WHY DO SCHOOLS NOT RESUE COSTUMES FRO NATIVITIES?

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

Dunno tis bloody stupid though IMO.

When I was in infant/juniors we had a HUGE costume cupboard and stuff was regularly made and reused time and time again.

Now my kids bring home a letter expecting me to make a costume magically appear for a few days later.

Cos kids come in all shapes and sizes? Is this a trick question?

I was really hoping not to have to do the costume making! But sadly this year we do have to provide our own sheep costumes.

Last year all the angel costumes were provided.

We don't do the same plays every year. So there is the core (Mary, Joseph, Kings etc) but also a whole host of supporting characters who change every year. Saxophonists atended the birth of CHrist last year as I recall...

The most our school seems to expect actually is a tea towel and a dressing gown. Unless it's Red Nose Day and then they expect a themed costume at a week's notice.

favourite book character (oh spiderman ..again?)
or Roald Dahl day with silly hats

and Dr Suess day with more silly hats

or science week - make an insect costume in 2 days or watch your daughter cry with embarassment cos she's still in school uniform.(wtf)

MN primary school teachers tell us why do you keep doing this to us?????

Tsk! Tsk! Don't you think us TAs have enough to do without washing, ironing and repairing 200 costumes each year?

I suspect the huge costume cupboard is now being used to store the huge amounts of paperwork that are constantly being generated to satisfy the demands of the latest government initiative.

The junior school I work at does still have a big costume cupboard filled with stuff from years back, mainly because I don't think anyone would dare take it away from the teacher it belongs to, who's been there 20 years.

'Mrs T's cupboard' has a rail down one side - about 10 feet long, with dresses & other clothes hanging on it, the rest of the cupboard is stuffed full of boxes - we have boxes of kilts (from MacBeth) boxes of victorian mobcaps, hats, belts, tights, masks, all kinds of props. It's a fascinating place. Every year, once the plays are decided on we dive in & pull everything out & decide what will do for which part, what can be 'made-over' & what will have to made from new then we find parent volunteers to do the sticking & sewing. Dresses & costumes are tried on & the parent of the child that's going to wear it will be asked to do any minor repairs & alterations.

I remember one year the same tricorne hat was worn by a prince in 'Cinderella' (Year 3) a town crier in 'The Golden Goose' (Year 4)and a Lord Mayor in the Victorian play the Year 5s wrote themselves

Parents of mice, birds & other supporting animals are usually asked to provide tights & a T shirt of the appropriate colour & TA's then make a paper hat-type 'mask' - we don't usually keep them as they are too easily crushed.

Sadly I imagine the cupboard will not long survive the retirement of the teacher in question in a couple of years' time & we'll have to resort to asking parents each year.

Our school has a massive store of Nativity costumes. Some years they have to be added to or adapted or whatever because the performances are rarely straightforward Nativity plays, they are often variations on a theme.

But parents are NEVER expected to make full costumes. Occasionally they might be asked if their children can wear a certain type of clothing - something most children have or very cheap. One year for example many of the children were animals. So masks were made in school for each child, and the children were asked to come in wearing a dark top and a certain colour of tights. Some were also asked to make 'tails' by stuffing an old pair of tights, but those who didn't or wouldn't or couldn't manage this at home used spare ones made at school.

The only year we've ever been asked to provide anything a bit different was last year when the theme was an Edwardian Christmas and all children were asked to dress appropriately. But this was to tie in with the school's 100th anniversary, and the costumes were re-used a couple of times during the centenary year. They were dead easy anyway - most girls wore dresses and white aprons, some wore hats, the boys tended to wear trousers tucked into socks, shirts, sometimes waistcoats and sometimes flat caps.

Hulababy, ASDA have some lovely sheep costumes and very reasonable, I can't see how you could make them for less particularly when you factor in the cost of your own time.

Hulababy, ASDA have some lovely sheep costumes and very reasonable, I can't see how you could make them for less particularly when you factor in the cost of your own time.

There's some on ebay too.

Getin before the Christmas rush

Thanks. Asda had none in. Got the £12 outfit from Woolworths. It even bleats

Our school has a stock of costumes they re-use despite gping a different Christmas play every year.

If they don't have what they need one of the wonderful classroom assistants runs something up. Or if, as in the case of my teeny DD, the costume is about 10 sizes too big, she takes it in and turns it up.

Parents just have to sometimes provide the childs clothes to go with the costme eg. black trousers, white top.