| It's homecoming season across the nation, but only in | | | | school student at a fraction of the retail price. |
| parts of Texas and Oklahoma is it also homecoming | | | | Even the boys are getting into this fad. They've |
| mum season. Some students take homecoming mums | | | | started wearing homecoming garters on their sleeves. |
| just as seriously as the homecoming football game | | | | If you craft for profit, the high margins make |
| itself. | | | | homecoming mums a very attractive seasonal craft. |
| For the uninitiated, a homecoming mum is an oversize | | | | Homecoming Mums: The Tradition |
| mum corsage decorated with three-foot long | | | | Chrysanthemums have long been the quintessential |
| streamers in the school colors, bells, charms, banners, | | | | Fall flower, so it's not surprising that they quickly |
| little plush animals done up in bows, sparkly letters, | | | | became associated with the quintessential Fall sport - |
| even Christmas tree lights. | | | | football. In the earliest pictures of college football |
| It is usually worn in the middle of the chest like a | | | | games, you can pick out the mum corsages worn by |
| breastplate with the streamers flowing down the front | | | | the young women in the stands. |
| of the body almost touching the ankles. It is, in short, a | | | | Since everything grows big in Texas, it's also not |
| fashion statement. | | | | surprising that the Lone Star State is credited with |
| But homecoming mums are so much more than that. | | | | developing the more elaborate corsages known as |
| They are a sign that somebody loves you. They're no | | | | homecoming mums. In the 1960's, these wonderful |
| longer given only by boyfriends. Mums can come from | | | | concoctions could be had there for $10. Ahh, the good |
| friends, your mom, dad, aunt, or even a booster boy (a | | | | 'ol days. |
| boy-friend who is not your date). | | | | Over the years, mums were cultivated to grow bigger |
| Anybody who's anybody wears one, or two. These | | | | and bigger and the corsages grew and grew. |
| days, a homecoming mum can cost up to $100 and | | | | Today, the silk flower has replaced the live |
| weigh as much as 12 pounds! | | | | chrysanthemum as the centerpiece for homecoming |
| Homecoming mums have become a status symbol for | | | | mums. With silk flowers, the only size limit to |
| many junior high and high school students. Designs | | | | homecoming mum corsages is the size of the wearer! |
| change every year. The more original, the better. | | | | Now a homecoming mum can be saved as a |
| If you're a crafter and live in Texas or Oklahoma, you | | | | keepsake or recycled into next year's new unique |
| should be in seventh heaven. You can make | | | | corsage. |
| homecoming mums for yourself or your favorite high | | | | |