TPIB: Prom!

Prom! That’s right, it is prom season.  Last week as the girls and I were out shopping, we couldn’t help but look at the dresses EVERYWHERE.  The tween and I spent some time looking at them, apparently you are never to young to start thinking about prom.  We told one teen with a group of her friends that she would look amazing in her dress (and she did).  And then a panic set in – one day, my baby might be going to prom.  Much sooner than I would like.  Luckily for her, I already have the perfect prom planning guide: The Prom Book: The Only Guide You’ll Ever Need by Lauren Metz.

As you all know, I am a huge fan of Zest Books for my teen nonfiction needs, so I was excited to see The Prom Book.  It has a resourceful planning guide, which includes breaking down your budget.  It has a great countdown preparation guide.  Apparently in March you should have been finalizing your look.  There is of course a section on make-up, nails and hair. It’s a good little planning tool.  There is a whole section on planning your look that is an amazing flow chart and a helpful list of things to carry in your purse.  My favorite part?  It has a post prom section that asks what you are going to do with your dress and lets teens know they can donate it (Donate My Dress).

I will say, from a library point of view, it has A LOT of fill-in-the-blank pages, which of course always makes use nervous.  Although, as I have mentioned before, this has never been an issue for me in the past.  I would, however, recommend maybe putting a note on the book letting teens know that they can make copies of the pages.  These would make great giveaways at a prom themed program (or at a fall Zombie prom) as well.  If you are a teen, or the parent of a teen, who is in the midst of prom season, you will definitely want it.  When prom fever hits, this book will fly off the shelves.

Take 5: Teen Books About Prom

Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Anti-Prom by Abby McDonald
Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
Carrie by Stephen King (What? It totally counts)
Prom Dates from Hell multiple authors

Programming Ideas: Things to Make and Do

You can have a pre-prom craft party where teens come and make their own corsages and accessories. Looking through your craft books will give you a lot of great ideas.  And here are a few of my favorites that have just a touch of elegance for prom.

Make Your Own Corsages
This is touted as a Mother’s Day corsage, but these little wrist corsages would be great for prom.
http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2011/05/mothers-day-wristlet.html

Hair!
There are so many crafts out there for making hair accessories.  If you don’t believe me, do a quick Google search.  Here are a couple of my favorites.  For the record, I think these little button bobby pins are perfect for prom.

Braided Head Band

http://psimadethis.com/post/17154275098/stand-out-as-an-icon-of-style-get-inspired-by

Button Bobby Pins Tutorial: http://www.littlemissmomma.com/2011/06/kojo-guest-post.html

Duct Tape Prom
Teens have made entire prom wear out of Duct tape.  That takes more time and effort (and $ – all that Duct tape!) then we usually have for a program, but teens can make their own Duct tape bow ties.  The bow ties can also be turned into super adorbs necklaces.

Duct Tape Bow Tie/Duct Tape Bow Tie Necklace: http://thecraftychica.blogspot.com/2012/08/how-to-make-duct-tape-bowtie-necklace.html

Bottle Cap Brooch Tutorial: http://blog.creativekismet.com/2011/04/20/bottle-cap-brooch-tutorial/

Jewelery
For some reason, type that made me want to sing “Jewelry, what is it good for?”  Jewelry seems like an obvious go-to for a prom related craft program.  And you no doubt have a ton of resources right there on your shelves.  These little bracelets kick-it up a notch in the elegance department, IMHO.

Anthropologie Inspired Lace Bracelet: http://kojo-designs.com/2011/08/kojotutorial-anthropologie-knock-off-vintage-lace-bracelet/

DIY Lace Bracelet: http://clurcook.blogspot.com/2012/08/diy-lace-bracelet.html

The After Prom Opportunities

Don’t forget AFTER PROM!  You can do Instagram crafts using the Instragram pics you know will be taken, including making these fun Instagram bookmarks.  There are all kinds of Mini-Scrapbooks, Scrapbook and Photo Frame crafts you can do.

More Prom Resources
If you don’t want to go prom fashion and accessories, you can think prom prep in terms of Spa activities, inviting make-up artists in to teach the basics, etc.

More Prom on TLT
The Zombie Prom
Steve Moser’s Prom Spectacular

Filed under: Collection Development, Crafts, Prom, Teen Programming, TPIB, Zest Books