Click one of the buttons below to find out more about how we made Christmas Jumper Day greener this year - including my tips on how to decorate your own jumper - and answers to your most important questions.
We're on planet Earth's team too!
This Christmas Jumper Day could be the biggest. But it had to be the greenest. I’ve done my best – sending you less stuff (it's all available for download) and making sure you can recycle as much as possible.
WHAT DID SAVE THE CHILDREN DO?
Not even a pandemic could stop us wearing our Christmas jumpers!
We knew this year things might be a little different but we still wanted to spread the jumper joy to everyone around the UK – wherever you were learning or working.
We've loved seeing how people have still got into the Christmas jumper spirit and raised as much as they could to help transform children’s lives.
To help participants take part, we looked at alternative ways for participants to fundraise, collect donations and get involved.
We:
- Developed virtual, safe fundraising ideas, so not matter what happened on the big day, we could still make the world better with a sweater!
- Created alternative ways to collect and pay in fundraising virtually to reduce contact with cash, and visits to the bank
- Most importantly, monitored government advice (Fundraising tips and updates have been available throughout the campaign)
What could you do?
We aimed for Christmas Jumper Day 2020 to be our most sustainable day ever. You could upcycle an old jumper, get crafty (more tips here!) or head to your local Save the Children shop (or online!) to buy a pre-loved festive knit.
You could also order a donation bag for us to re-sell old jumpers - win win!
Along with Save the Children shops selling second-hand jumpers, we were also an official charity boutique partner of ASOS Marketplace’ selling a selection of vintage Christmas jumpers ahead of the big day.
And if you wanted help making your own jumper, or putting your heart into the holidays with homemade decorations, you could click here for some super-simple ideas!
- Snowy Jumper - Stick cotton wool onto your old jumper and place it all around to create a snowy effect. Why not bunch up some cotton balls and add orange felt to create a snowman too? If you have any silver or white glitter, dust it on top of the balls to create a beautiful Winter Wonderland-styled jumper.
- Christmas Tree Jumper - Cut out a triangle out of green felt or card to make the tree top. Then cut out a smaller brown rectangle for the stump and stick it below the triangle. It's as easy as that! You can even add glitter to bring sparkle to Christmas Jumper Day. Or go the whole hog and hang some real baubles from your tree!
- Tinsel Jumper - You can never have too much tinsel... or maybe you actually do have too much and need to use it up! Wrap a few pieces around a green jumper and stick it on with fabric glue. You can even stick on some coloured felt circles, cotton balls or pom-poms to make baubles for an ultra-festive jumper.
- Snowman Jumper - This is a really simple but effective design. Do you have a plain white jumper which is a little old and worn out? Add an orange triangle for a carrot nose and black spots or buttons for eyes and mouth and you have a cute and festive snowman jumper!
- Christmas Gift Jumper - Tie a huge ribbon around your waist and turn yourself into a Christmas present! You can even stick some Christmas wrapping bows to the front of your jumper and add a little name tag. Why not finish off the look by wearing a little bow on your head?
- Festive Message Jumper - You might be struggling with the crafty side of upcycling but a dab hand at drawing or art. Take a plain-coloured jumper and simply use fabric pens to write a festive message or draw festive art directly on to the jumper. This will be a jumper that’s personal to you - the essence of upcycling!
- Recycle old newspapers and junk mail into snowflakes
- Get out into nature; you can make mini Christmas trees from twigs or festive decorative bowls with pine cones
- Don't toss that toilet paper roll; with colouring pencils and cotton wool, you can create a whole cast of Christmas characters
- Once you've had your cereal, keep the box - a few quick snips and you've got your own reindeer antlers!
Find out more...
Christmas Jumper Day started in 2012 as we wanted to create an easy, fun activity that would engage the UK public with our cause. Now in its ninth year, the event has got bigger and better every year!
Have you seen a change since you first launched in 2012?
Absolutely – people have continued to buy Christmas jumpers and get involved but we've also seen a trend for people upcycling old jumpers, donating jumpers to our shops and buying pre-loved / vintage jumpers. The main thing is that people continue to be reminded that by donating, they can help us ‘make the world better with a sweater’ by supporting our work which helps some of the poorest and most vulnerable children across the world.
How many people were you hoping will take part?
As many people as possible! Last year more than 4 million people took part.
How much were you hoping to raise?
Since its launch in 2012, Christmas Jumper Day has raised over £24 million to help the charity build a better future.
