April means prom time

Prom has been an American high school tradition since the late 1800’s, which means that even great-grandma probably has a story or two to tell about her prom.  Our employees definitely have prom stories! After you read our blog for this week...keep scrolling to see some of our LOVELY prom pics!! 

Maybe you remember dancing to “Stairway to Heaven” under tin foil stars hung in the school gym, or perhaps it was “Time of Your Life” in a hotel ballroom, or even “Let It Go” in front of a real ice palace flown in for the occasion. Hopefully, your prom didn’t include scenes like the ones in the classic prom horror movies.

Whether yours are good memories or bad ones, there are several things parents can do to give their own kids and their friends a special evening they’ll remember always, and we’re not talking about using their college fund and your retirement nest egg on some over the top “My Sweet Sixteen” extravaganza.

While parents in some towns often join together to provide organized all-night activities for the senior class, in other communities the kids are left to their own devices, which can result in some pretty unwise and unsafe activities.

If your community’s parents are making an organized effort, be sure to volunteer. Not only does it support your child, but it’s a great way to get to see who’s out with whom and what they’re wearing without having to annoy your child with the parental quiz the next morning. (Especially true for mothers of sons, because they’re not going to notice, anyway, or even if they do, they aren’t going to want to tell you!)

But if that’s not going to happen, then it’s easy enough to let your teen host an all-night “after-party” for their particular friends, if you follow a few simple tips:

*Make it clear on the invitation that it is “come and stay,” and that come and go won’t be happening. Have the specific end time on the invitation, too.

*Because there are legal repercussions for serving alcohol, or other substances, to minors, make it clear to your teen and their guests that your party will be strictly legal.

*THEN go all out…Carry the prom theme on into your party with your table décor. *Have unending supplies of great food, and soda. Start the evening with some substantial party food, like pizza or subs or a build-your-own taco or baked potato bar. A couple of hours after that, put out popcorn or chips and mini candy bars or cookies. And finally, in the last hour before the party ends, put out donuts and milk or juice.

*Have plenty of activities planned. Think through how many hours you will have from after the prom until sunrise (about six?) and have at least that many activities available. For instance, set up video games in one area, rented movies in another, cards or board games somewhere else. Can you set up a karaoke machine? Have a “video corner,” where the kids can record memories or messages to each other, and then leave them for you or your teen to edit, and send out later as a party favor.

*Welcome the kids to your home, tell them how glad you are they came, and explain that for their safety and your legal protection, you have a couple of ground rules:

1. If they leave, they can’t come back. (Do they need to call and tell their parents they’re leaving, so you know their parents know?)
2. No illegal stuff.
3. Have a great time.

*Then, fade away. Don’t try to be part of the party, but do make the occasional pass through, to replenish food and soda supplies…Smile and laugh and keep the food coming, but be alert to what’s happening. Tell your teen ahead of time what the rules are, and to come tell you if there’s a problem. Should that happen, you can nonchalantly pass through with chips or soda, and engage the “rule-breaker” in conversation…Most of the time, that’s enough, but if not, you can call that person aside, and quietly but firmly suggest it’s time to call their folks and go home. No need for a scene in front of everyone else.

*When it’s time to serve breakfast, be around to tell the kids goodbye.

*Fall into bed and catch up on the zzzzzzz’s, knowing that you gave your teen and their friends a really priceless gift by creating a safe but very, very cool way to have a fabulous prom night.

And speaking of priceless gifts on prom night, there’s one more thing that you could do for your child. As you shop and plan together, include a little leadership mentoring in the conversation, and bring up the fact that for some kids, prom can actually be stressful, or even miserable. Talk about how much power your own teen has to totally turn that around by just being friendly, and making the effort to include someone who seems to be on the fringes.

My parents always reminded me that a leader pays attention to everyone, and is sensitive to those who might be feeling left out. As a result of that, my date and I, along with some of our friends, made a pact that for at least two dances, we would not dance with each other, but would make it a point to ask someone who hadn’t danced all night to dance with us. That ended up being one of the things that made prom night special for us.

Whatever prom night looks like at your house this year, we hope that in years to come, the memory of it makes both you and your teenager smile.

Now....time to share some of our Employee's Prom pics....Some claimed that they "lost" their pics...or couldn't find one and others either didn't go or their school did not have one.  We shall let them slide this time...but major Kudos to those who risk the slight form of embarrassment by turning in these awesome photos!  Hope you Enjoy!!! And you are welcome to join in our fun by commenting and posting your own photos in the comments!!!  

We shall start off with our store manager, Katy in her prom dress.  Beautiful!!!

Next, We have Jordan....love these pics!! Not only is she beautiful but such personality!  How much fun are these two having?  Love it!

Classic!  This is our store design expert Jay and his lovely prom date!  What a suite Jay!  

Amber and her date for prom.  He picked her up in a semi...was a challenge getting up in that big truck with a straight form fitted dress....but it was a success and so much fun!

Jerealine Welch (The "Marie" of Amber Marie) in her beautiful prom dress!  She is also the hot blonde in the blog heading photo!  Wowza!