You came to this blog post today with your mind in the gutter, didn’t you? You thought we were gonna talk about some sexy boy parts, didn’t you? Shame on you! Haha!! We’ll maybe save that for another day.
The leaves are starting to turn. The weather’s getting cooler. It’s football season. And that means Homecoming. We currently live in Texas, and they have a homecoming tradition unlike anything I have ever seen before. And that tradition is the homecoming mum.
Originally, a boy gave his homecoming date a chrysanthemum flower to wear to the homecoming football game. It was similar to giving your date a flower to wear to the prom, only they wore it to the game, rather than the dance. You’ve heard the saying everything is bigger in Texas. This is one case in point. (Here’s an article you can read for futher information on the homecoming mum.)
My daughter's junior year mum.
The mums now are full of ribbons, trinkets, feathers, you name it! When you’re a freshman, you get a single mum. Sophomore year you get a double mum. Juniors get a triple (heart shaped) mum. Seniors get a quadruple (diamond) shaped mum. Senior mums are also traditionally all white. The boys wear a garter version of the mum. Below is a slideshow, so you can see what they look like!
So what do you think of this tradition? Do you wish you had one? Did you have a different tradition or a fun homecoming story to share with us?
(A special thanks to Kenzie, Allie and Lanette, and Karlene for letting me share their mum photos!!)
Angela Orlowski-Peart says
October 7, 2011 at 10:59Those are gorgeous! I don’t think we have that tradition here, in Seattle. I love the mums in your photos, although at first I thought there were much smaller 🙂
Tameri Etherton says
October 5, 2011 at 20:55Those are some good looking mums! My sister lives in Texas, but I’ve never heard her talk about Mums – and her boys are all about school activities, so I’m sure she did them. These are totally cool and I wish we had mums when I was in school a century ago! I love the little teddy and trinkets in them. You can personalize them to the girl, superfabulous!
Elena Aitken says
October 5, 2011 at 20:39This is awesome! I’ve never heard of anything like this. Of course I live in Canada where homcoming is something we see in movies. 🙂
They look very cool and I can imagine my daughter would be ALL over this. If I show her this post it may help convince her that we should move to Texas!
thanks for sharing.
Sara Grambusch says
October 5, 2011 at 17:11I think that’s awesome! Traditions don’t have a huge place in society anymore so it’s cool when young people get into things like this. Plus, they are really beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Tiffany A White says
October 5, 2011 at 11:47Growing up in West Texas, and attending the real schools that inspired movies such as Friday Night Lights and Varsity Blues, I have to say that Bigger is Better (when it comes to mums – remove your head from the gutter). Mums really got to be insane by the time I was in highschool. They wrapped around your shoulder to where the front of the mum was just as large and bulky as the back of the mum…that you sat on for crying out loud. I made it a point to ask my homecoming dates to stick to the one sided mums…with three mums up top, of course. 🙂
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
October 5, 2011 at 14:57Oh wow, I’ve never seen a two sided one! Do you have pictures??
David N. Walker says
October 5, 2011 at 11:42When I was in high school, mums were flowers, not all-encompassing streamers. The first time I saw one like those you pictured was when my daughter’s date to her senior prom gave her one his mother had made for him. She and I were both shocked. I’d hoped that was something that would never catch on.
And yes, considering how often you write about “hunks” and “abs” and such, I was expecting something else in this post.
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
October 5, 2011 at 14:57They’ve caught on big!!
Caryn says
October 5, 2011 at 09:54Growing up in Texas, I am a big fan of the mums! I remember going to craft stores like Michael’s and thinking how cool it was that they had all the school-specific ribbons and trinkets. We made gifts for all of our friends too. I probably spent way more time doing this than studying. Homecoming was always a great day, Though it probably wasn’t for everyone and looking back it’s totally ridiculous, but that’s just how we roll here!
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
October 5, 2011 at 10:20I’ve had so much fun with them. We usually get a group of girls together to work on them, but then they get bored and I end up doing them. They are so fun!1
Jenny Hansen says
October 5, 2011 at 09:37Dang, Jillian, these put our old single flower corsages to shame. It’s like the soccer team hair scrunchees joined up with a pom-pom and a flower. Sporty!
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
October 5, 2011 at 10:20Haha i know. They are so huge they literally cover your whole body. My daughter was like I wanna cool outfit for mum day and I was like WHY? No one will see your clothes. If they had backs they could almost go naked under them!
David N. Walker says
October 5, 2011 at 11:39I’m sure their dates would appreciate that.
Hartford says
October 5, 2011 at 08:29I am so jealous! I wish I grew up in Texas and could have had mums – these rock. They are gorgeous!!! I am so impressed….love it!
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
October 5, 2011 at 08:43They are really fun. It’s a tradition that I’ve eagerly embraced. My son’s school has leopard print as part of their mascot, and this year I bought leopard fur ribbon!! I told him he has to have a date just so I can make her a mum with the ribbon!!! You’d be shocked how heavy they are!