Sep 14, 2011

The Invitation

Teach at a high school dance
You all know we’ve had an extremely busy weekend! So Monday was kind of a down day. We took all the kids to Mt. Mikes for pizza. I tried to unbury and I canned up three boxes of pears. It was way past bedtime when the Dog Walker wandered back in and casually mentioned that Saturday is the big Homecoming Dance and he’d like to go. As you can imagine, this is a “date” dance with flowers and fancy dresses and a nice dinner. Five days is barely enough time for planning, let alone executing…but I try to be a supportive mom, so we discussed for a while who he might invite. A sweet girl from the neighborhood came to mind.

Now I’m not generally a meddling mama, but I didn’t want him to be disappointed, so I called her mom on the phone. Unfortunately, said girl answered. Undeterred, I picked up the phone again and rang up another friend who might be a good source of information. She called me back a couple of hours later with the green light. No, this girl didn't have a date, and yes, she wanted one.

It was time to get creative. In Utah, it is customary to ask the intended date in an unusual way. My best thoughts always involve food of some sort. When Teach was in high school, she took an entire homemade layer cake like we have for birthdays with her name stuck between the layers. With the Dog Walker, I wasn’t sure an entire cake was appropriate. Maybe his girl was on a diet or being silly about her weight. With guys it’s much easier, they never seem to care about stuff like that when they are in high school.


I definitely knew I didn’t want him to do some of the things we had seen over the years. Bossy had a boyfriend who was extremely creative, but unconcerned about making messes and gross-outs. One year he floated a dozen plastics ducks in the toilet, each one with a letter of his name. Another time he shredded three large garbage bags full of newspaper and dumped them all over her bedroom. We still found bits and pieces when she moved out and married her hubby several years later!


My BFF’s son asked his girl by buying a bag full of ball-pit balls, you know, like at McDonalds, and presented them to her with the saying, “I finally got the balls to ask you to the Homecoming Dance.” My friend was completely appalled that he would use such a crass idea. But apparently it worked, because the girl said “Yes.”

The Dog Walker and I bounced around a few ideas, and then I remembered the leftover pears. I had a couple of dozen that were too green to can yesterday, so I kept them back for the kids to eat. They seemed like a perfect idea. We found a cute little Tupperware bowl, lined it with tissue paper, and filled it with pears. The invitation read, “Will you go to the Homecoming Dance with me? We would make a great pair!”
I'm so excited...and I just can't hide it...


I had Teach take it to her door. She accepted the gift with a huge grin on her face. Perhaps she already knew? Several hours later, a gift arrived on our own porch. A piece of paper sat under a box of rainbow sherbet ice cream. It read, “If I were Ernie and you were Bert, I’d say Sure-Bert!” So the date is set! Now we need a plan. At least we don't have to worry about a dress. Tell me the best way you were ever invited to a dance…silly? crazy? messy? or was it something about balls…don’t worry, I won’t tell my friend.





10 comments:

Lisa & Aukuso said...

in college a guy asked a girl to a fraternity formal by stacking hay bails in front of her apartment door that said "HAY! Wanna go to the dance?" She replied back with a bag full of poop that said "SH** yeah I wanna go." Kind of gross, but knowing the guy well (my brother) he deserved it!

Tara said...

That is so cute!! I don't have any cute stories like that - I asked my guys out. I was just a bit too impatient to wait for them. :0)

Sara Lucinda Bell said...

I love these! How creative! I was never asked to a dance in a neat way. In high school I asked my boyfriend of over a year to ask me to the prom a special way and he said no. He told me he wasn't going to take me if he had to deal with it.
But now I have the best husband in the world so I'm over it. =]

TheRapunzelGirl said...

i asked a guy to Sadie Hawkins by drawing him a comic book. he did the same to accept.

Tracie said...

My HS boyfriend never did anything cute but my now hubby decorated my car several times while dating with candy and flowers, and streamers and things. I loved it! Plus it made the girls at work so jealous!

Emma Frances said...

I replied to a dance with a little book where you filled in the blanks with deodorant brand names. (you know like the candy bar posters) So I had deodorant brands like Sure in there. I wish we had taken pictures because it was pretty funny. It was my mom's idea and the guy I was replying to was so confused as to why there was a bucket of deodorant on his desk. I hope it didn't send a bad message like I thought he was stinky or something. Haha!

Natalie Ockey said...

I was never too creative, but I did have a few creative dates who asked me. One guy brought me a flower lei (his mom was a florist) and me to be his Princess Leia. Another date put Hershey's kisses all over my bedroom floor and said, "I kiss the ground you walk on, will you go the dance with me?" And finally, for those Mormons out there... one guy handed me a Book of Mormon and a list of scriptures that asked the question. Luckily, his name is a Book of Mormon name!

And now, I have a great husband who does creative surprises. Like half a card, half a dozen roses, and half a cake for our 1/2 year anniversary. Or decorating our entire living room for our anniversary like a garden, so we could have a picnic in October.

Amanda said...

That is so awesome! hubs and i just had a great laugh! what a great idea!!!

Natalie Ockey said...

I had the cop pullover my date and write her a ticket to the prom--I'm not sure if you'd get away with that now (I also lived in a small town, where the cops knew pretty much everyone).

One cool, non-messy idea I've seen was to fill a five gallon bucket with water and suspend a waterproof note asking her to the dance in the middle (a dowel with a string works well). Then freeze it in the deep freeze. Break the ice out of the bucket and attach a cute note to the outside saying "Guess whose heart you melt?" Then, the receiver has to get creative or be very patient to find out who the suitor is.

~R

Sara Hammond said...

I remember getting a candy bar poster. I thought I would remember more, but I find that I just remember which guys asked the best ways, even if I don't remember which ways were the best!