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Original poster

To wish schools would scrap Christmas jumper day?

408 replies

Notspeakingup · 04/12/2021 17:59

DC2 has a couple of little classmates with difficult home lives, one in particular without much money. There are some Christmas jumper days coming up and I have been thinking about how tough it must be to always be the child with no jumper.

I know as children grow up you can't avoid the inequalities but it would be great if we could at least stop it being an issue at primary school. (And of course there are the families who buy jumpers when they can't really afford them).

OP posts:
AwaAnBileYerHeid · 04/12/2021 19:27

@colourfulpuddles

I’m not suggesting children miss out on stockings and presents or treats etc because some children have less. Im just talking about in school. I'm suggesting that school should be somewhere where children all have an equal experience and no one feels left out.

So you want kids to be brought up with an unrealistic expectation of the world? That everyone is equal and the same? So when they grow up and enter real life they’re shocked and unprepared for it?

I'm not the pp that you're responding to, but surely there are better ways to equip kids to handle the realities of the world than making some poor little 5 year old feel embarrassed and upset because they are sticking out like sore thumbs because they are the only one among their peers to not have a Christmas jumper? Something that could easily be tackled by schools and changed into something different ie take a piece of tinsel off the teachers desk and wear it.

I think that it's a poor indictment of our schooling system (and of adults in general) if they aren't able to think of ways to teach children about the fairness of life other than singling out poor children and putting them in the spotlight to feel embarrassed.

ArabellaScott · 04/12/2021 19:27

Never bought a Xmas jumper in my life and have no intention of starting now. My kids just don't wear one, nothing terrible has happened and they don't seem fussed.

RaginaPhalange · 04/12/2021 19:27

Ds school accepts donations of Xmas jumpers to hand out to the less fortunate.

liveforsummer · 04/12/2021 19:27

@Elephantsparade

Buying a brand new jumper to wear one day is daft. My kids have never had a christmas jumper. They just went in a jumper that was red or green or i put a bit of tinsel on. I have bought wintery jumpers though. Do some schools really police this to christmas only.
Of course they don't police it. DD's jumper that she's worn for the last 2 years is a fluffy black one with pink sparkly leopard spots. Could be worn when cold year round. She's decided it's an Xmas jumper because of the sparkly pattern and wooliness. Can't imagie any school would have any issue with this - ours certainly doesn't
2022HereWeCome · 04/12/2021 19:27

The problem is as someone posted previously schools give v little notice about this sort of thing. We were given a week's notice this year. Not really long enough to be able to guarantee getting something from Ebay / or finding something in the charity shops (when every fecker is looking for a cheap Xmas jumper).

ArabellaScott · 04/12/2021 19:28
  • and it's not to do with being less fortunate, it's to do with not buying unnecessary tat to go along with the crowd.
Mortgagetransfer · 04/12/2021 19:30

We call ours festive day and they can either wear Christmas clothes or jazz up their uniform. On Monday though we will spend tutor time making tinsel hair clips/headbands etc that kids can wear on the Friday - works quite well! Teachers and students also donate old Christmas clothes and we let kids help themselves to it

liveforsummer · 04/12/2021 19:31

@2022HereWeCome

The problem is as someone posted previously schools give v little notice about this sort of thing. We were given a week's notice this year. Not really long enough to be able to guarantee getting something from Ebay / or finding something in the charity shops (when every fecker is looking for a cheap Xmas jumper).
Unless your first dc is in reception then I'm sure you had an idea that it might be happening
DaisyandSimeon · 04/12/2021 19:31

Our local freecycle page has lots of Christmas jumpers and so do charity shops so price isn't necessarily an issue. It's the waste of resources I hate

VolcanicEruption · 04/12/2021 19:31

Granddaughters not in the UK and live in a country where winter wardrobe not required. 🤞they get here for Xmas. I have bought Xmas t shirts.
I have noticed a lot of jumpers on fb marketplace. So I’m sure schools 🏫 could arrange something.

mogkat · 04/12/2021 19:31

I agree. It's just another thing that potentially singles people out if they don't have a xmas jumper. Especially with kids growing so fast it's usually only something worn a handful of times.

When I was at school we would wear tinsel in our ponytails or wrapped around your tie. Why can't kids just do that anymore?!

andyindurham · 04/12/2021 19:32

I've posted this link before, but it's a good idea so make no apology for posting again:

Planet Friendly Parties

This is an interview with a woman in Durham who is effectively creating a library of party gear, fancy dress etc. The idea is to borrow (for a small fee) what you need, then return it so it can be used again by someone else in future. We've used them for birthdays and Hallowe'en this year, and it's gone well.

