to not buy a Xmas jumper just for work?

[PyongyangKipperbang]

Where I work they have Xmas jumpers all December. I dont have one.

I have nothing against them but I just dont like them on me and see them as a bit of a waste of money tbh, also as I am now a carer I only work part time so am on a low income so I am not going to spend money unless I really have to!

My boss has said that I need to get one. I asked if it was compulsory, as all uniform is supplied, and she said no but it is expected and that I should get one asap. I have refused saying I dont have the money and she is not happy, she said "You can get one for £20" at which point I said that if I had £20 going begging I would be spending on my childs Xmas!

As I understand it, there is no legal requirement for me to do this, and if I refused on religious grounds she couldnt say anything as it would be discrimination, but "I cant afford it" is fine for her to have a go at me about!

🤣🤣🤣

This!!

YANBU. Money aside, one of my pet peeves is enforced 'fun' in the workplace. Children are taught in primary school now "your fun isn't fun for everyone" and that it's ok to opt out of things you're not comfortable with- but so many adults in management positions don't get it. Stand your ground, OP.

I'd point out that buying unsustainable single-occasion oil-based tat made by child slaves is definitely what Jesus was all about.

In my last job we did Christmas Jumper Day, only I didn't.

'Wear your Christmas jumper tomorrow, Choc!' said The Life and Soul of the Party Person.

'I haven't got one,' I replied.

Job done.

Next time it is mentioned, politely say that the answer is no, and you will consider it harassment to be asked again.

Do you have tinsel? I would just wrap that around me.

Do you have a jazzy necklace or pair of earrings you would feel more comfortable with? Doesn’t even have to be Christmassy, just a bit sparkly.

they are only 4 quid in lidl atm.

That's still 4 quid OP doesn't want to (and doesn't have to) spend though.

I won my Christmas jumper in an Instagram draw a couple of years ago. It's hideous, can't remember which company it was that gave them away, but very warm so I will wear it around the house. If my work told me to wear such a thing I would get a sludge green one and say I was the Grinch

What if your religious beliefs do not align with Christmas?

@PyongyangKipperbang I love Christmas and admit I do have a couple of Christmas jumpers (don't wear to work though as they breach uniform policy!). Having said that I wouldn't wear one if I didn't want to and I especially wouldn't go out and buy one because someone told me to!

You are absolutely NBU to decline. If they provided one then maybe consider wearing it but otherwise no. Though if they'll accept a no on religious grounds just say that.

Agreed, I don't have one and I am not buying something that I don't actually want just to wear it once.

I hate Christmas jumpers. I don't wear crappy acrylic 'knits',and I think they're both gross and wasteful. I would just say I'm not wearing one, and leave it at that.

I wouldn't get one just for work, but do you have any jumpers you like? You could get a nice plain jumper and pin a holly brooch on, or if you don't like jumpers, maybe a christmas t shirt worn with a cardigan, just to show willing now and again. But ultimately you absolutely shouldn't have to do this - just tell her you haven't found any you like yet.

Sometimes ill wear my top that has a glittery neckline. Sometimes a light up necklace thst looks like mini fairy lightsfrom home bargains. If I'm pushing the boat out ill wear home bargains antlers. Never will I buy a Christmas jumper! Waste of money.

Christmas jumpers summarised: Ugly. The visual equivalent of a loud drunk person who thinks they are ‘a bit mad’ and terribly funny. Made of grim man-made fibres that don’t biodegrade. Will end up clogging landfill sites. How marvellously festive! My ready-made answer to any requirement to wear a ‘Christmas jumper’ in any context is my black cashmere skull motif sweater - the Wednesday Addams of all Christmas jumpers, as in ‘this IS me looking festive’ - hard stare.

The thing is, if you are working somewhere where everyone wears them for a few weeks, then I suspect it is about the atmosphere - in the same way that staff in a children's hospital dress differently from staff in an orthopaedic hospital.

In which case, I'd say you are being miserable and are probably in the wrong job. You don't have to spend a lot - they are always available in charity shops, and you know it will be the same the next year, and the year after.
You are also not wearing out other clothes you choose to wear to work, so are saving on that. As so many others have suggested, you can easily pin some sort of decoration on to a jumper you already have if you really wanted to. This sounds like you are being awkward for the sake of it. Christmas jumpers come in all sorts of styles, colours and levels of 'fun' so it is difficult to see how nothing can suit you at all.

I don't have a Christmas jumper and we have an optional Christmas jumper day every year. I wear a normal jumper and add Christmas brooches around the neck (because I like them). What does HR think about your ridiculous manager?

Charity shops.

£3 each for mine and ds's. They're like new.

Do you not reckon there might be some non-Jesus-friendly ethical issues involved in clothes available for :4 in Lidl?

This is another new thing, like Elf on the shelf and Christmas Eve boxes, that is just excess consumerism.
Resist this nonsense. It's not even the cost money-wise, it's the cost to the planet that is the issue. No-one needs an acrylic jumper with plastic glittery stuff on it, doesn't matter if its second hand or not. We shouldn't be encouraging this disgustingly wasteful attitude.
Stand strong.

I don't think you should be pressured into wearing one and the comment about being only 20 quid was shitty

We wear an Xmas jumper at work through December but its optional and at least half don't. No one gets pressured. I pick mine up for 50p-£1 from bootsales.

I I hate jumpers and long sleeves at the best of times, so I definitely don't want a Christmas jumper. I do have a couple of Christmas dresses that I wear to work the last couple of working days before Christmas.