|PIC1|Competitive parents are spending as much as £150 on luxury items to make sure their child is the best dressed Mary or wise man in the school nativity play.

Gone are the old tea towels and bits of tinsel wrapped around the head, as department stores group Debenhams reveals that parents are increasingly asking its personal shoppers for advice on how to glam up their kids’ costumes.

According to the retailer, some of the items bought include arctic fur throws for children playing sheep and an ivory bridesmaid for angels.

“The amount of money that some parents want to spend on their child’s nativity play appearance would enable Baby Jesus to leave the stable and check into a five star hotel,” said spokesman Ed Watson.

Other items popular include bejewelled turbans for wise men and costume jewellery, with the parents of children starring in minor roles like donkeys or sheep forking out more than the parents of children with the main roles.

“They feel they have to compensate for their child’s minor role by putting on a much greater display of ‘manger chic’ to win attention,” said Mr Watson.

Mr Watson suggested the trend may be down to parents trying harder to secure primary school places by getting their child noticed, but added that they were maybe happy to “throw money” at costumes simply because they did not know how to make them.

“Manger chic” may be good for sales, but Debenhams is encouraging parents to not to go overboard.

Watson added, “While we applaud parents for wanting to do their very best for their children, we feel certain that the story of the Nativity can still be told using very simple materials.”