posts:
livingthegoodlife · 01/03/2020 19:27

Our school isn't doing dressing up. I'm quietly relieved!

DriveInSaturday · 01/03/2020 19:27

Goldfinger. Eat a Ferrero Rocher and wrap the foil around your middle finger. Gets the message across well.

Jozen · 01/03/2020 19:32

Follow DS's style- Red and white stripy woolly hat, pair of jeans and any old jumper - Where's Wally?
Keep woolly hat by for every year, job done.

Sunnyjac · 01/03/2020 19:39

It’s bollocks isn’t it? Just let the kids spend the day reading, surely that’s the point!

Original poster
Aliceintheunderworld · 01/03/2020 19:43

@DriveInSaturday haha I do like ferrero rocher. @Sunnyjac yes ofc it's all bollocks. And it's bollocks I've gone along with for my kids for ten years (10 years!! can I say again) for the sake of doing the right thing, not being a killjoy, supporting the school, all of that. So I thought that now it was over, now I'm safe but sucks to be me, because now they've come for me at work. Those fuckers.

OP posts:
Original poster
Aliceintheunderworld · 01/03/2020 21:01

@livingthegoodlife your school are good people.

Most of the kids at our old school just came in in princess dresses or superhero outfits anyway, apart from the PTA kids with their homemade wholesome lentils and then the PTA parents got all sniffy. It was a shambles really.

OP posts:
june2007 · 01/03/2020 21:03

Can yu come up with something from what you already have. Roald Dhal charecters are a good option? But do you not being unreasonable sent them in with their favourite book instead.

Ponoka7 · 01/03/2020 21:03

My GCs school has swapped to Pj's. We should be moving away from unnecessary consumerism.

dazzlingdeborahrose · 01/03/2020 21:06

YANBU. Be honest and tell them you can't afford a costume on your salary. Might make them think a bit more carefully about what they ask of their staff.

Original poster
Aliceintheunderworld · 01/03/2020 21:17

@june2007 it's not my kids - I don't have to find a costume for them this year, oh happy day , for the first time in ten years. It's my employer telling me to dress myself up and pointing me to £30 costumes. While paying me £8.75 an hour before tax.

OP posts:
LellyMcKelly · 01/03/2020 21:41

Go in your pyjamas and a pirate hat and say you’re from Pirates in Pyjamas, or go in black clothes and say you’re a witch From Macbeth/The witches, or backcomb your hair and say you’re Hermoine. A flowery dress and you’re Miss Honey. A white coat and you’re The Demon Dentist. Top and skirt and you’re the mum in Tiger Who Came To Tea. You just need to look a bit different to normal. Agree that £30 for an outfit is bonkers. Just decide what you want to wear anyway and then google a book to go with it.

june2007 · 01/03/2020 22:34

Either use something you have already or don,t do it. If anyone complains ask them if there willing to buy you the costume.

Jennywren2978 · 01/03/2020 22:34

@Ponoka7 I love the pj's idea that your GC's school are doing. I think all schools should do that on world book day to promote bedtime reading instead of this dressing up as favourite character. It seems its just become a commercialised concept now to sell costumes and deflects from the original idea to encourage reading.

gamerwidow · 02/03/2020 07:36

DDs school is doing dress up or non school uniform with your favorite book. If you don't do dress up at all people complain (you should have seen the fuss from some parents when they skipped Xmas jumper day last year) but they don't want children left out if they haven't got a costume.

CecilyP · 02/03/2020 07:46

Surely, as an adult, the books you read do not have pictures, so what your favourite character looks like, should you have one, is up to your imagination. In any modern novel, a female character could look and dress just like you. Go as you are; job done!

AlwaysCheddar · 02/03/2020 07:47

Don’t go to work in pjs......eurgh.