Senior prom is crazy expensive

[gabosaurus]

My daughter attended senior prom on Saturday, her first formal dance occasion. In preparation, we did the requisite prom dress and all the accessories that go with it. Not to mention the hair and nails. It was expensive out the wazoo and my husband didn't bat an eyelash.
I don't know how many DP members have gone through similar parental experiences, but it about frazzled me out. :uhoh:
Not sure how the male side of the equation compares. I believe Jim's son is a senior this year.
My daughter was spectacularly gorgeous and had a great time, but I am happy it is over. Until next year, when she is a senior. :terror:

[darin]

i lie about everything. I lie about my location, my family, my beliefs. Nothing I write should be taken as non-fiction.


Fixed that for ya.

[Gunny]

My daughter attended senior prom on Saturday, her first formal dance occasion. In preparation, we did the requisite prom dress and all the accessories that go with it. Not to mention the hair and nails. It was expensive out the wazoo and my husband didn't bat an eyelash.
I don't know how many DP members have gone through similar parental experiences, but it about frazzled me out. :uhoh:
Not sure how the male side of the equation compares. I believe Jim's son is a senior this year.
My daughter was spectacularly gorgeous and had a great time, but I am happy it is over. Until next year, when she is a senior. :terror:We rent a tux, get a haircut and buy a damned corsage. Screw all that other happy horsesh*t. Since was the 70s, the haircut was the most traumatic part.

And I made it clear that if my GF wore her hair up we wouldn't be leaving the driveway. Chicks are too high maintenance today.

I don't recall my daughter going psycho about prom. I knew I was going to pay for it but I don't recall anything standing out. Usual chick stuff. I just paid for it and didn't bother trying to understand.

[Kathianne]

Prom used to be practice for going to weddings and of course the celebration of the end of childhood.

It was the day after most parents worried about, not getting preggers while at the post prom dealings at the dunes, while being 'new adults.'

Probably around the same time that weddings started moving from halls to hotels, proms moved to the same venues. Instead of just dress or tux and $40 tickets, the $40 changed to $125 without dinner, since so many opted for a fancier restaurant after the dance. Renting limos became fashionable, as did renting rooms in the hotel to 'get ready.' The dines became a wistful memory.

In the past few years though it seems that the schools are toning it down a tad, a good thing imo.

My kids all went when it really was out of control, luckily they and their friends were not. They rented limos, but there was their whole gang sharing. They chose restaurants that were actually less than the hotel offerings and no hotel rooms.

I was lucky, the daughter wanted 40's look and went to antique clothing place and pulled it off. I think she spent less than $60 on it and was a hit. There's very little dress up that an 18 year old can't look fab in.

[Gunny]

Prom used to be practice for going to weddings and of course the celebration of the end of childhood.

It was the day after most parents worried about, not getting preggers while at the post prom dealings at the dunes, while being 'new adults.'

Probably around the same time that weddings started moving from halls to hotels, proms moved to the same venues. Instead of just dress or tux and $40 tickets, the $40 changed to $125 without dinner, since so many opted for a fancier restaurant after the dance. Renting limos became fashionable, as did renting rooms in the hotel to 'get ready.' The dines became a wistful memory.

In the past few years though it seems that the schools are toning it down a tad, a good thing imo.

My kids all went when it really was out of control, luckily they and their friends were not. They rented limos, but there was their whole gang sharing. They chose restaurants that were actually less than the hotel offerings and no hotel rooms.

I was lucky, the daughter wanted 40's look and went to antique clothing place and pulled it off. I think she spent less than $60 on it and was a hit. There's very little dress up that an 18 year old can't look fab in.You girls put WAY too much thought into it. :)

Let's see ... Tanning booth. If you need a tanning booth in San Antonio, TX or Miami. FL (the latter is where my prom was) someone needs to point you in the direct of the back yard. And I HAVE wired them here in SA so people use them. You can get a tan here in 30 minutes standing in the yard.

Manicure/pedicure. :smoke: NOBODY is playing with my freakin' toes. I definitely ain't paying someone to do it.

