FROM DOGS TO DIVERS: SAVE THE CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY BRINGS FESTIVE FUN TO THE NATION TODAY

Christmas Jumper Day is back! Flashing, festive knits will still be sweeping the nation today, Friday 11^th December, creating much-needed Christmas cheer and a chance to raise money for the world’s most vulnerable children in the UK and around the world.

Save the Children is expecting virtual calls to be taken over by jumpers festooned with jingle bells, twinkling lights and sparkles galore; children ditching their school uniforms in favour of their daftest winter woollies and dogs rocking last year’s tinsel as the nation gets involved in the ninth Christmas Jumper Day.

In what has been a challenging year, Save the Children has been blown away by the incredible level of support and dedication from people up and down the country, with more than 4 million people and over 12,000 schools expected to take part in this year’s Christmas Jumper Day - all doing their bit to help millions of vulnerable children both here in the UK and around the world. Save the Children has also created a ‘virtual’ game plan of activities for people to take part in throughout the day featuring a morning energiser by Mr Motivator, a quiz with Jon Snow and a Christmas Jumper Day playlist by Fleur East… and much more!

This year joining in the festive fun is more important than ever. As a result of Covid-19, more children are living in poverty, going hungry and are unable to learn, which is why Save the Children is asking the British public to get involved and help change their futures for the better. Christmas Jumper Day may be upon us, but it’s not too late to take part. All people have to do is make, upcycle, borrow or buy a festive sweater today - and donate £2 (or £1 for kids) to Save the Children by going to christmasjumperday.org or texting DONATE to 70050 to donate £2*

Below is a snapshot of what Save the Children’s passionate celebrity supporters, wonderful brand partners and the generous British public at large have been doing to throw their weight behind the big day and make it such a success.

CELEBRITY SUPPORT

This year, a range of celebrities, both returning supporters and new faces, have lent their support to Christmas Jumper Day, including Laura Whitmore, Emily Atack, Keith Lemon, Holly Willoughby, Alex Scott, Jaime Winstone, Ed Balls, Adam Pearson, Aston Merrygold, Dom Joly, Katie Piper, Bake Off’s Liam Charles, Strictly Come Dancing’s Nicola Adams, Peter Andre, Vicky Pattison and Georgia Toffolo. These much-loved artists have all popped on a festive pullover to take part in the campaign. Join them today and don your Christmas knit - whether you’re celebrating with your household or with friends and colleagues over Zoom for a virtual Christmas Jumper Day party.

High res celebrity images can be found here.

CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY ‘AT HOME’ PHOTO SERIES

The charity released a series of images featuring celebrity supporters posing in their festive knits, as photographed by their children. The ‘Christmas Jumper Day At Home’ photo project saw kids aged six to 17 style, direct and shoot portraits of their well-known parents throughout November’s lockdown, ahead of the annual fundraising event.

Included in the ‘At Home’ photo series are Myleene Klass, Claudia Winkleman, Parker Sawyers, Laura Bailey, Konnie Huq, Erin O’Connor, Jools Oliver, Ortis Deeley, T-Nia Miller and Natasha Kaplinsky, all shot by their talented children.

Myleene Klass also made a virtual visit to Wales and Uganda to see the work the charity is doing to support vulnerable children here in the UK and across the World.

High res celebrity images can be found here.

B-roll of Myleene’s visit can be found here.

SCOTLAND’S FIRST MINISTER NICOLA STURGEON WEARS A CHRISTMAS JUMPER

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wore her best festive penguin sweater to celebrate Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “During what has been an extremely difficult year for us all, it’s a pleasure to be able to take part in Christmas Jumper Day, even if it’s only remotely. I hope this year’s event will help bring a smile to people’s faces and raise valuable funds for children in Scotland and around the world.”

BORIS JOHNSON’S MADAME TUSSAUDS WAXWORK GETS A MAKEOVER

Madame Tussauds London teamed up with Save the Children to re-dress Boris Johnson’s figure in a festive jumper, bearing his reminder that ‘tis the season to be jolly careful’ this Christmas. The PM’s figure will make his outfit debut on Christmas Jumper Day at Madame Tussauds London.

High res images can be found here.

BORROW MY DOGGY – DOGS IN JUMPERS

To support this year’s Christmas Jumper Day, Borrow My Doggy has invited humanitarian hounds from across the UK to share photos of themselves in Christmas jumpers – here is our favourite!

GB DIVING TEAM

The British Diving Team’s very own Grace Reid, Tom Daley, Micaela Bouter and Matthew Lee support Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day by wearing their favourite festive jumpers during a training session.

Grace Reid said: “We loved getting in our festive knits by the pool to show our support for Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day! Earlier this year the team and I supported Save the Children with a big bake sale but we’ve gone more traditional by donning our most outrageous Christmas jumpers this time!

“Just like us you can get involved by wearing your daftest, most silly, sparkly winter woolley and donate £2 to Save the Children - which will make a massive difference to the lives of children all over the world”

Images can be found here

MISAN HARRIMAN

Save the Children teamed up with British Vogue photographer Misan Harriman to profile a BAME girls’ sewing group, inviting the girls to customise their own Christmas jumper and style their own portraits. The series aimed to give children from diverse communities a platform to tell their story of an extraordinary 2020.