There's a national network as well at party kit network for people who are nowhere near Durham.

LaMariposa · 04/12/2021 19:32

I’ve bought both of mine Xmas jumpers second hand from the charity shop, and they will be washed and handed down to friends. I refuse to buy new, not only because of the cost but because of the waste of it all.

TurnUpTurnip · 04/12/2021 19:34

They don’t have to wear one, not all kids will, my kids school had PJ day the other day and my son chose not wear any (he’s 9 and decided there was no way he was leaving the house in PJs) it’s not compulsory and kids won’t be wearing them for all sorts of reasons

noscoobydoodle · 04/12/2021 19:38

Our school doesn't do specific dress up/theme, just occasional non-uniform (and the notice always comes with a link to the local clothing bank). Nativity costumes are made by kids in school (crown, cardboard sheep, animal masks etc) - it's a relief to be honest! My DD2 has some sensory issues with clothes and so we have a small selection of badges and sew on patches that get used to make Pudsey/Xmas/world book Day Outfits out of her ordinary (approved) clothes for her hobbies where they do have these dress up days. Her 'xmas jumper' is a cardigan with Santa patch and after Xmas it will be a plain cardigan again.

MobyDicksTinyCanoe · 04/12/2021 19:38

Yanbu.

And people can bleat on about sticking some tinsel on a jumper blah blah blah but that comes from a place of privelage. The kids who don't constantly have to miss out probably won't care about not having a branded jumper like everyone else but its awful for the kids who don't have them. It's yet another reminder of something else they don't have. Fuck knows what the schools were thinking of when they came up with the idea. It's such an issue in our area local churches collect and distribute used jumpers to families. The queue was going down the street last week when I went past.

ancientgran · 04/12/2021 19:39

My DD taught at a school where they made it a craft activity. Kids brought in an old jumper or jumpers were saved from lost property, they could bring in tinsel or glittery stuff but school had supplies as well and they made their Christmas jumpers. I thought it was a nice idea, a nice Christmas activity and inclusive.

Summerfun54321 · 04/12/2021 19:39

I’ve never bought a new Xmas jumper. My DCs school sells them for £2 at the school fair and my DCs nursery does a similar swap shop for all Christmas nativity costumes and jumpers every year. Plus the local charity shop usually has some.

MrsHGWells · 04/12/2021 19:40

Children grow so fast ..clothes really never wear out unless hand me downs .. I am a huge fan of schools allowing people to donate their Xmas Jumper - suggest class year jumpers .. I am sure a couple of parents would be ok to wash the jumpers beforehand.

thedefinitionofmadness · 04/12/2021 19:40

So you want kids to be brought up with an unrealistic expectation of the world? That everyone is equal and the same? So when they grow up and enter real life they’re shocked and unprepared for it?

Ah you think it's best these underclass waifs learn their place early doors?

Fucking hell.

thedefinitionofmadness · 04/12/2021 19:41

The sheer obliviousness of the oh just get one on ebay suggestions

XelaM · 04/12/2021 19:41

Everyone owns a jumper. Just pin some tinsel and a few Christmassy things on it and you have a Christmas jumper. Doesn't have to be anything expensive

Lockdownbear · 04/12/2021 19:42

Ours was scrapped by the new HT, dress down day instead. She has done a few things to reduce costs for parents.

The orher thing is whole class swapping Christmas cards she calculated 500 kids each sending 30 cards is 15,000 cards that all end up in recycling.
But the cost of 30 cards adds up too esp if you've more than one child to buy for.

sHREDDIES19 · 04/12/2021 19:43

I’ve always bought mine second hand either eBay or charity shop. Sometimes I pick them up in the January sales for an absolute bargain. There’s no need to buy full price (unless you can afford it and are happy to). Also it doesn’t have to be a jumper, could be a festive t shirt or dress. I don’t see this as an issue so long as you plan for it. Christmas comes around every year without fail so shouldn’t be a problem.

Monr0e · 04/12/2021 19:45

Our school has a festive dress up day as well. Can be as little or as much as you want. DD has chosen to wear a red skirt and whack a bit of tinsel on. They also say the same at world book day. Not to buy an outfit but any accessory will do. One year DS went as the boy from gangsta granny. He wore his own clothes and we cut up an old t shirt to make an eye mask.