Prom In America

I think we can all agree that prom is a pretty special event in the lives of teenagers. The cost of prom is rising though and I'm right in the middle of learning first hand just how costly it can be. My seventeen year old high school Junior is going to her first prom in May. We started shopping for dresses in January, so I feel as if I have been in Prom mode for awhile now. This is my daughter's first prom and I obviously wanted to make sure it was special for her. However, things have surely changed since I went to my prom twenty years ago! Back then I spent a hundred bucks on my dress, which felt like a lot! A friend of mine did my hair for free and I did my own make-up and nails. I think my dad gave me thirty bucks for a nice dinner at Bennigans with my then boyfriend, now husband and our friends. I can't remember what the cost of the ticket was but I don't imagine it was very much!

Prom isn't even just about the dress anymore, there are so many other factors that your teenagers are thinking about. Have you ever heard of a Prom-Posal? Teens are now spending more money that ever just on asking that special someone to the event. Make-up, hair and nails are being professionally done and that can really add up! Going back to the dress you also have to have the perfect shoes and don't forget the jewelry. We spent quite a bit of time trying to pick out the perfect necklace and earrings to match my daughters dress. Thinking back to my prom again I just wore a necklace I already had that was special to me and probably the same little diamond studs I've worn since I was sixteen when my mom gave them to me.

I was curious as to what the national cost of prom was and was surprised to learn the average was $1,139.00 in America. In Canada the average cost is a little lower coming in at $804.00. We can safely assume that most teenagers aren't paying for prom themselves so parents are really forking over the money for this event. That gets me to thinking about how hard this all must be for kids whose parents are really struggling and don't have the extra money to spend on something like prom. I'm not sure how prom turned into such an expensive event. I hope that the magic of the event isn't outweighed for most teens by the rising cost of everything and worrying about how it's going to be paid for. We plan on donating my daughters prom dress to our local school next year to help someone in need. There are quite a few prom oriented charities that help teens who can't afford to get a dress. If you have some prom dresses or maybe even bridesmaids dresses laying around consider donating them to your local community. I'm sure there a bunch of girls out there who would really appreciate it!