27 Dresses

27 Dresses

This past year before my middle child was turning 16, she came to me one night, notebook in hand, to discuss her Sweet 16 Birthday Party. Quite a shock to me since I still view her as 6. And quite frankly believed that Jesus would come back before I had to face the fact that any of my children would drive. Anyway, she sat down on my bed and said she wanted to have a themed party but wanted for me to help her out with a theme. She had come up with several ideas. Several of those ideas were good, but not different. Not something that had never been done before or would be something fun and exciting. Also, challenging was the fact that I had little or no money. So, after several days of contemplating and going through party books and the internet we found nothing. Then, somehow, it hit me. 27 Dresses. Don’t know if any of you remember the movie where she was a bridesmaid 27 times. The idea was a hit.
So we sent out 27 invitations. The invitations stated that the dress could not be new and could not be something that they had worn before. She especially liked that idea because, like me she if very cost conscious and did not want parents to view this party as a big expense. (Thoughts like, OH NO, another expensive party to go to)
Well as you might imagine, the party was a hit. A picture was taken as each of the girls arrived. Each dress, was adorable. And surprisingly, each girl had followed directions. At the beginning of the party each girl had to reveal where they got their dresses. Many had borrowed the dress but over half had found their dress in a thrift store like GoodWill. And each of these girls was amazed that their dress had only cost a few dollars and most stated how much fun it had been to go out with their mom to find the dress.
And so, my hidden a agenda was a success. As an owner of an antique store, I am quite aware of the stigma that might go along with only having things that are old and used.