Party Ideas Inspired By Tuxedos
Tuxedos aren’t just for little boys attending weddings; they are a versatile, smart item for clothing for both little boys and little girls for formal events and occasions. They also offer a different way of dressing up; which is particularly interesting for younger children who typically have only had the chance to dress up as TV or movie characters or in fancy dress.
Tuxedos can also inspire a whole new party idea. The high school prom is a formal dance and evening event in the US, which often marks milestones for many young adults. Other countries have equivalent events, often called dances or balls, but the term ‘prom’ is becoming ever more popular across the world.
Proms in the US can be separated into junior prom and senior prom and both feature heavily in popular culture. The popularity of proms means that other age groups – both older and younger – are taking an interest in the idea. Younger children want to emulate the behavior of their older siblings and parents; to dress up for prom in formalwear.
From this initial interest, you can create whole new party ideas for children. Here, we look at two party ideas: a mini prom and a themed birthday party.
Hold a mini prom
You can hold a mini prom for younger children. It allows them a chance to dress up in formalwear, just like their older siblings do for prom or as they have seen their parents do for other formal occasions.
To hold a mini prom, you just need to take the ideas behind high school prom and amend them to be appropriate for younger children. For example, you can encourage the wearing of formal clothing such as tuxedos, but not set any strict rules so that you avoid gender bias and so that you allow all children to be free to try dressing up however they would like to.
Instead of fruit punch, you can serve drinks that younger children will enjoy including a range of fruit juices and carbonated drinks such as cola. You could also serve milkshakes which, if made fresh, are a healthier choice because they are made from fresh ingredients and are likely to be lower in sugar.
Choose music that is appropriate to a younger audience and their favourites. Don’t forget the photo booth! While it’s of less interest to younger children, for parents it’s a great opportunity to get some stunning photographs of your little ones altogether in formalwear.
As all attendees will likely be coming with Mum or Dad, limo rides are not required! However, you can add the fun of a limo ride by including a little ride inside or outside the venue, so little children can have the fun of pretending they are doing the journey to prom as well as dressing up.
Hold a themed birthday party
There are many cool fictional characters who have lived on the pages of our books and on the movie screen who wore a tuxedo. James Bond is always one of the first that jumps to mind. If you’re bored of the usual birthday party ideas, why not hold a themed birthday party revolving around a tuxedo-wearing character?
You could have a little dressing room area, where the party begins, so that attendees can have fun dressing up in tuxedos and colourful cummerbunds. Just because it is formalwear, it doesn’t need to be boring – be sure to include lots of tuxedo colours, from subtle and smart dark colours to bright and fun light colours! It allows the children to experiment with clothing and develop their personal style; it’s also a nice idea in that it allows them to feel in control of what they are wearing. They didn’t have to conform to a given outfit, they can just choose what they like and wear it.
Birthday cakes are always better with a theme! You could either have cupcakes printed with a photo of the featured tuxedo-wearing character or you could have an entire themed cake made, depending on your budget.
Games and activities can be set around scenes from the chosen movie or book; soft play areas, affordable toys as props and video games allow a variety of ways in which you can imaginatively recreate fun scenes in a safe way for younger children to take part.
Before the end of the party, be sure to take photos of everyone. With fun filters available on smartphone apps, you can take themed pictures with digital props added in to add to the sense of fun and create lasting memories.
Whether you choose to hold a mini prom or a themed birthday party, don’t be afraid to include formalwear. Every child is different; some will love trying on a tuxedo and some won’t! The best thing you can do is offer the choice to all and make the whole event as fun as possible.
Dressing up is fun and we should let children explore dressing up with formalwear. It’s particularly useful for children who are, or are likely to be, attending or playing a role in a formal occasion – such as a wedding – because they will have gained fun memories of wearing a tuxedo in the past. This means that they will be happier to wear one again. Through experience, adults learn that they feel good when they take pride in themselves and put on their best formal dress. By including formalwear in fun ways for children, we can help them to adopt the same way of thinking.
Of course, the fun isn’t just for the children! Encourage the adults to join in too with a black tie dress code – and to add an element of competition, you could hold a competition for the best dressed parent! Whatever you choose to do – remember that tuxedos can be kept and re-used for future formal occasions and hand-me-downs as they are quality items of clothing that can last for generations.