Sunday, June 29, 2008

Ten Steps To An Easier Quinceanera

Here are some things that I have learned along the way, while planning my daughter's quince. I still have yet to learn more as we approach....counting down we have just under 7 weeks left to go.
1. Always plan ahead and make sure that if you have a boy (chambelin) cancel out, you have someone to back his spot up.
2. If you get the girls(damas) and their mothers together when picking out dresses, things seem to go more smoothly. My daughter and I picked the top 4 dresses, then let the mothers and damas get together and decide upon the final top 2 choices. That worked out great for us because they all came in, got fitted and put a down payment on their dress, which helped us alot, and they were all happy about the choice in dress.
3. You don't need to pick out the most expensive tux's for the guys because more than likely, if it's too much, they won't be able to get it, and another thing is they don't keep the coats on very long.
4. Look for bargain prices and half off sales when going to get your quinceanera decorations and paper ware for eating. There are alot of bargains to be had at such places as Party City and Hobby Lobby. I found alot of great sales out there, but I also did this months ahead of time to allow for time in finding sales.
5. As for the Doll, if your daughter goes with a standard color of dress of pink or white or perhaps baby blue, you can find those pretty easily, but if she goes with anything else, like my daughter did in picking out a royal blue dress, most likely you will have to buy a doll and have the dress made, which isn't always cheap. You can find dolls for pretty cheap and if you know someone who sews, it shouldn't cost as much.
6. Getting the damas and chambelins together is a group effort, so you must be able to offer rides to those who need them when it's time for the dance practices and take plenty of drinks for them as they practice, especially if it's in weather such as summer. We are having our practices at 6-8 pm on Sundays so it won't be as hot, but I will still take a cooler full of drinks for them.
7. Important things to stay on top of after you have secured your party spot is the cake, your sponsers, decorations (getting those done ahead of time so you don't have to scramble at the last minute), your dj/band and the music you want played, the doll's dress, the food menu.
8. Invitations can be done at home on your home computer with as much kits they have to offer in the craft stores, or you must allow plenty of time if you are ordering someone else to do it, in case of an error in printing.
9. Talk, talk, talk, and I mean keep your mind sharp about what all you've got going on and make sure to write it all on a tablet so you can keep up with everything.
10. Give your sponsors a choice of the toast, especially if you have some that don't drink. We are going to offer sparking white grape juice as well as champagne and tie different colored ribbons on the glass to decifer which is which.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think you've got a great start. My four daughters go to many quinceaneras here in San Antonio. One of the best sites we've found is http://www.quinceanera-sweetfifteen.com/

They even have a party planning guide