Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day is on Thursday 10 December 2026. Here is how to take part at school, at work or at home, what to donate, and how to join in without buying a new jumper.
| TL;DR: Christmas Jumper Day 2026 Christmas Jumper Day 2026 is Thursday 10 December, but Save the Children is happy for you to pick another day that suits you.The suggested donation is £2 for adults and £1 for children, and it is genuinely optional. You can still take part if you cannot give.Register by Tuesday 1 December and your school or workplace is entered into a Thomas the Tank Engine prize draw, with class trips and a team day out to be won.The event has raised more than £42 million since 2012, including £2.6 million in 2025.You do not need a new jumper. Save the Children itself asks people to re-wear, swap, decorate an old one or buy second-hand. |
Christmas Jumper Day has become one of the fixtures of the British December, alongside nativity plays and office parties. Millions of children and adults pull on a festive knit for the day and put a couple of pounds towards Save the Children.
Most guides stop at the date. This one also covers the details schools and offices actually need: how to pay in, which donation methods take a cut, the registration deadline for this year’s prize draw, how to keep the day fair for families who are short of money, and how to join in without adding another plastic jumper to the pile.
When is Christmas Jumper Day 2026?
What date is Christmas Jumper Day this year?
Christmas Jumper Day 2026 is on Thursday 10 December. Save the Children sets the date each year rather than following a fixed rule. It usually falls on a weekday in early to mid December, before most schools break up for Christmas.
The date is a suggestion, not a requirement. Save the Children says that if 10 December clashes with a nativity, an exam or a busy day at work, you can hold your Christmas Jumper Day on the Friday or any other day that works. The donations count just the same.
| Date | What happens |
| Now | Sign-ups open for schools, workplaces, groups and individuals |
| Tue 1 Dec 2026 | Deadline to register for the Thomas the Tank Engine prize draw |
| Thu 10 Dec 2026 | Christmas Jumper Day 2026 |
| After the day | You can still pay in donations; there is no same-day deadline |
For reference, the first Christmas Jumper Day was on 14 December 2012, and last year’s took place on Thursday 11 December 2025.
What is Christmas Jumper Day, and where does the money go?
Christmas Jumper Day is Save the Children UK’s biggest annual fundraising event. The idea is simple: wear a Christmas jumper for the day and make a small donation. The charity uses the money for its work keeping children safe, healthy and in education, both in the UK and overseas.
According to Save the Children, the event has raised more than £42 million since it started in 2012. More than 26 million children and teachers and more than 18 million people at work and at home have taken part over the years.
In 2025 alone, it raised £2.6 million. Save the Children says that sum is the equivalent of about 1.3 million packets of drought-resistant seeds for families in Kenya, 260,000 supermarket vouchers for children in the UK, or 325,000 safer births in health centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Those are illustrations of scale rather than a breakdown of exactly how every pound is spent, but they show how far a £1 or £2 donation goes when millions of people give it.
How much should you donate on Christmas Jumper Day?
Do you have to donate £2?
No. The suggested donation is £2 for adults and £1 for children, but Save the Children is clear that it is only a suggestion. You can give more, give less, or take part without donating at all. The charity explicitly says it understands times are tough and that people who cannot donate are still part of the day.
Which way of paying gives the charity the most?
How you pay in makes a small but real difference to how much reaches Save the Children.
| Method | How it works | What to watch |
| JustGiving page | Donations go straight to Save the Children automatically | JustGiving charges no platform fee, but asks donors for an optional tip. Choose “enter custom amount” and type 0 if you do not want to tip. |
| Team text code | Text your team’s code to 70050 to give £5 | Save the Children receives the full £5; you pay your standard text rate. Not available for schools. |
| Online pay-in form | Pay in cash collected at work or school | You do not need a reference number if you did not sign up |
| Bank, phone or post | Traditional pay-in routes | Details are published closer to the day |
Gift Aid is the easy win. If you are a UK taxpayer giving your own money online, ticking the Gift Aid box lets the charity reclaim basic-rate tax on your donation, adding 25p to every £1 at no cost to you. A £2 donation becomes £2.50 for Save the Children.
| Key takeaway Give what you can, pay through a JustGiving page or the official pay-in form, set the JustGiving tip to zero if you prefer, and tick Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer. |
How to take part, step by step
- Sign up on Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day website as a school, workplace, community group, friend group or individual. Signing up is free.
