It’s that time of the year again, when Christmas is in full swing everywhere. And while there are a lot of fun events going on, it’s important to remember that not all of the activities and events are suitable for students. Take Christmas Jumper Day. Wearing Christmas jumpers in special education, specifically for students with sensory needs, can be a nightmare.
Let’s face it. Christmas jumpers are not the comfiest things in the world to wear. They can be itchy. Or too tight. Maybe they’re too big? They’re usually thick, making them very warm.
But most of all, they’re different. You may have students who like routine and they wear the same clothes everyday to school. And I don’t mean the actual same shirt every single day without washing it. They probably have a few pairs of the same trousers and they wear these through the week. But, adding a Christmas jumper into the mix – that can throw everything out of motion!
But, I also don’t want you to just dismiss Christmas Jumper Day.
What is Christmas Jumper Day?
Christmas Jumper Day is an annual fundraising campaign in the UK and Ireland organised by charity Save the Children in the UK. Find out more here.
Preparing for Christmas Jumper Day
You know how much I rave about how important it is to prepare everything in advance – and Christmas Jumper Day is no different. The more prepared you are, the more smooth things are going to go on the day. Some ways that you can prepare in advance are;
- Send letters home to families to let them know.
- Prepare what activities you’re going to do on the day.
- Put together a walkthrough PowerPoint or watch a video about Christmas Jumper Day with your students.
- Put a Christmas jumper image on the calendar so that your students can see when it’s taking place.
- Remind students about Christmas Jumper Day – if appropriate.
- Have a plan.
Sensory Friendly
So, you don’t have to go and buy a Christmas jumper to take part in this day. One of the best ways to make this more sensory friendly for your students, is to use clothes they already have. And you don’t have to deface them.
Let families know that they can use Christmassy ideas to decorate a jumper or piece of clothing the student already has and they can wear this. We don’t want to exclude anyone just because they find it hard to wear an actual Christmas jumper. In fact, making one is even more fun!
Some ideas you can use to decorate;
- Just one big red pom pom and googly eyes on a brown jumper for Rudolph.
- Cut out felt pieces and place onto a white jumper to create a snowman,
- Bows that you can use on gifts – stick these onto the jumper.
- Get some green pom poms and stick them onto the jumper to make a formation of a Christmas tree. Attach a gold star on top.
- Wear a Christmas PJ top. These are usually a soft fabric – because everyone wants to be comfy in their pjs!
- Attach white pom poms to a silver jumper – like a snow scene!
As you can see, there are a lot of fun ways to decorate clothes to still take part in Christmas Jumper day without the stress.
Other Ways to Participate
You may still have students who are unable to cope with decorated pieces of clothing too – and that’s ok! Because, there’s still a bunch of ways that you can take part in Christmas Jumper Day with your students without getting dressed up.
- Bake gingerbread cookies cut into jumpers and then decorate.
- Have students design their own Christmas jumpers.
- Make Christmas jumper sun catcher crafts to put into the window.
- Design a Christmas jumper as a class – on the floor!
- Christmas jumper play dough activities.
- Make Christmas jumper decorations for the tree.
Do you celebrate Christmas Jumper Day in your classroom? Let us know some of the fun activities that you do in the comments down below.
And if you found this blog post about Christmas Jumpers in Special Education helpful, please consider sharing it with your friends and colleagues on social media.
Find more Christmas blog posts, crafts, baking ideas and activities that are perfect for special education here.
