**Note: This page is for educational inspiration and is not officially affiliated with Christmas Jumper Day. Christmas Jumper Day is an annual fundraising campaign organised by Save the Children, typically held on a Friday in mid-December. It encourages people across the UK to wear a festive jumper and donate to support children's lives around the world. For official information and to participate, please visit the Save the Children website (www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day).
Understanding Christmas Jumper Day (Save the Children) in EYFS & KS1
Get your festive knitwear on! 🎄👚 Christmas Jumper Day is an annual fundraising campaign organised by Save the Children, typically held in mid-December. In 2025, this falls on Thursday 11th December. It's a hugely popular event across the UK where people of all ages are encouraged to wear their favourite festive jumper and, in return, make a small donation to Save the Children. The money raised helps support vulnerable children in the UK and around the world, providing them with access to education, healthcare, protection, and nutritious food. It's a fun, light-hearted way to make a real difference.
For early years settings, nurseries, preschools, childminders, and Year 1 and Year 2 classrooms, this day provides a fantastic and tangible theme for exploring charity, kindness, community, helping others, and festive fun. It's about introducing children to the concept of giving, understanding that their actions can help others, and celebrating the festive spirit in a meaningful way. This day offers wonderful planning ideas and inspiration for engaging activities that truly resonate with young minds, making learning about social responsibility and empathy both joyful and impactful.
Why Is Participating in Charity Days Important for Young Children?
Integrating participation in charity days like Christmas Jumper Day into your practice with young children (aged 0-7) builds their social-emotional development, empathy, and understanding of their role in the wider community.
Develops Empathy & Compassion: Helps children understand that not everyone has the same opportunities and encourages them to feel for others.
Introduces the Concept of Giving: Teaches that small contributions can collectively make a big difference.
Fosters Community Spirit: Creates a sense of togetherness and shared purpose within the setting and with a wider cause.
Promotes Social Responsibility: Instils an early understanding that we can all contribute positively to society and help those in need.
Connects Learning to Real-World Impact: Makes abstract concepts of "helping" tangible and relatable for young children.
Enhances Personal, Social & Emotional Development: Builds self-esteem through contributing to something good and understanding their place in the world.
Engaging Christmas Jumper Day Activities (Save the Children) for EYFS & KS1
Make Christmas Jumper Day a truly warm and giving experience with these planning ideas and activities perfect for EYFS and KS1 children. The focus is on festive fun, creativity, and understanding the power of helping others! Many of these early years and year 1 activities can be supported by our dedicated 'Christmas' resources.
Here's some inspiration for celebrating and supporting Save the Children in your setting: (Please use your own discretion and knowledge of your children to ensure appropriateness of each activity and safety concerning any materials given and activity undertaken.)
Wear Your Christmas Jumper!: Encourage everyone to wear their festive jumpers and explain the purpose of the day – that by wearing their jumper and contributing, they are helping children who need it most around the world.
Design a Christmas Jumper: Provide art and craft materials for children to design their own festive jumpers. Use our 'Design A Christmas Jumper Multimat - Playdough, Loose Parts, Art & Crafts' as a versatile base for drawing, painting, or decorating with various materials.
Christmas Jumper Puzzles: Use our 'Christmas Jumper 2-Piece Puzzles' for a fun fine motor and matching activity.
Christmas Jumper Game: Play a game using our 'Christmas Jumper Snap Cards Game' to develop matching skills and encourage social interaction.
Discuss Helping Others: Have a circle time discussion about what it means to help someone in need. Use simple examples relevant to children's lives (e.g., helping a friend who falls, sharing toys). Explain that the money raised helps children get food, clothes, or go to school.
Festive Story Time: Read a story about kindness, sharing, or helping others, linking it to the spirit of giving during Christmas Jumper Day.
Create a "Kindness Wall": Display pictures or drawings of ways children have been kind or helped others, reinforcing the values of the day.
Christmas Crafting: Engage in other Christmas-themed craft activities that can be made to celebrate the season. You can explore additional resources from our 'Christmas' page for further ideas.
Sing Festive Songs: Incorporate Christmas carols or songs about kindness and community into your day.
Explore More Christmas Resources: For an extensive catalogue of Christmas-themed activities and resources, please visit our 'Christmas' page!
These activities offer great inspiration for making Christmas Jumper Day a memorable and impactful experience in your early years and Key Stage One setting, fostering empathy, kindness, social responsibility, and a tangible understanding of charity.
To explore ideas surrounding additional early years events, please visit our 'Special Dates Calendar' page.
Printable resources to support teaching & learning surrounding: ‘Christmas Jumper Day’
Additional ‘Christmas’ printable resources for EYFS & KS1
Please visit our ‘Christmas’ page to browse our entire collection of educational materials on this theme.
Please visit our ‘Christmas’ page to browse our entire collection of educational materials on this theme.
Additional Pages you may like to explore which cover relevant &/or Connected themes
More Early Years Event Pages for December
Explore special dates (including awareness dates, festivals, celebrations & events) relevant to your EYFS & KS1 children
Browse our ‘Special Dates Calendar’ page using the link below. You’ll find calendars for every month of the year to aid your planning!
SEARCH ‘LITTLE OWLS Resources’ USING THE FOLLOWING MENU BUTTONS…
Disclaimer:
This page is for educational purposes only and is intended to support early years and primary practitioners with ideas and resources related to 'Christmas Jumper Day'. We are not officially affiliated with or endorsed by Save the Children, which organises this campaign. We do not claim any rights to specific trademarks or official materials associated with this event. For official information and to participate in the fundraising, please visit their website at www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day.
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