Primary schools and dressing up days: WHEN DOES IT END?

[NearlyEverything]

OK, please talk to me about the benefits of endless farking dressing up days before I buy a tomato costume and hurl myself at the headteacher.

DS1 (Y5) has to go in as a piece of fruit or veg on Friday. Because it's UNICEF day

DS2 (Y3) has to do some World Book Day nonsense, also on Friday.

Neither of them own any dressing-up clothes. They have jeans, tracksuits, and various dun-coloured tops.

Whywhywhy do schools do this so often? Does it have any actual educational/pastoral benefits at all?

All it seems to involve is me shelling out stupid sums for nonsense nylon rubbish from Amazon twice a term. The boys are just not bothered about the whole thing.

And no I'm not going to make something. I'm a single parent, I work f/t and I can no more sew an outfit than I can split an atom

Is this stuff easier if you have girls?

It's easier if they attend a school that doesn't ask children to dress as fruit or veg

I know

I could just send him in in uniform but it seems so pass-agg...

Wow that is crap. I don't think dressing a boy or a girl as a fruit would be easy.

Dress them in stuff that is too small or very old-fashioned and say they have come as a lemon.

Red England football kit (or Liverpool, Manu, Scum etc) and say they're a tomato.

I feel your pain OP. Thankfully mine are way past this but I can well remember finding a crumpled letter at the bottom of a book bag saying they had to go dressed as a Roman or whatever the following day!

green tracksuit - cucumber
brown tracksuit - potato
red tracksuit - rhubarb

lopsided

No football kits at all here although that would have been a great idea if we had some

Seriously though - why do schools do this? Does it reinforce learning or something?

You can achieve a surprising amount with a pirate costume (stripey top and a palin black tracksuit bottoms) and a value Argos pillowcase.
I have 2 boys, and regularly despair.
Brown - roman soldier tunic (cut armholes)
Red - tomato (cutting armholes may weaken the authenticity but would allow more movement ).

Parents complained when our school briefly stopped it as the children love it so much.

I just throw something together from the lift but dd dances and I run a theatre school so I do usually have something.

Can you buy a Tshirt transfere?
They were packs of 4 in pound shop the other day
Down load appropriate Picture and iron on
Sorted

Haha, you're all marvellous but we seriously have only the following to choose from:

grey/navy tracksuits
Blue jeans
Brown/green/occasionally red tops

Am loving the pillow case idea though...

If your lad is confident buy a button hole rose and a box of chocs and dress him smart.

He can come as a date!

You might even get to eat the chocs!

Send them in as the annoying apple - with loud soundtrack on loop. That'll larn' em!

Transfer idea is v good too but am working flat-out between now and Friday (sorry, I know I'm being difficult. And I knew about this before the weekend and should really have sorted it then...)

Anyway, I'm taking the resounding silence on the educational benefits as conclusive proof that THERE ARE NONE and I'm printing this thread out as proof

ooooh scaevola, they love Annoying Orange...

Fruit or veg is loopy. Oddly enough ds would be ok on that one. It's his birthday today and he loves his new annoying orange t shirt with pear & midget apple.

As well as the official annoying orange t shirt Asda also had a sort if knock off t shirt with bananas and other fruit on. They were £4. Official one I think was £6

I had a friend who went as a parsnip. She wore a dog collar (parson) and went round trying to bite people. Can be done out of a bit of cardboard.

Aaargh, ASDA. Desperately trying to think where the nearest one is.

I salute those of you with children willing to engage in wordplay/costume combos. My eldest is a bit too Kevin the not-quite Teenager for that.

I can't stand them. I always have to go out and buy stuff new or bits from charity shops for them.

You can't fashion a victorian urchin costume from a dinosaur long-sleeved t-shirt and indigo jeans.

I was once at a princess party where one mum had made a fab regal dress out of an adult skirt. Was so jealous at her creativity. It was all pinned rather than sewn too.

Ohh. Pictures, you're a genius

Still involves me shelling out the ££ but at least it's something he'll wear again

God I love MN

'You can't fashion a victorian urchin costume from a dinosaur long-sleeved t-shirt and indigo jeans.'

I'm putting this on the family crest

Ds loves his. He didn't know they were available in this country yet so it was a huge surprise.