Prom car issues

[Donut22]

Aibu to drive my son to prom.... Bear in mind he is happy with this, he isn't a flashy person he would hate to be the centre of attention and also I haven't got the funds!!
I was speaking to someone out side the school yesterday and it's just bothered me I said I was taking him, her reply was "well I got my girl a Lambo" 🙄am I really going to be the only parent to drive their child to school in our normal car? It's an old car but still looks ok with a carwash 😅

I live in the countryside.

For my son's they had every form of transport from a boy on a penny farthing, two arrived on a tandem, various luxury cars, some classic cars, an old bus, a helicopter that dropped off in the hotel grounds (completely OTT), someone on a skate board, a tractor, another on the back of motorbike, a couple of horses, an ice cream van (that played its tune) and three lads who borrowed their Nan's electric wheelchair!!!!

It tended to be boys who did the more "jokey" and quirky things.

It doesn't have to be something expensive but I think it could be nice to have something different from your everyday car?

Don't overthink it though. If you need to use your car then that's fine!

Please tell us roughly where this is! The mind boggles.

Is that even legal?

one of my kids was a posh hotel, the other the football stadium. The dropping off was a huge red carpet thing with all the cars queuing and a photographer and everything and hundreds of parents waiting to watch them go in.

Would be very interesting to see a graph plotting the relationship between flashiness of car and A Level results…

Nope
OH drove DD and her BF...most other couples did this.
Her friends also went in a parents car as a group or individually and this is what most did.
Some larger groups hired limo's but they were a minority and could split the cost.
Some groups decided to get ubers....not sure why.

Benefit of at least one parent driving is being able to see everyone arrive and get some more pictures. I don't imagine parents went in the limos or taxis

Seems to be a thing where we are now that even at hotels (which most are) proms require a red carpet, and barriers erected for an audience of family, family friends and kids from other schools to stand behind, cheering, shrieking and filming like it's the Met Ball or a movie premiere.

Our Nieces prom was last night and SIL invited us to go stand outside a local 4* hotel and watch her arrive. Erm... Thanks, but no Thanks, but wish her a lovely evening and send us a photo!

I think it's unfair to call it just a fancy school disco.
You can break anything down into "just" a fancy xyz.
They had a sit down meal in tables and then dancing and some speeches - actually a lot more fomal and fancy than the american tradition I think.
This was by far the most "formal" event DD and most of her friends have ever been to. (We haven't been to many weddings since she was a baby)
And it's the culmination of 5 years of school...almost 1 third of their lives. The photos will be around for years to come. All the kids I spoke to said they were "nervous and excited"

It's normal for them to want to look amazing and make it special.
Oh and I go to 1 or 2 black tie events a year and every woman I know going gets her hair done, usually nails and often buys a new dress....especially if they don't go to many of that type of event. If they aren't confident doing their own make up but want a more glamorous style they often get a make up artist for a one off. Why shouldn't the kids do the same for their first ever formal event?

For us cars not important so we didn't spend that money. But not knocking those that do.
Her dress she can wear again, or sell. Her shoes she will keep for years. The boys git their first suits that can be worn for many other occasions

That sounds great

Hope a good evening is had by all

My eldest DS did not go to Prom as he didn't want too, same with my youngest two DSs.
DD went to her one though but my Mum dropped her off. It was a presentation evening but they went off, in a school minibus, to a nice local Hotel where a disco and buffet was put on for them. That was 2009.

If he doesn’t mind it doesn’t matter. I shared a stretch limo with about ten school-friends, which made it more affordable and I’m glad in retrospect because I’ll never get another opportunity to ride in one and it made a fun experience.

I drove mine, there were people in limos etc. I must admit after I picked him up I saw people going home in their expensive dresses and thought..all of this for 3 hours? People carrying on like it was their wedding day

We haven't got a fancy car, no idea what is standard though. We did buy an expensive dress though against my better judgement (tried to get her to get one from vinted) but since DD hasn't worn a dress since she was 9 she wanted it to be perfect I didn't mind too much. I did tell her she had to use it for all her university balls though. It is beautiful and classy (some are very frou frou but this one is very simple).

I went to the prom as a teacher this year and there weren’t many fancy cars. No limos, no lambos. A few Range Rovers. It won’t matter.

It was DSs prom last night and not 1 person turned up in a hired car.

Don't get me wrong, there were a couple of Porsches, sports cars and the like that either belonged to parents or family friends, we took DS in his dads classic show car, another girls dad runs a wedding chauffeur business so he dressed up and brought her in one of his cars, one lad turned up riding his dads motorbike and the lads who live on farms turned up driving tractors 😂

It was all good fun but none of it done in a way to be flashy and no one had spent money hiring anything.

@FrangipaniBlue

Sounds great.

I know its not a prom, but when my cousin got married, the Best Man drove the Groom there in the Best Man's fathers Ferrari . A few years later the roles were reversed as the Best Man of the Time later married my cousins sister :)

There are both pre and post prom parties where we are (post prom parties properly organised and ticketed, I've no idea what makes them different to the prom itself?!).

It seems from Nieces pictures that they all got changed for the post prom party back into their everyday teen attire, which seems even more of a shame and a waste of the expensive dresses!

Dropping off DD1 at friends where they will get pre loaded do each other's hair, get a bus, and then I'll pick them up from the venue.

My mum drove me to my high school Christmas dances in her grey ford fusion! I remember lots of groups getting limos and everything and being a bit jealous at the time - looking back, it didn't matter at all!

This was in 2005 and 2006 so a fair while ago.

When DS school used to hold the prom at the school - we live next door- there was everything from tractors (we are semi rural ) to fancy cars and buses etc. However the arrival that got the biggest cheer was the 3 strapping lads turning up on toddlers scooters, complete with tassels on the handle bars.
They now hold it at one of the big hotels in Bristol ad there were previously complaints from local residents about noise etc.

Wtf am I reading? Seriously. What? What the what now? Limos to proms? What a crashing waste of money! Bloody hell.

I hope everyone reading this knows that none of this nonsense matters. Wow. Limos to a glorified school disco. I mean… Why on earth does it matter how you get there?! Wow.

I hate this Americanised prom culture that’s developing here now

Prom.....where the well off can show it off a little bit more. The not quite so well off can blow money they can ill afford to keep up with them. The not well off at all either put themselves into debt or have to disappoint their DD/DS.

Horrible American tradition.

My sons prom was this week. We have the perfect car for arriving at a prom in ( a very very old but perfectly preserved convertible Porsche ) but he said no it's too "look at me" so he got a lift with his friend in a normal car.

Not everyone buys into all the prom palaver.

@TimeandMotion you would not believe me if I told you it was one of the most deprived cities in South Yorkshire.!!

We do live in the 'posh end' but even so it is not an affluent area. (Although housing is very cheap)

I gave my kids a £300 budget each that was for everything prom related (except entry)

Eldest did a horse n carriage at £80 each for 6 girls but had her dress made by her aunt to save money (around £100 I think. ) Rest was shoes hair make up.

Youngest saw a dress in sales £200, rest went on shoes , hair, make up . she wanted a limo too so paid £60 herself.