What Size Mum To Order?

This month, I had the great pleasure of explaining homecoming mums to a young family that had recently moved to Texas. And while I think that looking in from the outside, mums seem a little crazy, this family thought it was such a fun thing and couldn't wait to participate! 

But where to start? How do you know which size to get? There are a few not-written-in-stone guidelines that I shared with the new Texans that I will share with you. Maybe you grew up here, but you're my age and when you were in high school, mums were an actual flower, with some spirit ribbons. And now, you've Googled "homecoming mum" and you were met with pictures of way over-the-top craft store nightmares. But once you've weeded through the one-off gigantor mums, you notice a sort of general size offering. 

This post is to help anyone that is new to our special Texas high school homecoming tradition.

The single-flower mum is generally for freshmen, or even a middle schooler. They are usually in school colors. Beyond that, anything truly goes, you can add all sorts of trinkets and bells and even whistles, if you like.

The double flower mum, also in school colors is perfect for the sophomore. 

Triples in school colors are for juniors. The junior mum that I did last year was hot pink and black. 

And finally, the senior quad mum, is white and either silver or gold. I do offer the quad in school colors if you prefer (or if you're not a senior.) The white mum, regardless of size, is really the only "rule" that I'd stick to. 

And what about garters? The rules are a little less clear when you are talking about a guy that probably is not terribly excited about wearing flowers on his arm. I create garters in two sizes, singles for lower classmen and triples for upper classmen. White and silver or gold for seniors only.