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Making Homecoming Affordable

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I admit I was a pretty low-key teen in High School. We were a pretty poor family and anything I wanted to do extra -curricular I had to pay for myself, that includes dances. Our town wasn’t very much into sports, but we had a killer Marching Band, so Homecoming was all about the band, and the bonfire. The dance was kinda secondary with not a lot of fanfare, at least not on my part. I don’t remember ever buying a dress specifically for any of the Homecoming dances, but I can see that the Homecoming dance is a big deal these days. So is the dress for the dance.

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In fact, these days there‘s a lot more importance placed on these elaborate social gatherings than I remember as teen, and a lot of cost involved! Its no longer grabbing a hot dog at the game but I’ve heard about big dinners before the dance, flowers, the cost of the tickets, and of course the clothes. You can easily spend a LOT of money on a dress. Thank goodness there are some ways to help curb the costs and keep it affordable for everyone. Here’s a few ideas:

  • Dinner: Make a special dinner at home. Let’s face it, they just want to hang out together, look fancy, take photos, and have a good time. I know that my photo taking skills are nowhere near as good as my Instagram happy teen, so I take a few photos myself, and have them promise to tag me in a few pics so I can hear them and ReGram them myself. Host a dinner at your house beforehand and invite the kids and their parents for a potluck. That way, you have plenty of photo ops and can share the cost of dinner. Pizza always works!
  • Flowers: it’s mum season! Maybe my Texas roots show, but I sure wish that those nice big mum corsages were everywhere. I’m all about getting a group of kids together, bunches of flowers and letting them put their own corsages and boutonnieres together. It’s particularly great for friends who are wjo are going as a group- there is no pressure, and they will get the exact look they want.
  • Tickets: There’s not much you can do about the ticket prices but buy the tickets as soon as you can. Sometimes, they sell out and you do not want to be stuck with an unhappy teen who has a dress and no ticket to the dance!
  • The Dress: Luckily, there are some fantastic online resources to find the perfect dress for almost anything. Promgirl has a great selection of affordable dresses, This year’s dresses seem to showcase simple a-lines with some bling on the back (or front), the hot colors are navy, black, mauve, or burgundy, and they are in the $100 price range, give or take. There are tons to pick from for every budget! .

Having teens can be expensive, but you can corral those expenses if you plan for them. Planning will help you get started for the NEXT dance that will pop up before you know it. (think about that Winter Ball!) Sign up for notices on sales and scour the clearance sections. I had a plus sized teen who always had a hard time finding dresses, but we scored a prom dress on sale at PromGirl for less than $50 for her Junior Prom! You want your teen to have the full High School experience but without breaking the bank. It’s totally do-able with thinking ahead and shopping smart.

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