Party Like It’s 1920!

This past school year I took on the task of heading the decorating committee for the After Prom party for our Junior & Senior kids.  It’s been a tradition for many years to create a safe environment to keep the celebration going after the Prom ends, and it’s a collaboration of many parents, school staff, and community members to pull this thing off!  I have to say that it has been a long process but one filled with so much fun and many opportunities to spend time with friends that I don’t often get to see anymore due to life with busy teenagers!  And lucky me, not only was the steering committee a bunch of wonderful girls…but my decorating group was also a handful of some of the best people I know!  These girls not only spent countless hours hashing and re-hashing ideas to transform the High School halls into something spectacular but were also game for some hard labor the week of set-up!  It DEFINITELY was a team effort…and I love these gals even more now that I’ve had a chance to work such long and sometimes hard hours with each and every one of them!  With the other committees being equally diligent to provide entertainment, games, prizes and food…not to mention all the fund raising, volunteer gathering, and financial management (jobs that don’t get enough of the glory)–I think we pulled it off!  So after the big dance the kids shed their party attire, donned some comfy clothes, and partied safely into the wee hours!  And you didn’t even have to attend the Prom to participate in the after party…all were welcome in this evening of festivity and celebration!  Have a peek at our…

Club Gatsby!

each year the party has a theme which is kept secret from the kids so that they’ll be surprised when they arrive…and i have to admit this isn’t an easy thing to do!  but fortunately for me, party stuff around the house is nothing new to my family so no one thought anything of the fact that there were supplies and glitter everywhere!  only until the end did i have to try to hide some of the finished products so that my son wouldn’t figure it out!  but piles of pom poms are a common site in my house…

so the week of the party we were busy bees packing up some major props and getting the school ready for our biggest set-up days on Friday and Saturday before the dance!  here i am with my mom wrapping up our prized creation…a jumbo chandelier!

once transported to the school we could all take a breath…and then we had to hang it!

so much prep work–but it was really fun to see it all come together…

it’s funny how much smaller everything looked once we got it in the gym!

the fun thing about this party is the transformation of all the areas used…this meant covering walls to disguise lockers and  even classroom doorways!

these wonderful columns are actually vertical banners!

they really helped to break up a huge hallway!  and when the lights were dimmed later in the evening…it almost appeared as though you could be wandering the halls of the Gatsby mansion–on a budget!

we tried to create several spots to sit and relax…

and this ribbon curtain was an inexpensive way to add some sparkle in a doorway leading to a student favorite…

…the coffee bar!  (miniature fringe chandeliers were the inspiration for the big one!)

our prom is a junior/senior prom but the seniors are highlighted somehow in the decor.  we chose to have individual posters of each senior made as a keepsake of the event!  scattered through out the school were 70-some dancing guys & dolls!

SO cute!

the outside of the school gets some attention too…

and the grand entrance…

as the students arrived, parent volunteers (all dressed in gangster or flapper gear) would lead them in like the V.I.P.s they all are!

once inside, and after the lights were dim…a ROARING party there was!  check out the rest of the transformation and how it appeared when the community had a chance to walk through before the students arrived…

the halls are empty now…but soon they would be filled with students, music & laughter, and plenty of festivity!

these wonderful acrylic boxes (along with other artwork) were created with the help of a dear friend (& fellow committee member) and her employees!  they really went above and beyond in helping us transform the spaces!

these cutouts on our cardboard boxes were also courtesy of American Frame and all the talented people who work there!

we just filled the inside with x-mas lights, lined the backside of the cutout with tissue paper, put them together and boom!–light boxes!  (of course, it didn’t happen quite as quickly as that!)

lots of fringe and borrowed fancy lights gave us a lot of bang for our buck!

one of my favorites was the jazz band who played beneath the giant chandelier during the community walk-through and while the kids arrived.  after that the DJ ook over!

i wish you could hear it!

that’s actually my husband and myself taking a final stroll before the kids start arriving…

who doesn’t like a little chocolate…in fountain form?  a fun, sweet treat for the party goers!

this handsome fellow sits on another table that would hold heartier food for late-night munchies!

my husband’s favorite (and the favorite of most men…and women too)  the Duesenberg parked out front!!  we were praying it wouldn’t rain so this lovely would show up to wow guests as they checked in!  such generosity from so many members of our extended community!  i think it looks like a good fit for my hubby…we can dream can’t we?

but the kid’s favorites? ACTIVITIES!  i didn’t get photos of them all…but the school was FILLED with fun!

and a popular game of the evening…bubble soccer!  i have to say it was pretty funny to watch!

i hope all who attended left with this sentiment…

…and that’s a peek at our party!  thanks to all who made this night happen…and i’m so thrilled to finally share all the festivities now that i’ve had a week to recover!

a celebration Gatsby style!

senior posters by Linda Reiter/Muir Graphics, light boxes, artwork, and banner design, Dana Dunbar/American Frame

thecraftyblogstalker