- Watch for the welcome email. It contains your link to the downloadable resources, which are updated as the day gets closer.
- Set up your JustGiving page or team text code, so people can give without handling cash.
- Get the date in the diary and put up the posters from your resource pack.
- Wear your jumper on 10 December, or your chosen day.
- Pay in before, on or after the day. JustGiving pages pay in automatically.
Two details are worth knowing. You do not have to sign up to take part, although signing up gets you the free resources. And under-18s cannot register themselves: a parent, guardian or teacher needs to register the group instead.
The Thomas the Tank Engine prize draw: register by 1 December
This is the part of Christmas Jumper Day 2026 most people have not heard about. Mattel’s Thomas & Friends has joined the campaign, with Thomas appointed Save the Children’s “Chief Delivery Officer” for the day. To encourage sign-ups, Mattel is running a nationwide prize draw for schools and workplaces that register by Tuesday 1 December 2026.
| Category | Prize |
| Nursery | A visit for one nursery class to a participating Day Out with Thomas attraction, for up to 30 children and 4 adults |
| Primary school | A full-day class trip to Drayton Manor Resort, including Thomas Land, group travel, lunch and parking |
| Secondary school | A STEM workshop led by a Mattel designer, exploring how Hot Wheels cars are designed and the science of speed and movement |
| Workplace | A team visit to F1 Arcade, including the experience and food, for up to 15 employees |
One easy mistake to avoid: if you are registering a nursery or school, include your school type (nursery, primary or secondary) on the form, so you are entered into the right draw. Full terms are on Save the Children’s website.
| Key takeaway The prize draw deadline is nine days before Christmas Jumper Day itself. If you are organising for a school or office, register by 1 December even if you have not planned the details yet. |
Christmas Jumper Day for schools
Schools that sign up get the most support. Save the Children sends registered schools a paper pack in the post with posters, a certificate and a pay-in slip, plus online access to assembly presentations, lesson plans for Key Stages 1 to 4, activities, decorations, a quiz and an inclusivity guide. Everyone else receives downloadable resources only, as the charity has cut back on paper packs for sustainability reasons.
Schools can collect donations in two ways: children bring in coins, which can double as a maths lesson, or parents pay online through the school’s JustGiving page. Team text codes are not available to schools, because text donations must come from the person who pays the phone bill.
Keeping the day fair for every child
Christmas Jumper Day lands in the most expensive month of the year, and not every family can buy a novelty jumper or spare £1. A few simple rules keep the day inclusive:
- Make it “festive clothing”, not “Christmas jumper”. A red top, a tinsel scarf or a paper badge made in class all count.
- Keep donations anonymous. Collect in a sealed box or online so no child is seen giving or not giving.
- Never link participation to payment. Every child should be able to dress up whether or not they bring money.
- Run a jumper swap in the weeks before, so families can borrow one for free.
For example: a primary school of 300 pupils where two-thirds give the suggested £1 raises £200. Add a staff collection of 30 adults at £2 each, and the total reaches £260, before Gift Aid on any eligible online donations.
Christmas Jumper Day at work
For workplaces, the event can be as small as an email with a JustGiving link or as big as a full office takeover. Registered workplaces get posters, a quiz, sweepstakes, decoration guides and other activities. Team text codes make it easy for colleagues to give without cash.
The single biggest multiplier is matched giving. Ask whether your employer will match what the team raises. For example: an office of 40 people giving £2 each raises £80. With a pound-for-pound employer match, that becomes £160, and with Gift Aid on the eligible personal donations, the charity receives more still.
Christmas Jumper Day fundraising ideas
Wearing a jumper and giving £2 is all anyone needs to do. If you want to raise more, these ideas work in classrooms and offices alike:
- Jumper face-off. Put two senior staff members’ jumpers head to head with a donation box each. The loser wears the winning jumper. This is one of Save the Children’s own suggestions.
