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Original poster

Is £5.50 for 12 custom-made Christmas cards taking the mick?

26 replies

lljkk · 25/10/2008 14:03

Overheard some moms moaning about it in the playground yesterday. Fundraiser for the PTA -- letter came home with some A4 artwork done by the children in school, which you can get made into 12 custom-Xmas-cards (see here). PTA gets a £1 for each pack.

Part of me just thought... then don't buy it! But then there's pester power if your child really wants you to... I know one of the mothers complaining is pretty skint (but hand on heart, I reckon she's not that skint).

Was it cheeky of the PTA to do this fundraiser? None of it was my idea, and I will be buying 3 sets of cards (3 DC at the school), but I'm worried about negative feeling backlash.

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IdrisTheDragon · 25/10/2008 14:09

DS brought home his Christmas card yesterday - it's £5.00 for 12 cards here with £1.50 going to the PTA. Didn't hear anyone moaning - don't think anyone will feel it's cheeky.

LackaDAISYcal · 25/10/2008 14:10

I think it's a reasonable price for something that's really unique and bound to be much appreciated by the GPs

Don't think it's cheeky of the PTA at all, and will be suggesting it to my PTA for our Christams craft fayre which is coming up soon.

As you say, she doesn't have to buy them.

Sidge · 25/10/2008 14:17

My girls' schools have done this - I agree it's not terribly cheap but it's a unique card and a good way for the school to raise funds.

I have bought a box of 50 cheapo cards for the friends and rellies, and the close family and friends will get the school ones!

foxinsocks · 25/10/2008 14:20

I agree with you. The pester power argument is nonsense. You err say no don't you. Our school offered them. I thought it was expensive so we're not getting them and err that's it! Have no problem with them offering this sort of thing though.

Original poster
lljkk · 25/10/2008 16:59

Oh good, glad to hear you gals think it's alright.
One of the moms moaning used to be secretary on the preschool committee, so she knows how important (and difficult) fund-raising can be, too .

Just venting, really, I guess!

OP posts:
QOD · 25/10/2008 17:02

I have just set this up with dd's school LOL - for the PTFA of course.
Last year, another local school did it and my dd managed to get a pack snuck in, my friend teaches there.
I loved the cards, used them for family & kept one for posterity,
Ours are £6 with only 60p going to the school!

islandofsodor · 25/10/2008 21:46

Dd's school did this last year . I think they were about £6, can't remember how many cards. I thought it very expensive and dd was a bit upset when I refused to buy them.

gremlindolphin · 25/10/2008 22:49

I've organised this at our school for the last couple of years.

Ours cost £5 for 10 cards with £1.25 profit for school per pack. Last year the school made £500 and we donated an additional £40 to a childrens charity.

Before you order every child gets a free sample to keep anyway so I don't think theres been any "backlash" most people love it (the cards are fab) and if people think they're too expensive then they do as Sidge suggested or don't buy them.

We do ours with www.christmascardsforschools.co.uk who are very established and a really nice, friendly company.

wheresthehamster · 26/10/2008 11:37

It does sound a lot but it's only 50p a card. I'm sure most of us spend a lot more than that on birthday cards.

Our school does it. I feel sorry for the families with 3 or more children because they probably don't have 30 'special' people to send them to!

sunnydelight · 26/10/2008 22:43

No. $35 for a sodding Christmas pudding (approximately 15 pounds) is taking the mick - that's the fundraiser going round our school at the moment.

apostrophe · 27/10/2008 20:41

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Ihadtonamechange · 27/10/2008 20:43

Ours are more than that - £6.50 for 10! (x2 dd's!) Unfortunately they came home the day after the school photographs (5 photos of 2 dd's) which they want a minimum of £19 per set for. A few weeks before Christmas. DD1's been told that there's a prize for the person that sells the most - think she's going to be disappointed...

sheberene · 28/10/2008 13:30

My DD2's nursery are charging £14.99 for 12, which is really do think is excessive. Very hard to disappoint a 2 year old when I'm buying her older sister's PTA ones.

Furball · 28/10/2008 13:43

Our PTA did cauliflower cards this year. OK so it might be a bit more pricey than normal cards. But I believe it is a lovely way for the school to raise funds for stuff for your child.

Furball · 28/10/2008 13:44

imho £14.99 is taking the pi**

ilove · 28/10/2008 13:48

£6.50 for 10 cards here...with 3 of them at the school I'm rather annoyed at being pressured to spend £19.50 on 30 christmas cards!

HappyMummyOfOne · 28/10/2008 15:28

Ours dont do these but I think the price in the OP is very reasonable - I bought a birthday card last week that was £2.49 just for one nice card.

Hulababy · 28/10/2008 19:56

DD's school does something like this. Did it last year too. Grandparents, etc. will like them - cheaper than buying individual grandparent specific ones, so have ordered.
Oh and no pester power in way it was doe at DD's school. Forms went direct to parents; children not talked to about what is was for - they just sent a piece of art work home with an order form (no sample cards). Parebnts could send back with order or just return unfilled in. No pressure at all.

Judd · 28/10/2008 20:05

We do them slightly differently here, so that you can participate if you want without the "fait accompli" feel of getting a finished pack in the book bag.
The PTA send a letter out explaining the scheme and asking for a piece of A4 artwork to be done at home if you want to participate. When DD was in Reception, she would have just drawn Feathers McGraw (from Wallace and Grommit - slightly obsessed!) so it meant that I could sit with her and guide her in the more Christmassy direction! There are also examples pinned up if you want to have a look at the finished results.
So DD has done Father Christmas on his sleigh and DS (Reception) hasn't done one.

PS. The school did do the framed artwork that you could buy. DDs class had painted themselves at the seaside.....and so we obviously ended up forking out £8 for a picture of Feather McBallyGraw at the seaside (just a red hat and waves really)

PurpleFrog · 29/10/2008 14:16

Dd's school did this too this year. I refused to buy them. If it had been dd's "original artwork" I would have done, but the class was given blue-grey paper on to which they had to stick snowflakes that they had cut out of white paper. All the children's cards looked almost identical and pretty uninspiring, so I refused. (BTW dd is in P6 and is reasonably artistic - she could have come up with something better with her eyes closed.)

yummybunnymummy · 30/10/2008 17:01

£6 for 12 at our school

amanda1301 · 21/02/2011 10:49

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shesparkles · 21/02/2011 10:55

My children's school have never done this, but I received one of these kind of cards at Christmas, and it was my cousin's 2 year old who'd "designed" it. I was over the moon-and I'm usually a really cynical sod when it comes to stuff like that.
At 65p per card, it's a lot less than you'd spend on a birthday card, and the one we received was on fantastic quality card.
I think the PTA sound like they have their heads screwed on by doing it this early in the year.

Greeninkmama · 21/02/2011 14:45

I would love it if DD's school did this.

Anice · 21/02/2011 15:21

the parents are pressured into overpaying for something that they may or may not want so that the school can take a commission....