Last year we raised £4.1 million and whilst we knew that offices and schools might not be able to take part in the same way as usual, we hoped the UK still pulled together and took part in socially safe or virtual ways.
Don’t you work with partners who sell jumpers on your behalf?
This year we did not partnering with any retailers who are producing new Christmas jumpers. We actively encouraged people to reuse old jumpers, buy jumpers from charity shops and create their own by customising old jumpers.
Isn’t Christmas Jumper Day just encouraging people to buy cheap jumpers?
Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day is open to everyone, and we don’t encourage anyone to buy a new jumper. Everyone who signs up to take part receives a fundraising pack full of fun, creative ideas to turn an ordinary sweater into a fabulously festive Christmas jumper.
Do you agree with reports that state the Christmas jumper is one of the worst examples of fast fashion, which is now recognised for the huge environmental damage it causes?
Since the start we’ve actively encouraged schools and offices to hold jumper swaps and bring-and-buy sales in the run up to Christmas Jumper Day to recycle old jumpers as well as to create their own by sharing lots of great crafting tips in our fundraising packs, on our website and Facebook page.
As we have become more aware of the impact of ‘fast fashion’ on the environment, we've been working hard to ensure that people can still take part without exacerbating the enormous climate problems we now face and which we are aware is one of the biggest threats to children around the world.
With all this in mind, this year we launched a recyclable bag people can request online to encourage the UK public to donate old jumpers. We were also one of ASOS Marketplace’s official charity boutique partners, selling a selection of vintage Christmas jumpers ahead of the big day.
We didn’t know then what we know now and therefore are trying harder than ever before for Christmas Jumper Day to be more sustainable than ever. We are continuing to work on wider solutions to ensure that everyone who takes part is aware that we are not encouraging people to buy a new jumper.
The donation amount is £2? Will that make a difference?
Yes! A donation of just £2 really can save lives. £2 could pay for the antibiotics to treat five children suffering from pneumonia or could pay for a bottle of hand sanitiser to help fight Covid-19 in a Save the Children medical clinic. Every jumper worn really can help save children’s lives and ultimately help them thrive.
How much of the money raised goes directly to Save the Children?
88% of our income is spent on charitable activities, the other 12% goes towards raising funds and other costs. You can find a full breakdown of our expenditure in our annual report published on our website savethechildren.org.uk
Where does the money go?
All money raised through this wacky woolly-wearing could help give a child living in a refugee camp clothes to keep them warm through winter, help us buy nutritious food for their entire family, or set up a safe space to give children the chance to be children again. It could also help us bring essentials like healthcare, education, protection and food to the millions of children around the world who are missing out on the most basic support.
Do you work with children in the UK?
Yes, we do. Even before the Covid-19 hit, four million children lived in poverty in the UK. The outbreak has illuminated the underlying fragility of welfare provision and household budgets and put more families on the brink of poverty. In the UK children face food poverty, a lack of essential items and learning opportunities, increased stress and sometimes limited or no access to IT equipment or the internet.
When Covid-19 struck thousands more British families faced the prospect of poverty. Save the Children UK launched launched initiatives to help those feeling the economic effects of the crisis more acutely. This included an Emergency Grant Fund which ensured vulnerable families had access to food vouchers, gifts in kind as well as goods like tables and beds, to help build home environments in which children could continue learn and thrive.
Events like Christmas Jumper Day aren’t fair for some children in schools – it exposes children who can’t afford to buy a Christmas jumper or make a donation. What is Save the Children doing about this?
The last thing any of us need at this time of year is extra stress and pressure to buy new things. That’s why it’s so important for us to ensure that Christmas Jumper Day brings people together, rather than create barriers and stress. It should be about having fun and looking a little bit silly and it shouldn’t be about buying a new Christmas jumper.
We want to make it as easy as possible for all children to get involved with Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day, and we understand that many parents won’t be able to buy a jumper, or make a donation. In all our communications with schools, we emphasise that the £1 donation for children is just a suggestion, and pupils are free to give as much or as little as they want to.
Save the Children also provides lots of creative resources to teachers so that pupils can decorate their ordinary jumpers during the school day, so parents don’t need to buy new jumpers and all children can get involved. We’re also encouraging jumper swaps, if safe to do so, particularly between year groups, and schools could also have ‘decorating jumper days’ so everyone can get involved and not have to buy a new jumper.
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