- Pay-to-play playlist. Charge a small donation, such as 50p, to add a song to the office or classroom playlist.
- Festive bake sale. Mince pies and gingerbread sell themselves in December.
- Best and worst jumper awards. Charge a small entry fee and let everyone vote.
- Guess the baubles. Fill a jar and charge per guess, with a small prize for the closest answer.
- Jumper amnesty. Collect unwanted festive jumpers for a swap rail, and ask for a donation per jumper taken.
Do you need to buy a new Christmas jumper?
No, and Save the Children would rather you did not. The charity asks everyone taking part to avoid buying new and instead re-wear, swap, decorate an old jumper or shop second-hand.
There is a good reason. Research by the environmental charity Hubbub in 2019 tested 108 Christmas jumpers from 11 high street and online retailers and found that 95% were made wholly or partly of plastic fibres. Acrylic was the most common, appearing in three-quarters of the jumpers, with 44% made entirely from it. Hubbub also estimated that 12 million new Christmas jumpers would be bought that year, despite around 65 million already sitting in UK wardrobes, and that two in five are worn only once over the festive period.
Acrylic matters because of what happens in the wash. A University of Plymouth study found acrylic fabric released nearly 730,000 microfibres per wash, about five times more than a polyester-cotton blend.
Your options, from cheapest to most expensive
| Option | Cost | Notes |
| Re-wear last year’s | Free | The greenest option by far |
| Swap with friends or colleagues | Free | Organise a swap rail a week or two before the day |
| Decorate a plain jumper | A few pounds for felt, ribbon or pom-poms | Use safety pins or tacking stitches so it can be undone afterwards |
| Charity shop or second-hand app | Usually a few pounds | Save the Children has its own charity shops, an online shop and a Depop shop |
| Buy new | Varies widely | Check the label: wool, cotton or recycled fibres last longer and shed less than pure acrylic |
If you do already own an acrylic jumper, the best thing to do is keep wearing it for years. Washing it less often, on a cool and full load, also helps reduce how many fibres it sheds.
Christmas Jumper Day 2026: your questions answered
Is Christmas Jumper Day always on a Thursday?
Not always. Save the Children picks the date each year. In 2025 and 2026 it falls on a Thursday, but in earlier years it has been held on a Friday.
Can I take part if I do not sign up?
Yes. Signing up gets you free resources and enters schools and workplaces into the prize draw, but you can simply wear a jumper and donate.
Can children sign up themselves?
No. Under-18s cannot register, so a parent, guardian or teacher needs to register on their behalf.
Do I have to pay in on the day?
No. You can pay in before, on or after Christmas Jumper Day.
Does JustGiving take a cut?
JustGiving charges no platform fee on donations. It does ask for an optional tip, which you can set to zero.
Can dogs take part?
According to Save the Children, plenty do. Just make sure any jumper fits comfortably and your pet is not left unattended in it.
Your Christmas Jumper Day 2026 checklist
- Put Thursday 10 December in the diary, or choose another day that suits your school or workplace.
- Register by Tuesday 1 December to enter the Thomas the Tank Engine prize draw, including your school type.
- Set up a JustGiving page and decide whether to offer a team text code (not available to schools).
- Ask your employer about matched giving.
- Plan an inclusive day with anonymous donations and a free jumper swap.
- Re-wear, swap or buy second-hand before buying anything new.
- Tick Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer donating online.
- Pay in your collection after the day if you are not using JustGiving.
Planning the rest of December? Our Christmas bank holidays 2026 guide sets out every date, pay day and closure over the festive period.
How we checked this: dates, donation guidance, fundraising totals, pay-in methods and prize draw details come from Save the Children UK’s official Christmas Jumper Day pages, checked in November 2026. Jumper research figures come from Hubbub’s 2019 study and the University of Plymouth’s research on microfibres. Christmas Jumper Day is organised by Save the Children; UK Daily Report is not affiliated with the charity.