How much Christmas related stuff does your DC primary school do?

[Crunchymum]

2 DC are in a state primary, non religious and so far we have:

• choir singing at local venue
• make your own xmas jumper workshop
• PTA xmas feast
• xmas fair
• x2 Xmas plays
• Xmas jumper day
• Xmas dinner
• x2 Xmas pantomimes
• Design your own cards (which has been extended to key rings / mugs etc this year too)

Some of this is outside of school and very little of it is obligatory but it feels a lot? The PTA dinner was £30PP and the Xmas jumper workshop £20 per child (we have signed up for neither!! The workshops is external so none of the money is going to school?)

DC1 is in secondary and that has been a blessed relief - albeit the other extreme as they do very little.

I don’t think schools expect you to support every fundraising activity , just choose the cheapest or ones you want to support . Your choice?

We have:
Cauliflower cards (optional)
PTA Xmas fair - small entry fee then they bleed you dry on every stall! Santas grotto, craft room etc. Good cause though
Choir singing at local Xmas fair - free unless you succumb to the overpriced food/tat at the fair itself
School carol service in the church up the road - free
Xmas jumper day on last day of term optional £1 to PTA
Xmas school dinner - slightly increased price compared with normal school dinners, free for yrs R-2
Class Xmas party for the younger year groups - free, small food donation needed from families

It's a lot to remember but financially feels not too bad.

Feels like ours has really stepped it up this year. It is a c of e school with a pretty strong religious character though.

Cards
Nativity
Christingle service
Carol service
Jumper day + Christmas lunch (same day)
Christmas fete
Mufti day to get prizes donated for the fete
Raffle tickets
Themed donations for class raffle prizes
Class parties
Disco

Not all of it costs is anything but as pp said it's the remembering what is needed on what day! We have 1 child on KS1 and one on KS2 this year which means someone of the dates/actvities differ for each of them 😫

Choir concert
Musical instrument concert
Mufti day - donate sweets
Mufti day - donate games
Donations for food bank day
Christmas jumper day
Christmas dinner day
Christmas disco
Lantern parade
Carols at church
Christmas Fayre - kids to bring money for this.
School Trip and randomly thrown in so you don’t have a single day you don’t have to remember something different!

And just sprung an early finish on us on the last day!
It’s a bloody lot to remember but the kids love it and the parts I’m invited to, I am quite looking forward to. January will quite the relaxing month in comparison

-Advent service
-Christmas concert
-Another concert thing next week (I’d zoned out by this point in the newsletter)
-After school Christmas PTA fundraising thing tomorrow night
-Christmas jumper exchange
-Christmas jumper day
-Christmas lunch (on Christmas jumper day)
-Early finish on the last day

CofE primary here does: a trip to the local theatre’s panto, Christmas fayre, nativity plays in local churches for older DC or school hall for younger DC, Christmas lunch for all DC, and a talent show for the DC to watch, plus a Christmas card delivery between the DC.

They're allowed to wear an elf hat every day in December and there's a Christmas show, and one day in the last week they'll have a special lunch.

I miss Christmas Fayres

Carol service at church free
mass at school free
xmas dinner cost of any school meal unless on FSM
Xmas jumper day free
xmas market/ fare if you buy anything it costs but they usually have free games to win and local radio station provide music
all children make two items to sell at market/ fare (pta gives money to classes to buy the resources needed) class who makes most money get a reward
school nativity free

One year DD had 10 different choir performances. That was a fun

Gdcs’ school have a 🎄fair, at least 2 🎄singalong events, plus Gdd1 is in 2 choirs, so another to attend, but that’s a big one with adult choirs too, in a spectacular theatre.
Little Gdd2’s Nativity is next Monday in the affiliated C of E church, with Gdd1 in the orchestra.

An ex colleague told me that her now grown up DCs’ primary used to celebrate Diwali every single year, but never once did a Nativity play. It wasn’t a very ethnically diverse area either, mostly white and MC.
So she was very pleased that her little twin Gdds’ school is doing one.