Senior prom: The after-prom

If you are planning for spring prom season, you need to have some discussions with the teens about after-prom activities.

A lot of high schools in Michigan and Ohio host either after-prom or after-graduation parties for the senior class, depending on local tradition. These are typically casual, festival atmosphere events that last all night.

Since the custom in the Monroe, Mich., area, leans toward graduation parties, that leaves after-prom hours for my local readers open to individual choice.

I am aware that, for some, it is considered tradition or at least acceptable to allow a hotel room stay after prom. Personally: my husband and I didn’t allow the daughter to do that. For the parenting perspective, Ladies Home Journal has a discussion on hotels on prom night.

You can’t assume that prom stays are welcomed by the hospitality staff in the first place. One spring when I was traveling, I saw a sign at the hotel where I was staying that the staff knew what nights were prom nights in that community. The sign added they would not knowingly take reservations for high school prom guests.

If the teens want somewhere to “hang out” and watch movies or have other fun after the dance, and a school party is not available, one option is for parents of one of the teens to supervise an alcohol-free gathering at their home.

If you look at it from the frugal living perspective, a house party is a lot cheaper than a renting a hotel room or suite.

This is part of my series on senior prom expenses.

Continue reading Senior prom: The after-prom …

From Monroe on a Budget.