• Photography and case studies are available to download here  
• B-roll footage and behind-the-scenes images can be downloaded here

SUSTAINABLE CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY

This year, Save the Children is aiming to create the most sustainable Christmas Jumper Day yet. Rather than buying anything new, the children’s charity is encouraging participants to dig out an old jumper and get crafty or head to a local Save the Children charity shop, or online, to pick out a pre-loved festive knit. People can even order a donation bag online to donate old jumpers for the charity to re-sell, win win!

Save the Children is also one of ASOS Marketplace’s official charity boutique partners, selling a selection of vintage Christmas jumpers on the online fashion platform, ahead of the big day.

SHARE THE LOVE

To celebrate Christmas Jumper Day, Save the Children has printed a limited edition edit of Share the Love vintage jumpers. To make sure people can have a sustainable Christmas Jumper Day, each slogan has been printed on one-off vintage sweaters and can be worn all year round. The jumpers are £20 each and are available in a variety of colours from www.savethechildren.org.uk. 100% of profits from every purchase will go towards helping change the lives of children across the world.

JACOBS

As headline partner for Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day this year, Jacob’s has refashioned its bestselling Christmas Caddies with a festive makeover. The 2020 line-up includes Caddies from Mini Cheddars and Twiglets, as well as Cracker Crisps Sour Cream & Chives and Cheeselets – which has been temporarily renamed Treeselets as a nod to the snack’s festive new shape.

Each of the four products are dressed up in Christmas jumper-style packaging to match the festive knits that will be sweeping the nation on Christmas Jumper Day.  Jacob’s has donated £100,000 to Save the Children, to help the most vulnerable children in the UK and around the world to stay safe, healthy and learning, and change the future for good.

PEPPA PIG

To help celebrate Christmas Jumper Day and offer something to get even the youngest family members involved,  Peppa Pig is hosting a fun and festive competition challenging fans to design Peppa’s Christmas jumper for the chance to win lots of brilliant Peppa Pig prizes.  The competition is being hosted by celebrity mum Billie Faiers on her Instagram page and competition templates can be downloaded from Save the Children’s website.

THE ENTERTAINER

Another partner celebrating Christmas Jumper Day this year is The Entertainer who are selling an exclusive, limited edition toy set of the Peppa Pig family - each wearing their own Christmas jumper! The set retails at £9.99 and for each one sold, 50p will be donated to Save the Children, to help children around the world this Christmas.

TWINKL

Twinkl are Save the Chidlren’s Christmas Jumper Day education parter, helping to bring the Christmas cheer into classrooms and homes with a collection of resources, including free PowerPoints, worksheets, games and activities, for children aged 0 to 14.

LADYBIRD

Ladybird is also teaming up with Save the Children and Peppa Pig to support Christmas Jumper Day.  For a second year running, Peppa’s Christmas Jumper Day will be available from all good book stockists, retailing at £4.99 with a 10% donation from the sale of each book being given to Save the Children.

WESTFIELD

Save the Children’s long-standing partner Westfield has also launched the UK’s first ever Christmas rental store. Curated by celebrity presenter and Christmas lover Laura Whitmore, the store stocks everything you need for the festive season. All proceeds from the store will support Save the Children’s work to ensure all children stay safe, healthy and learning no matter where they’re from and the rental store is also stocking (get it!) silly seasonal knits to rent for Christmas Jumper Day – helping make the world better with a sweater.

FUNDRAISING SAFELY

People can sign up at www.christmasjumperday.org and they will receive a free fundraising pack, full of handy tips on planning a great day, in a Covid-19 secure way. Here are some other ideas to raise more money and make the day more fun, whilst staying safe:

·         Get crafty with last year’s jumpers! Kids can grab an old sweater and cover it with stickers, tinsel, tin foil or whatever sparkly stuff they can find. Or hold a jumper-decorating session at school.

·         Swap shops are a great way of recycling old jumpers and not buying new! If schools do want to arrange swap shops make sure all knits are freshly washed and left for 72 hours

·         Leave cash for 72 hours after collecting it and wash hands for 20 seconds after handling

·         As parents and caregivers might not be allowed into school in the coming months, Save the Children has created a JustGiving page for schools this year as an alternative way for children to donate their £1. A link will be included in each fundraising pack.

·         If you are planning on taking a Christmas jumper filled classroom picture remember to abide by the most up to date social distancing rules

Taking part in Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day will help support some of the world’s most vulnerable children in the UK and around the world.  In fact, £1 could pay for antibiotics to treat five children suffering from pneumonia, one of the biggest killers of children in South Sudan, £2 could pay for a bottle of hand sanitiser to help fight Covid-19 in a Save the Children medical clinic, and £6 could buy a face shield for a superhero health worker in Yemen.

Help us make it the biggest, most jingly and joyful Christmas Jumper Day ever #christmasjumperday

Download all high-res product imagery and information for your Christmas Gift Guides here.  

ENDS

Notes to Editors

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To sign up, visit – www.christmasjumperday.org where you can also find the latest information about how to take part in Christmas Jumper Day in a safe and socially distanced way.

For Facebook visit – facebook.com/christmasjumperday

For Twitter visit - @savechildrenuk #christmasjumperday

For press enquiries please contact:

Save the Children – media@savethechildren.org.uk / 020 7012 6841

About Save the Children:

Save the Children exists to help every child reach their full potential.

In more than 100 countries including the UK, we make sure children stay safe, healthy and learning, and change the future for good.

We find new ways to reach children, no matter where they’re growing up. For a century, we’ve stood up for children’s rights and made sure their voices are heard.

For more information visit www.savethechildren.org.uk