No nails? Buy some. Then they have to be painted. Not with regular soft pink polish or red or whatever. No. Now they have to look like Superstar Billy Graham's tie-dyed t-shirt.

Hundred bucks to get your hairl looking like Marge Simpson's all piled on top of your head.

Then I get the call ... "My dress is "this" color and your tux has to match." Okee-dokey. Your dress is peach. I'll just run right out and find a peach colored tux :laugh: (I wore a brown tux with a peach colored shirt).

Oh, and "My parents are going to let ou drive our car because they don't want me showing up in your hotrod to the prom".

How about we get a pizza and see a movie? All that and ... it was boring. My GF was hot. She was a psycho cuz that's how I roll, but she was hot. :)

Too much work. At least when I went to the Marine Corps Ball every Nov 10th I just had to put on my Dress Blues. That was easy since I owned them and they were tailored. :)

[Abbey Marie]

I don’t recall the costs. We were going to pay either way, lol. The prom and dinner were at the DuPont Country Club, so the kids got to play grown-up rather nicely.

To Kath’s Point, we avoided the after prom pregnancies by having a big “After Prom” party at the school, which went from end of prom to pretty late. Which my friends and I decorated. Big time. The gymnasium, cafeteria, hallways, and even the bathrooms. It was a huge undertaking. The kids didn’t appreciate it, of course.

Our house was the pre-prom gathering place for hors d’oeuvres and drinks and photos. So, mo’ money.

I’ll try to find a pic. @gabosaurus (http://www.debatepolicy.com/member.php?u=111) , you too! And anyone else...

[Gunny]

I don’t recall the costs. We were going to pay either way, lol. The prom and dinner were at the DuPont Country Club, so the kids got to play grown-up rather nicely.

To Kath’s Point, we avoided the after prom pregnancies by having a big “After Prom” party at the school, whic went from end of prom to pretty late. Which my friends and I decorated. Big time. The gymnasium, cafeteria, hallways, and even the bathrooms. It was a huge undertaking. The kids didn’t appreciate it, of course.

Our house use was the pre-prom gathering place for hors d’oeuvresand drinks and photos. So, mo’ money.

Ill try try to find a pic. @gabosaurus (http://www.debatepolicy.com/member.php?u=111) , you too! And anyone else...We used the "good luck" method in the back seat :happy0203:

I went in 1977. For some reason I want to say almost all the girls were on the pill. I don't remember the backstory as to why, but mid-late 70s it seems like it was the thing to do.

I didn't fool around with my daughter. I've been on the other end of that girl falls head over heels for boys deal. She was on the pill REAL early "to regulate her cycle". I had enough issues raising her on my own as an active duty Marine without having any surprise additions to the clan.

[gabosaurus]

When you live in an affluent, upscale neighborhood like Huntington Beach, prom is a ritual of passage. You dress to the nines and make yourself look good. Dinner is not even part of the equation, since everyone goes out to eat either before or after. Group dating is quite the thing now, so prom is preceded by the picture taking ritual at each person's home.
There are still limos, but it has been replaced for the most part by fancy rides. Your dad has a BMW or a Benz? You are driving.
The elaborate dresses, shoes, bags and makeup/hair is all part of the required pampering. You have to look good, because you know every other girl is going to. Parents just accept it as part of growing up here.
No hotels that I know of. Group dates don't allow for that. My daughter was home by 11:30.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Never went to a prom. Nothing about it appealed to me. I wasn't one that really enjoyed high school and wanted as little to do with it as possible.

The only thing that comes to mind when I hear talk about HS prom is the old saying, "OFF LIKE A PROM DRESS AT MIDNIGHT."

[Gunny]

Never went to a prom. Nothing about it appealed to me. I wasn't one that really enjoyed high school and wanted as little to do with it as possible.

The only thing that comes to mind when I hear talk about HS prom is the old saying, "OFF LIKE A PROM DRESS AT MIDNIGHT."I hear ya. The GF however thought otherwise.

Funny, I used to play football in HS and could have given a shit less about that "team spirit", ooh-rah crap. Of course, O felt the same way about it in the Marine Corps. I forget what we called it. False something.

