To despise what world book day has become

[Whoinvented]

Currently searching for an outfit for my child who hates fancy dress but loves books. Why can’t schools just ask kids to bring their favourite book in? Why the expensive ridiculous need for a costumer every sodding year!!! We don’t have the money to waste, I’m crap at making stuff, my kids hate it. World book day has lost its meaning and can get fucked 😂

I mean there’s loads they can do that’s easy. Most books for kids involve at least one kid who wears normal clothes (not all but many).

The problem comes if the school puts too much pressure on to “win” or makes it in any way competitive I think. It should just be for fun.

My dd is going as supergirl for the 3rd year in a row 😅

At my youngest dc school, they’ve dialled it down in recent years. When they were younger it was full on costumes, home made encouraged, loads of stress. By junior school they just say non-uniform and bring your favourite book. Much prefer it.

DD’s favourite year was Pippi Longstocking because she had pipe cleaners in her plaits so they stuck out. Stripy tights and normal-ish clothes. It doesn’t have to be a huge chore.

Agree with posters saying pick a character who just wears normal clothes and send them in that or make them a generic costume character (cat, witch, knight) and send them with toy sword, ears, witch hat or whatever, then say they're from Tabby McTat or Harry Potter or Zog or whatever. If you don't have any of those things just do the normal clothes thing.

DD is going as Primrose from Brambly Hedge this year, and will be wearing a yellow dress (already owed), white apron (pillow case), mouse ears (already owed) and my one concession has been a £1 straw hat from Vinted that we’ve cut holes in for the ears.

I hate the ‘cheap shit polyester from China’ thing, so we don’t do it.

What do you mean "what is has become"? I went to primary school 25 years ago and world book day was a thing. Some people went all out, some people went in normal clothes and just took a book with a normal kid who wore normal clothes. It's really really simple.

I did Diary of a Wimpy kid this year and it took me about 30 mins. White long sleeved top, shorts abd white leggings. Thin gaffa tape and I drew a mask. Done.

Me too
with DC 1 I was all ‘ your football annual does not count’
A few years later into it all it was as “ get your Man U strip on
2 of mine were avid readers and 1 was not
WBD did not influence this

Image reference!

I don't know if it's still the case but in 2019 a survey showed that a large number of parents spent more on costumes for WBD than they spent that year on actual books for their kids.

Imagine my delight this year when our school told us children could choose either to dress up as a favourite character or just wear comfy clothes to settle down and read a good book in. 🙌🥳🎉

Our school say come in PJs or a onesie, is that an option?

My variant on this was keep the child off school to read books. If the teacher asks why they weren't in school the response is "Yes, they were. They went as the title character from H G Wells' The Invisible Man"

Ah, the memories. I refused to buy costumes, saddling myself like a martyr with the task of cobbling something together. One year, a mouse, which sounded easy - brown tights and jumper DD had already, with only a whiskered mask and long, thin tail to make. Sourcing brown felt involved a long diversion when I was in a neighbouring city for work, then hours of stuffing the tail when I had an early start the following day. I was so cross, I phoned a Radio 5 Live phone-in to gripe about WBD and the unreasonable pressure it puts on mothers. Try and find a man stuffing a tube of felt with wadding at 2am 😡

I bet Amazon and the like absolutely love World Book Day.

When I've seen pictures of my granddaughters class on WBD, it looks as if at least 50% are wearing school uniform and looking happy about it.

I have to say my heart sank today when DS suggested "we" make a creeper head. Where at two days notice when I have 45 mins a day between work and school pickup was I going to find a correctly sized box, green and black paint that would dry (proper poster paint) and a full green outfit? Anyway he went off that, so onesie it is.

I sent my two in as muggles from Harry Potter one year. So glad they don’t do it at secondary.

Yep. Loads of cheap plastic costumes here for one day then added to landfill. It’s an abomination.

DCs school is take your favourite book this year. DD has managed jeans and a jumper every year (Hermione in book 7, Mal from impossible creatures, etc) DS has gone as dog man with jeans, a blue hoodie, a blue cap and dog ears for the last 4 years!

We tend to go for the "look in your wardrobe/dressing up box/onesie you own and fit a book to it" particularly as youngest dc has wild ideas about costumes and my crafting ability
Dc school has sensibly got a costume swap running although you dont need to actually swap so it helps financially and the planet
Its been this way for years and there is always that parent that creates a masterpiece (never me!)

I saw this on social media and I think it’s a great idea but I don’t know if it’s working (and I don’t live in Devon.) If you do, I’d love to know if people have used it. https://www.librariesunlimited.org.uk/find-world-book-day-costumes-for-free-in-devon-libraries/Devon libraries

I agree its daft. Dressing up has nothing to do with books. Just an excuse by schools to raise funds.

A themed onesie 😊

My daughter's school has rolled it back and now says kids can come 'ready to read' so basically in comfortable clothes. No dressing up required or encouraged. Dressing up is a good idea in theory but in reality it does tend become the usual capitalist rush to buy the best costumes. I made a costume one year and it was a fun outcome but a brutal process (as subsequent Halloween costumes have been). Another year she dressed up as a superhero because that's what we had in the house, and that introduced me to the people that don't think comics, graphic novels, manga etc are 'valid' reading. Which in turn led me on to the judgy parents that look down their noses at DOAWK etc. So I'm happy for the comfortable clothes and dialling back the focus on the tentacles and more on the books.