Christmas celebration at school can also be without a new Christmas sweater.

Christmas celebration at school can also be without a new Christmas sweater.

The requests from schools around Christmas can cost parents quite a bit. Ouders & Onderwijs director Lobke Vlaming discusses cost-saving alternatives in an interview with RTV Utrecht.

The wrong Christmas sweater day, a snack for the Christmas dinner, pajama day and more. All requests around the Christmas celebration at school can cost quite a bit. You do not have to meet all of them, of course. ‘But parents do not want to deny their child, they do not want their child to be the only one without a beautiful Christmas sweater in the class, so parents feel the pressure to meet those requests.’ This says Ouders & Onderwijs director Lobke Vlaming in a radio interview with RTV Utrecht.

Complaints

Ouders & Onderwijs regularly receives complaints about costs at school around Christmas. ‘I think schools do not realize enough that if you want to meet all requests, and you have for example three children, it can become quite expensive. We also hear that it takes quite a bit of time for parents, especially those with children in primary school. For them, it is a tough week.’

School can reduce the pressure

Schools can do a lot to reduce pressure on parents by thinking in advance about what exactly they ask from parents, how much it costs and if there are alternatives where their child or the rest of the class does not notice. The school can for example buy the requested items themselves or come up with activities where nothing new needs to be bought. ‘You can celebrate a very nice Christmas party at school without everyone wearing their own newly bought sweater,’ says Vlaming.

Keep your cool

Vlaming also reminds parents that it is not a competition. ‘You do not have to have the best treat, the best Christmas sweater, then we also give each other a hard time. Keep it relaxed and try to get through the week as calmly as possible.’