Will my child be scarred for life?

[DawnM]

38 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

I saw you ordered on amazon, but seconding the Dollar Tree if more is needed. 

There isn't one near me or in any area I frequent.

27 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said:

Do you own Christmas decorations? Can you safety pin something to his clothing and call it a day?

Yes, but they are deep in our storage unit somewhere and will not be retrieved by Christmas this year.   We just haven't had time.

[Drama Llama]

3 hours ago, marbel said:

This has been my experience as well - not the HR part but knowing many people of different faiths/no faith who celebrate the cultural/secular holiday of Christmas in the US, while also observing the holidays/holy days of their own culture/faith. 

Santa Claus, penguins, snowflakes, and other Christmas motifs have nothing to do with religion at this point. And I've known some Christians who don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday either, but just enjoy the festivities. 

I mean I think schools may take it over the top, but celebrating the biggest cultural holiday of the year in school doesn't seem like a crazy thing to me. 

 

The fact that some non-Christian people chose to celebrate Christmas, doesn't mean that the non-Christian people who choose not to are wrong.  And while I agree that pieces of Christmas, like Santa or trees, are cultural rather than religious, a school that only celebrates one culture isn't much better than a school that celebrates one religious.  

In a public school setting, I don't have problem with Christmas things being included as part of a variety.  Coloring sheets with Santa mixed in with ones with other options?  Including the Night Before Christmas, as an example of poetry, along with another poem about Diwali lights and a finger play about spinning dreidels? I'm OK with that.  Hanging some lights alongside more neutral things like snowflakes, and penguins as classroom decorations?  That seems reasonable.  Serving gingerbread men cookies, and jelly donuts and other treats at the end of the year party?  Sure. 

But asking parents to buy things associated with a holiday they may not celebrate, or have their kids not fit in, isn't OK, and it's easy to avoid.  I'd rather not see a spirit week that asked parents to buy anything at all, but if a school does decide to do a holiday spirit week, they can do it without making it all about Christmas.  "Wear something cozy and winterry" lets the kids who want to wear their Christmas sweaters and reindeer tights do so, and other kids can wear blue for Hanukkah or their sweatshirt with a polar bear, or the sweater Grandma knitted them.  "Holiday Headgear" lets kids come in with a hat with a pom pom or ear flaps, or reindeer antlers, or whatever.  Kids who have Christmas stuff can still wear it, but other families can make other choices.  

[Drama Llama]

Having written all that above, while I don't think this event should be happening, I also don't think it's up to a Kindergartener, especially one who is both new and has a history of struggling at school, to challenge that.  I think Dawn did the right thing by ordering from Amazon. I say this as the special ed teacher who generally spends these days in the hallway with the children who are melting down.  

[marbel]

3 minutes ago, Drama Llama said:

The fact that some non-Christian people chose to celebrate Christmas, doesn't mean that the non-Christian people who choose not to are wrong.

Of course they are not wrong. And I'd assume that other cultural/religious festivals are included in social studies curriculum, or should be if they are not. But, again, Christmas is the major cultural holiday in the US that happens during the school year, so it is not surprising that it is the most widely celebrated. 

If my kids had gone to school, I'd have been just as annoyed about this as many here are. But that doesn't matter for this situation, which is not about a global holiday mashup*, or about a winter holiday. Maybe there will be people who will work to change it for next year. 

*I don't mean that in a disrespectful or dismissive way. I think a global winter holiday mashup celebration sounds awesome. 

[Tap]

I know you made a comment on storing such items. I put things like this in my wrapping paper box. Easy to find and it is a box that is out all of Christmas season. Mine is long and flat, so it helps things stay flat (like reindeer antlers etc) 
 

 

[DawnM]

43 minutes ago, Tap said:

I know you made a comment on storing such items. I put things like this in my wrapping paper box. Easy to find and it is a box that is out all of Christmas season. Mine is long and flat, so it helps things stay flat (like reindeer antlers etc) 
 

 

I did?   I don't remember saying that.   The only thing I may have said is that I don't have room to store all this stuff.   A long flat box won't help that situation.   

Maybe you are referring to my comment on everything still in the storage unit?   We have 3 storage units and all the Christmas stuff is in the BACK of one of them because when I packed everything up in June I thought we would be well into our new house and full unpacked by Christmas.   I had no idea this would all take the turns it did.

I just can't get to them at this time.

[sweet2ndchance]

3 hours ago, Terabith said:

But how many 2-3 year olds own an ugly Christmas sweater?

Our small town walmart actually has a whole rack of ugly christmas sweaters in several ugly designs in sizes that would fit 2 - 3 year olds. The consumerism is real. 😞 

[Clarita]

1 hour ago, sweet2ndchance said:

5 hours ago, Terabith said:

But how many 2-3 year olds own an ugly Christmas sweater?

Our small town walmart actually has a whole rack of ugly christmas sweaters in several ugly designs in sizes that would fit 2 - 3 year olds. The consumerism is real. 😞 

If it's anything like the store I went to yesterday it is labeled as "Ugly Christmas Sweaters", not Christmas Sweaters for people who just love Christmas and sweaters, but we produced a bunch of stuff to sell that people shouldn't want.

[Tap]

2 hours ago, DawnM said:

I did?   I don't remember saying that.   The only thing I may have said is that I don't have room to store all this stuff.   A long flat box won't help that situation.   

Maybe you are referring to my comment on everything still in the storage unit?   We have 3 storage units and all the Christmas stuff is in the BACK of one of them because when I packed everything up in June I thought we would be well into our new house and full unpacked by Christmas.   I had no idea this would all take the turns it did.

I just can't get to them at this time.

Sorry I probably misinterpreted 

I will not have time to go hunt these things down nor do I want to spend money on stuff like this to then have to find a place to store it.

[ktgrok]

Just saw this on facebook and thought of you! https://www.facebook.com/share/r/36CgNWxBohDwTWKj/?mibextid=3iQHzw

[DawnM]

8 hours ago, Tap said:

Sorry I probably misinterpreted 

I will not have time to go hunt these things down nor do I want to spend money on stuff like this to then have to find a place to store it.

Ah yes, I just meant in general, I don't have room to store that kind of stuff nor do I really want to.   But maybe I can stick it in A's room for next year.   His room is pretty small in this new house.   

[teachermom2834]

My dd is in high school (so not the same!) but they are always dressing up for something and themes repeat or are similar enough to make do with the same items so she has a dress up box. She had one when she was little and she has one again now. Lol. She doesn’t drive yet and I still buy stuff for her so I’ll buy items for these things and be stern about making sure they end up in the box she keeps handy. When we recently moved and went to the hotel in the short term the dress up box was one of the things that made the move to the hotel and sure enough she needed it multiple times. I think it’s ridiculous but everyone participates and I would be always running her out to buy stuff if we didn’t keep the box handy. Her Christmas sweater and silly holiday props go in there because inevitably she needs them before we have our stuff out or at an even random time of year. So here’s my vote for a school spirit days dress up box with stuff that stays separate from your actual holiday decorations. 
 

I feel for you. My dd is my first child to attend school and she didn’t start until 9th grade and this stuff would have driven me nuts over the entire course of their childhoods.