Special dressing up days at school - number day nightmare

[Bluebells81]

Our primary school takes part in days where the children where special clothing - today being 'Number Day'.

These are always massively stressful for my DC (9). We make a plan led by them. Sometimes I relent and buy some rubbish off Amazon that will be exactly the same as half the rest of the kids (e.g for Egyptian Day, Victorian Day etc), but generally try to avoid this and make something from what we have at home.

As day nears DC gets increasingly stressed about their outfit - generally I think they'd just rather wear school uniform every day and not have the disruption to routine. Today, yet again, we had the mother of all tantrums about their outfit and were all late for school with everyone crying. How can I make this the fun educational experience that it is supposed to be!? Or is it a nightmare for other families too?

Its a nightmare and is more for the crafty parents to show off. Send in normal clothes and stick a number birthday candle on head. Job done 🤣

I hear you.

Surely the added educational value is questionable.

Theres a school near us thay does millions of these days - evacuee, Victiorian, Romans, space etc and all the parents seem to buy identikit stuff online. Its all poor quality so none are handed down. Seems mad to me.

Otoh, I expressed my anxieties around world book day to some class mums once and they had all been looking forward to and planning costumes for ages, so I was in the minority.

I have always just encouraged my dc to use what we have and be a boy/girl from a story as I hate craft. There's always an ossue with clubs or pe or something too

I am not crafty every dressing up day is from Amazon in our house. Except to day for my kids do they done as times tables Rock star day. So they went in dress like rock star. My son has gone in jeans and T-shirt and took his guitar in!!

Next week is wear it green for mental health. They support a football team whose goalie wears green so they are going in their football kits

DS always refused. NT, just didn't want to, and still hates dressing up. I sent him in his usual school clothes and told his teacher that I wasn't going to force him unnecessarily to wear something that he didn't want to. I often popped something in his school bag so if he changed his mind, or if the other children made comments, he could change, but he never did.
He participated in everything else, took things in for projects etc so the staff just let it go.

Ds2 doesnt like these days. Hes gone in trackie bottons abd a top with a number on each sleeve that he already had. He doesnt have to do it, or does he want to?

I don't know. The kids seem to love it. I don't like it because I'm poor. I'm not poor like some people are poor but poor enough for the cost if 2 outfits/ costumes to be a struggle. I'd prefer to buy a new coat for the kids rather than a Disney costume. The problem with ours school is they don't give enough notice. I know world book day is in march so I'll pick something up from vinted or ebay. However giving 1 weeks notice of yellow day for mental health or red day- no idea what that was about. Is a pain in the arse. Also some years they do children in need and some years they don't.

It's a complete nightmare I dread it everytime we had numbers day today and luckily after rifling through the kids wardrobe I managed to find clothing with numbers on that the kids were happy to wear. I get that schools want to raise money and involve the children but I think they think parents have endless time & deep pockets I have neither!! We have rockstar day world book day and countless other things I have 4 dc it drives me mad!

After years of avoiding amazon and trying to pull costumes together from what we have at home, I gave in and mostly bought the amazon version (on eBay if I was organised in time). Also did a bit of checking with other parents what their kids were wearing for it.

DC were much happier with this approach as all they want is to look like everyone else and not worry about whether their costume will be too much, too little, seen as weird etc.

I'm glad this is over for me, I've done
Roman
Victorian
Egyptian
Evacuees
Pyjamas
Red nose day
And countless WbD...always Harry Potter and Verucca Salt...
Never bloody ending!

Sounds like a piece of nonsense to me. Some parents think it makes my kids primary boring that they don't do dress up (world book day / Halloween) but that's exactly why it causes stress, costs money and time to make stuff and lots of kids outfits (especially boys) are all in one jumpsuit type things that are a nightmare for kids to get to toilet in.

Yes forgot to say I also wish these would be reined in

I know the kids enjoy it and it raises money but couldn’t they just do a home clothes day? Why does it have to be themed?? I don’t mind odd socks day or jeans for genes as those are easy but Victorian or Egyptian or bloody WBD is not.

At least with number day we just send the kids in with a football shirt

Does your child pick up on your stress about it? Are they ND?

For us, it's something we give a few minutes thought to the night before, lay out some sort of clothes, and jobs a good un. It shouldn't be this stressful

I love this suggestion, it's very 'Motherland' 😂

When I was a kid we had very few of these dress up days. I would not have dared to mention them to my parents because I would have been told to get it together myself. Or given a slap for pestering. I dreaded having to ask for money.

In junior school we did have carnivals and one year I went as a gypsy. My grandmother made me a costume out of old clothes in the wardrobe. Another time I was medaeval mady and she made me a tall pointy had with a veil.

If your child has to be dragged into school on these days and you get there late, you'll usually notice quite a few other families in the same boat. It's unsettling for a lot of kids

I found number day particularly hard! Costumes I don’t mind as can usually source second hand and my kids will play with them again. But today we used what we had (hoodie with dinosaur facts on, and a t shirt for the eldest). It wasn’t a strong link to numbers. I do worry they’ll feel left out but I desperately didn’t want to buy something they’d never wear again.

Tesco 67 T shirts they can wear again for us.

I don’t think it needs to be stressful! My son kid wore his footie kit. They sell cheap t shirts in primark with numbers on etc. Maybe be a bit more relaxed and don’t make a big deal about it?

I think that people who find it stressful are taking it far too seriously. It's just a bit of fun. Bloody killjoys.

I’m glad the current head has cut down on the dress up days. I hate the extra faff and dislike generating more landfill by buying needless clothes that no one will want to wear again. I think the Christmas jumpers and the occasional pj day are perfectly sufficient.

my children love a themed day and so do I we are doing number day today DS had joggers with numbers on and DD has last years frugi birthday number tshirt

We have had monster day for phonics, wear yellow for children's cancer, Christmas fancy dress day, Halloween costume day, wear spots for children in need and of course world book day!

It's different strokes for different folks. My children get really excited for the theme days and would be disappointed if they stopped. You don't have to like or enjoy everything but to say they should be cancelled when lots of children enjoy them is just mean spirited.

You don't have to take part you can either send them in their uniform or just standard non uniform.

Does your DC actually HAVE to wear a costume? Our primary school does these days as well, but says children have the option to come in dressed up or in school uniform. DS loathes school uniform so loves these days, as he can just go in in a tracksuit! (The only effort we make is with world book day costumes. Anything else, he just wears his normal clothes. If they don't have e.g. a number on them for 'number day', so be it.)

What is number day? You are meant to dress as a number? What nonsense is that

I did manage to make a tunic out of an old pillow case for DS 1for Aztec day that also worked for DS 2 as a Roman and an Egyptian outfit with the right accessories. 😂. I just channelled the ghost of my very Blue Peter mother, it's a bit bizarre living up to a mother who is no longer here.

In my DDs it’s fancy dress or school uniform, can he just go in uniform if he’s stressed out about dressing up?
Or just go very basic like a football top with a number on the back?
Last world book day my DD found a book with an ordinary girl her age in it and went as that - so basically in her normal clothes!