Should Proms be held in Decorated Gym's?

[salmoneous]

Reading all the threads on proms, it's clear they have changed from my day. We didn't have any of these zillion dollar extravaganzas. We had crepe-paper decorated gyms and we liked it (yes, we walked 2 miles through the snow, uphill, both ways to get there).

Have proms gotten out of control? Should we go back to simpler times? Or are these new-fangled proms worth the hassle and $$$?

 

[dcgrumpy]

I graduated High School 25 years ago and even back then proms were always in catering halls.

 

[Anewman]

"Should" is too strong a word IMO.

I dont see anything wrong with it either way, I am sure some proms still are held in Gyms.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Never went to mine, so I didn't vote. Man I'm glad I saved the money and didn't go.

 

[Imagine Ears]

WAIT!!!!!!

THIS WOULD REQUIRE CHILDREN OF THE OPPOSITE SEX TO BE TOGETHER ALL AT ONCE!!!! HEAVEN FORBID!!!!!!! THAT IS JUST SO TERRIBLE!!!! CPS WILL HAVE THE PLACE SHUT DOWN IN MINUTES!!!!


Hmm....

 

[Aidensmom]

I went to my first prom 23 years ago, and it wasn't in a gym then, I don't think this is anything new.

I don't think it matters if it is a gym or somewhere else, depends on what the prom committee decides they can afford and how much people are willing to pay for tickets.

 

[megan4777]

We had ours in our gym 11yrs ago and it didn't look like our gym. We put up wooden window frames along the bleachers (with twinkling lights behind them) and there were these massive paper streamer type things (yeah, good description, huh?) that went along the ceiling. We also had a special paper that went on the floor.

It was very nice and nooon complained that it wasn't held somewhere expensive.

 

[THE HAT]

It is still held in the gym in our school system. It has been that way for years. The prom is for the Jr and Sr's, and the Jr's put it on as a gift to the Sr's. They Jr's raise all the money, and form different groups for different areas. The prom is held on a Sat night, and starting Thursday evening the Jr's start decorating and get to skip class on Friday to work on it and have "guards" at all doors keeping Sr's out. It is the wee hours of the morning sat. when it gets finished, and everyone goes home crashes and gets ready to go to prom and after activities. The next morning the Sr's join the Jr's for a big breakfast put on by the parents, and everyone helps clean up.
We are also just a little town in central Maine with no more then 160 kids per grade too, lol.

 

[Lanshark]

Last one I went to was 1978. The theme is Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and it was in a gym just like the 3 previous ones I attended.

My son's tickets are $45 dollars apiece. I don't even remember if there were tickets to our proms. I'll need to ask Dh since he was my date for all of them.

I don't know if they should be in a gym but we had a very good time.

 

[Sandy V.]

I voted "Other" because I see good and bad changes from the Dark Ages when I went to prom. (I have 2 teenagers now).

I think the $$$$ that kids spend (or their parents) on tickets, ballroom rental, limousines, dresses, tuxes, flowers, dinner, hair, nails, makeup, tans, massages, photo packages, etc. is climbing at an insane rate. In a lot of ways, the crepe-paper decorated gym was better. I live in upper-middle-class suburbia and the amount spent on designer dresses alone makes my jaw drop (not my DD).

One of the best changes that has been implemented in our school district is the school-sponsored after prom that goes from midnight to 5:00 a.m. It has really cut down on the drinking incidents and potential driving fatalities because it's a lock down - if you leave, you can't reenter. They have great activities and raffles, with bigger prizes awarded later into the event (you must be present to win).

I also like the fact that the school refuses to allow admittance to the prom in the first place if you've been drinking and/or kicks you out if you're caught with any booze while at prom. (Lots of people disagree with me on this one, though). They use breathalyers.

 

[wendy46001]

I voted no....we had well over a thousand kids at our prom back in the day...no way they would have all fit in the gym.....

As for things getting out of hand...I cant say...our tickets cost 50dollars each and prom was held in the Contemporary in WDW....I recall having a good time…you don’t have to rent a limo go to a fancy dinner and buy the most expensive dress…So prom is what you make it..

 

[Beth76]

No they should be held in warehouses that all the kids sweat and slave all day to clean up and decorate.

Should proms be held in gyms? No. Then it's just the same as a regular dance. I graduated in 94 and our Prom was at the downtown Hyatt. It was fun to get all dressed up, get in a limo and drive to a catered ballroom. That's a Prom.

 

[ozarkmom]

Our school doesn't sell tickets to the prom and even though they have it at the school it's usually real nice. Plenty of food, music and usually pretty good prizes including cash.

 

[pearlieq]

No way!

The gym is fine for the smaller dances, even homecoming, but prom is special and I think it's much better in a nice hotel/catering hall. I'm glad ours were that way!

 

[mamacatnv]

My DS's prom this year will be held in the gym.
It is a Jr/Sr. affair and the tickets are $85 couple, $50 single.

The kids get all dressed up and head into town for fancy dinners via limos & private cars. They then return to the school for the actual prom and pictures. They seem to enjoy themselves, usually the highlights are the fancy dinners with all their friends.

I prefer the idea of the gym. Less $$ to rent a location and more money to be spent on decorations, entertainment etc.

 

[Nala2007]

I graduated 10 years ago and Prom was in a hotel.

 

[simba928]

I voted no, but I don't think there is anything wrong with holding it in a gym. I just wouldn't want mine there personally. But judging by the rate my prom's planning has been going, ours very well could be in the school gym. Its about 3 weeks away and the class sponsor still hasn't booked the hotel.

 

[delilah]

I graduated from HS in 1974, and our prom was always held in a nice facility in the Chicago area. Our year, it was at the O'Hare Marriot ballroom. (Not sure if there is still an O'Hare Marriot, or if it is the same building, if there is). We stayed out late, and went to a nightclub afterward, then the next day, went to Whicker park on Ridge Road in Highland, Indiana. Some people at my prom were way over the top--one girl wore what looked like an ante-bellum hoop skirt. Lots of guys wore top hats and canes. For some people, it was their initiation into adulthood, our first adult party. (At the time the drinking age in Illinois was 18, so we were legal).

An interest fact is that even then, our tickets were $50 per couple. This was before the extreme inflation of the late 70's/early 80's, so, I can't even fathom how miuch that would be in today's dollars. My boyfriend junior year couldn't afford the tickets (he was a senior), and neither could I, so we didn't go. I dated somebody else senior year, and we shared the cost.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

My prom was in 1986 in a hotel downtown Chicago. NO ones prom was in a gym - ewwww. Tickets were $100 for a couple.

Where would all my friends have lost their viriginity if prom was not in a hotel?

 

[pearlieq]

It is a Jr/Sr. affair and the tickets are $85 couple, $50 single.
.

What the heck are the spending $85 on? A decorated gym and a DJ can't cost that much.

Around here that what tickets for a hotel prom with dinner cost!