NFL players today make me want to slap them upside the helmet the way they dance around like they won the Superbowl for making one good play in the middle of the game. Big deal. Line up and do it it again. When you play like Lawrence Taylor I might take notice. And I don't recall him dancing all over the field like a monkey. He just lined back up and did it again.

The prom was just another dog n pony show to me. However, being 18 years old and have an 18 years old male's prime directive, it was in my best interest to suck it up and go :)

[gabosaurus]

Never went to a prom. Nothing about it appealed to me. I wasn't one that really enjoyed high school and wanted as little to do with it as possible.

The only thing that comes to mind when I hear talk about HS prom is the old saying, "OFF LIKE A PROM DRESS AT MIDNIGHT."

There is a difference between the way guys think and the way girls think. Especially lower class guys. :cool:

[Gunny]

There is a difference between the way guys think and the way girls think. Especially lower class guys. :cool:That was uncalled for. I guarantee you, you dress me up and take me out in public I can fit fight in with higher class people than you even know right down to proper table manners and etiquette. Try going to a formal mess with a bunch of General Officers instead of living in that cave.

Just because I don't choose to act like some snotty, proper f*ck doesn't mean I don't know how when the occasion requires it.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

There is a difference between the way guys think and the way girls think. Especially lower class guys. :cool:
Maybe, but not when it comes to sex. Females are just as nasty as the men when it comes to sex. I've met plenty that wanted to have a romp before we really knew each other well and I said NO... chew on that... and I don't consider myself "high class" or "low class."

You act like I've never been women.

The "old saying" is just a JOKE.

[Black Diamond]

When you live in an affluent, upscale neighborhood like Huntington Beach, prom is a ritual of passage. You dress to the nines and make yourself look good. Dinner is not even part of the equation, since everyone goes out to eat either before or after. Group dating is quite the thing now, so prom is preceded by the picture taking ritual at each person's home.
There are still limos, but it has been replaced for the most part by fancy rides. Your dad has a BMW or a Benz? You are driving.
The elaborate dresses, shoes, bags and makeup/hair is all part of the required pampering. You have to look good, because you know every other girl is going to. Parents just accept it as part of growing up here.
No hotels that I know of. Group dates don't allow for that. My daughter was home by 11:30.
Huntington Beach, Texas?
must be near Galveston.

[Gunny]

Huntington Beach, Texas?
must be near Galveston.I'm telling y'all here and now .... I don't care who thinks they've dug up what. We all know things can be masked pretty easily.

She ain't from Texas. I would know. She DOES sound like she is from SoCal. I would know THAT too. Was stationed there long enough. She sounds like one of those Valley snots most of the time. There's a BIG difference in vernacular, and our leftwingers are nowhere near as fruity as Californians. Our leftwingers are more conservative than California conservatives. Except maybe for those UT student imports from other states.

Stop trying to stick her in MY state.

[Black Diamond]

I'm telling y'all here and now .... I don't care who thinks they've dug up what. We all know things can be masked pretty easily.

She ain't from Texas. I would know. She DOES sound like she is from SoCal. I would know THAT too. Was stationed there long enough. She sounds like one of those Valley snots most of the time. There's a BIG difference in vernacular, and our leftwingers are nowhere near as fruity as Californians. Our leftwingers are more conservative than California conservatives. Except maybe for those UT student imports from other states.

Stop trying to stick her in MY state.
She may be from California and moved to Houston area. Probably grew up in SoCal wishing she could live in a place like Huntington Beach.

[Gunny]

She may be from California and moved to Houston area. Probably grew up in SoCal wishing she could live in a place like Huntington Beach.Doubtful. They don't have Dodgers games in Houston, and they don't televise them there. Other comments over the years support she is from and living in SoCal.

If anyone or she thinks I haven't watched her every word like a hawk for one slip up, think again. And it's been years. Sorry, but people can't keep up an act for over 10 years without slipping up.

I can get an IP that says I'm from Omaha. I've done it. There're whole sites devoted to it.