Saving Money On School Dances

(my latest floral creations)

Now that I have teenagers, especially one that has taken a keen interest in the opposite sex, school dances have become part of our social repertoire. Any one who has high school age children, knows that school dances can be major budget breakers! I don't claim to be the know it all of saving money in this area, but I have discovered a lot of ways to save a little money.

• I know I have brought this up before, but  making your own corsages and boutonnieres is one of the major ways to save money. I had a little hissy fit the first time I went to order a corsage for my Big Boy's date, and realized that the cheapest one I could find was $24.99 (which consisted of two measly flowers and a bazillion yards of ribbon). I found an internet tutorial, purchased basic supplies, and made a much nicer one than I could find at a florists for about $10.00.  Now  I watch for ribbon, corsage pins, and other supplies on sale or clearance. School Dances usually coincide with Holidays, so I can usually find flower bundles at Fred Meyer's or the grocery store on sale. An average corsage costs about $4.50 to make, a boutonniere about $.75. It makes it even cheaper share the cost of supplies with other parents that have children going to the dance. Today several ladies and I made an afternoon of it and created five corsages and three boutonieres.
• If you have a daughter try dress swapping with a friend, or shop consignment and thrift shops. Check clearance racks at department stores after Christmas and after the prom season. I have seen gorgeous semi formal and formal dresses for 60% to 90% off. My neighbor just bought her daughter's dress off the clearance rack. She noticed that the zipper was broken, when she pointed it out to the sales clerk they gave her an additional 20% off. She had the zipper replaced for a minimal fee at an alterations shop. Sometimes if you let the word out you are looking for dance dresses, mothers with girls who have graduated will let you borrow, or buy their used dresses. If you are really lucky they will just give them to you.
• If you have a daughter check out your local beauty school for hairstyles, manicures, and pedicures. Most beauty schools are much, much cheaper that a salon, and all their work is checked by an instructor. Another alternative is barter with a friend or neighbor that is hair savvy, to create the perfect updo.
• If you have a son think about investing in a basic black suit at a thrift store. A nice suit with a cummerbund and tie look just as nice as a tux, and it's much cheaper. In my area a tux rental is around $100.00. I can buy a used suit and have it altered for $100.00 or less. You can buy a selection of basic ties at thrift stores that will usually match most dresses.
• Instead of paying for dinner at a restaurant, host dinner at your house. If it's a spring or fall dance, dinner outside on the deck or in the backyard is kind of fun. It's amazing how festive your backyard looks with a few strands of clear Christmas lights strung around. Don't forget to dress up the table with pretty table linens, add a few candles, have some mood music, and place simple party favors by the plates (the last dinner dance I hosted I filled Chinese take out container from the Dollar Store with flavored popcorn and tied ribbon around the box).

 This is just a starting point! I'm sure there are dozens of ways to save money.  Have any of you, my dear bloggy friends, found ways to save money on your children's School Dances?

Making Your Own Wedding Flowers

A good friend of mine got married last weekend. She and her fiance are on their way to dental school, so being poor college students, they needed to keep their wedding budget in check. Her sister made the wedding cake (she is a fabulous cake decorator; something I am jealous of.). A family friend took the wedding photos. Her mom used her digital camera and a photoshop program
to create darling wedding invitations. She bought her dress on the clearance rack and had it altered ; creating the dress of her dreams, for a fraction of the cost. Her reception was in a friend's backyard so they could take advantage of the summer flowers (and minimize the need for decorations), and friends and family helped prepare and serve refreshments (beverage dispensers, tablecloths, and serving trays were also borrowed from friends and family). That left the flowers. As many of you know, professionally designed flowers are uber expensive, and can be a budget breaker. So, I offered to do her flowers as my gift to her!

I have been making corsages for Child #1's dance dates this past year, and I figured if I can make corsages, boutonnieres and bouquets can't be much harder. After watching a tutorial on creating bouquets, I was off and running! With wedding magazine in hand (and a few color swatches) I hit the flower displays at the local groceries stores (where I live it is Albertson's and Fred Meyer's). These displays are treasure troves for inexpensive bulk flowers. I bought the rest of the supplies at Joann's Fabrics, but any craft store carries the necessary items. After an afternoon of sweat shopping, my masterpieces were done!

The boutonnieres (the groom's is in the center):

The Mother's corsages:

The Maid of Honor's bouquet:


The Bridal Bouquet:



Important things to remember:

• Keep your flowers as fresh as possible by keeping them in a bucket of water in the fridge until you are ready to use them.
  
• After making your bouquets cauterize the ends of the stems with a barbecue lighter (just place the flame on the end of the stems until it turns a light brown). This will keep the stems from oozing on the dresses.
• Refrigerate the flower arrangements loosely covered (empty deli and bakery containers work great for this) until you are ready to use them to keep them as fresh as possible.
• If it is a big project enlist some help. Any project is much more fun if you have someone to shoot the breeze with while you are doing it.
  
• Don't be afraid to try. I have zero professional decorating skills (and I have never taken a flower arranging class). I just simply googled how to instructions on the internet and found pictures on line or in magazines.

Making Your Own Corsages

When child #1 decided that girls no longer had cooties, and that maybe it might be fun to take one to a school dance, I was a little bit excited (and a little bit anxious... I almost had to breath into a paper bag for a minute or two). Then he actually did ask a very nice little gal to the Homecoming Dance. I happily got on line to order a corsage, and about wet my pants when I saw the price attached to a very simple wrist corsage! The cheapest one, which consisted of two flowers, a half a yard of ribbon, and a ton of greenery was $24.99. The the one I really wanted to order was $44.99. At this point, I really did need to breathe into a paper bag. I was hyperventilating, because the lion's share of the dance budget was going to purchase flowers. In my frugal little mind there had to be a better way. So, I went online and started searching websites. I came across this very informative SITE that gives step by step instructions on how to make your own corsage. After hitting Joann's Fabric Store (but any craft supply store will have everything you need) for the necessary supplies:

• a wristlet (that is the base of the corsage, and the elastic wristband)
• E-6000 adhesive
• 1/2 inch gauze ribbon (if you can find wire ribbon that works best)
• floral wire
• small needle nose pliers
  
• an assortment of fresh flowers (the cheapest option was to buy flower bundles at the local grocery store. I got mine at Fred Meyers.)
  

If you are also making boutonnieres you will need:

• green floral tape
• decorative straight pins

Next, I gathered together some of the other mother's in the neighborhood who had children attending the dance to share the fun. After, an afternoon of socializing and chit chat I had produced these:




Here's a couple of handy tips I learned to make it even more economical.

• Split the cost of the flowers with other people if you can.
• Check out your yard or a neighbors for greenery (the ivy came from my dear sweet neighbors yard, plus she gave me a start so I can grow my own.)
• Watch dollar stores for ribbon, wire clippers, and floral wire.
• Go online and print off a picture of a corsage you like to use as a reference.
  
• Dollar Tree has gold and silver embossed gift boxes. Add in a sheet of tissue paper or shredded paper (or better yet a few Hershey's kisses) and the corsage, and you have a professional looking result.
• You can get clear plastic containers from the bakery to put your corsage in, too. Add some shredded paper (and a few Hershey kisses, of course) along with the corsage.

I was surprised how easy they were to make (and I DO NOT have any floral arranging skills to speak of). I just followed the tutorial above. The best part is that my fabulous floral creations only cost about $4.00 each. This is a definite must try!!!!!!!