Is this the "norm" now? Professional hairdo for Communion?

[NeedaVacation03]

Not trying to be a downer here. But.... I am a youth minister who also handles First Communion. I think it is terrific that little girls look so cute on that day, and I love watching the boys all dressed up too. But what I would love to see is the parents spending as much time teaching and reinforcing the reason for first communion. A lot of parents are terrific about their faith, but I encounter many parents who are more concerned with how their child is dressed and the party afterwards, that the purpose of the event gets hidden away. If I had a dollar over the years for every parent that asks me "how long will the retreat(practise) take?'' "Can my child make soccer practise?" or a number of other activites that are way more important than First Communion; I could finance a nice trip to Disney. I know how valuable everyones time is. I am a mother of 4 children, so busy parents are preaching to the choir.
Thanks for letting me vent. I know others will disagree with me, but having just finished First Communion for this year last Sunday the wounds are still fresh.

 

[r3ngels]

I think there are extremes...

no I would not allow my 8 yo to wear makeup or have her nails done or even wear a long dress.

She wore a beautiful dress but not over the top with a veil that made a "ring" on top of her head. I had her hair done so that the curls would all be on top with ringlets falling over the ring. (Does that make any sense to you guys)

She goes to our parish school so she definately knows the meaning of making her first communion... and yes we had a party after, she was thrilled, she should be it was her special day with relatives in from out of town to watch her made it even more special.

JMO

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I am hairstying challenged. I have no idea how to curl hair, and the head piece scared me! There was no way I was going to get that thing to stay clipped in her hair, if I could even figure out how to clip it in!

So, yes, I spent $30 for my DD to get her hair curled, and have the head piece put on so it wouldn't come off. DD felt like a princess, and it just added to HER day.

 

[lbgraves]

I will try to fix DD's hair with curls before her FC to see if I can get it to stay in place. Her hair is so fine that it is hard to hold a curl. If I can't get it to stay in place, yes I will make an appointment to have her hair done. So what? We don't have the big birthday parties where the kids are out of options by the time they are 7 so if we want to make a big deal about FC, we will. She will be wearing my FC veil.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Here is a picture of my DD getting her hair done

And, in all her glory, with her Gram and Papa

 

[canwegosoon]

AT our FHC a few weeks ago I would say 75% of the girls had their hair professionally done. That is their choice-But I am glad I have boys. Personally I think people go too over the top, not just FHC...it's like we get roped into it. I wish things were simpler. My FHC became a big production...that I didn't want.

 

[Nancy]

Not trying to be a downer here. But.... I am a youth minister who also handles First Communion. I think it is terrific that little girls look so cute on that day, and I love watching the boys all dressed up too. But what I would love to see is the parents spending as much time teaching and reinforcing the reason for first communion. A lot of parents are terrific about their faith, but I encounter many parents who are more concerned with how their child is dressed and the party afterwards, that the purpose of the event gets hidden away. If I had a dollar over the years for every parent that asks me "how long will the retreat(practise) take?'' "Can my child make soccer practise?" or a number of other activites that are way more important than First Communion; I could finance a nice trip to Disney. I know how valuable everyones time is. I am a mother of 4 children, so busy parents are preaching to the choir.
Thanks for letting me vent. I know others will disagree with me, but having just finished First Communion for this year last Sunday the wounds are still fresh.

I am with you 100%. While the party and clothes are nice it is so much more than that. I feel the same about weddings. Too many focus on the "party" and not on the actual ceremony.

My girls did have their hair done professionally ....by ME. I used to be a salon owner until I had my kids.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My DS and DD made their First Communion a few weeks ago. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with any of the girls other than one girl who had a wreath made of fresh daisies on her head which was beautiful. Here they are - gotta love the ketchup on DS's white tie, LOL.

 

[krcit]

Both of my dd's have waist length thick hair so I would've loved to have gotten it "done" but 3 years ago when my oldest was making hers at 9am, the salon wanted to charge me $50 to open early and then $150 for an updo. I said this is her 1st CFommunion not a wedding and I went home and practiced on the poor kid for 3 weeks until I figured out how to do it. It came out beautiful if I do say so myself, lol. ;Last month when younger dd made hers(also at 9am) I didn't even bother asking, I just did it myself with hot rollers and it looked very pretty. Most of the girls looked very age appropriate but this IS Long Island so you always have a few who go over the top(rent limos, fur stoles, etc)

Needavacation, I hear you on people focusing on the wrong things. One lady asked if her dd could leave the Mass after she recieved Communion or did she have to stay for the whole Mass

 

[Jeafl]

It's always seemed kind of counter-Christian to me, spending ridiculous amount of money on an outfit for a sacrament. (I think boys have it worse, at least you can probably shove the girl into the dress again)

I found it just the opposite. My daughters NEVER wore their communion dresses again because they looked, in their opinions, too "communiony".

However, we did go on a cruise the year my son made his communion, and that suit was dragged along to wear on both formal nights, so I at least got my money's worth on that one.

 

[Jeafl]

Here they are - gotta love the ketchup on DS's white tie, LOL.

That picture made me smile. When my older daughter made her communion, we weren't at the restaurant 5 minutes when she dropped red jello down the entire front of her white dress. Most of the pictures we have of her are with the stained dress.