We survived Prom 2011!

Well, the easiest way to put it is:

Proms today are VERY different from Proms back in our day!

Really, I can’t say better or worse…just different. Easiest, and first observation, is that the girls going to prom are 25 years old (well, not really but they LOOK LIKE IT!).

• No more long flowing dresses like ball gowns.
• Lots more glitz and glamor.
• Girls spend the better part of the day doing hair & make-up, some even go the professional route!
• Flowers don’t seem to be as important. I seem to remember really caring what mine looked like.
• LIMOUSINES…which I guess I can understand this part of it. The kids travel together and safely so it makes sense

Also, I think each school might do things a bit differently as well. Here in Cape Elizabeth, kids form large groups based on friendships and dates. These groups organize their own transportation which seems to mean limos for the most part, although I did hear that one group was getting a trolley and I think that is awesome!  Then, some very brave and wonderful parents host all these children for dinner before going to prom.  In our case, they also invited the parents of these children  to come for pictures, hors d’oeuvres and then dinner once the kids all headed off for the evening. That was very thoughtful.

Things that seemed to be missing from this new Prom (which is a good thing):

• alcohol
• hotel parties
• all night post-prom parties
• and some other unmentionables!

The whole event seemed to be very controlled and managed, whether by parents or by the school, without lots of leeway. While, initially, I wasn’t too keen on the idea of the pre-prom dinner party hosted by parents….I have completely changed my mind!  I think it was a wonderful opportunity to meet the other parents, spend time with the kids, and an opportunity for siblings to see the older kids all dressed up.  Since we are the newbies in town, it was a blessing for us.  We don’t know many of the parents of Mac’s friends because teenager’s parents don’t mix as much at the younger children’s parents do.

It was a fun night for us, definitely a fun night for Mac and I hope for all the kids as well. Here are some photos that captured the night:

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