Homecoming Mums: a Texas High School Tradition that Keeps Getting Bigger

HOUSTON, TX -- There are a lot of traditions linked to the religion in Texas that is high school football.

Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to partake the extravaganza of Friday Night Lights in a Texas high school football stadium can certainly relate to the spectacle of the homecoming game.

There is the introduction of the homecoming court, and crowning of the homecoming queen and king, the subsequent turf war of football rivals, and the dance that comes afterward.

The first official homecoming was believed to have taken place in 1911 at the University of Missouri when the school’s athletic director Chester Brewer had a celebration around one of the annual games to encourage college alumni to attend.

It is believed, that not long after this, the tradition of a boy giving a chrysanthemum to his homecoming date as a corsage was born in Texas.

For decades -- from mid-September to late-October -- the presentation of the homecoming mum from boy to girl has been sort of a right of passage of Texas youth, and for decades, the mum was little more than a solitary chrysanthemum with a few small ribbons the girl’s pinned to a sweater or lapel.

In the 1960s, a boy could probably find a pretty nice mum for around $3 -- a far less expensive endeavor than they are today.

In the 1970 and 80s, the homecoming mums could still be pinned to a dress or lapel, but the tiny ribbons began to morphed into long silk strands, that touched just below the knee, and the single chrysanthemum, now replaced with a double or triple chrysanthemum, which the girls admired.
And of course the flowers were still real.

But that is no longer the case.

Since the 1980s, Homecoming mums have evolved into spectacular and creative pieces of art that now require a ribbon to allow the mums to be worn like a necklace.

The signature chrysanthemum -- shortened to mum -- has been replaced with silk flowers hot glued to a cardboard backing along with ribbons, bells, small teddy bears, and in some cases, LED lights.

Jeannie Godfrey, whose daughter Karley graduated in 2014, has made homecoming mums for her daughter, and friends for many years.

Godfrey said the creations can be as simple or as detailed as people want them.

“Most of the people I have done them for have been friends,” she said. “I do it because it’s fun. I don’t do it to make money because I probably wouldn’t make any.”

She estimates made maybe 20 for her daughter and friends over the years, and claims she’s not a professional, though some may beg to differ.

Like any planner, she has to know about extra-curricular activities, hobbies, favorite colors, something they love and of course, school colors.

A basic mum without all the frills and extras -- provided she isn’t distracted -- can take as little as three to five hours and will cost about $150 to create.

“That’s if I have everything on site and have it all ready to go,” she said. “I put a lot of time and effort into making those mums.”

The more elaborate mums can take some time, though; usually about eight to 10 hours to create, and as before never includes the time it takes to go shopping for all the materials.

The massive homecoming creations come in a variety of colors, can be as large as a small door wreath, and cost as much as $500 to create.

In her daughter’s senior year, Godfrey pulled out all the creative stops putting together Karleys final homecoming mum, and with Karley being named homecoming queen for high school, it had to be something special.

The mum featured two small teddy bears.

One dressed as a cheerleader, and the other dressed as a basketball player.

“It was very detailed, all the way down to putting earrings in the teddy bear’s ears, the tiara on her head and eyelashes on her eyes,” she said.

The uniforms for the bears were custom made and designed with the jersey number embroidered and the school’s name sewn into both uniforms.

While it is a big deal to some, and a tradition, others believe the money could be better spent on other things.

“Those (large mums) are a waste of money,” said Jessie Moreno, who has a 17-year old daughter at home.

His daughter Mercedes, a Houston area junior said she enjoys the week-long festivities leading up to the homecoming game, and the homecoming game itself.

“I love watching football,” she said.

Like most girls, she has collected the mum’s she’s gotten and unlike a lot of girls her age, believes the large and obnoxious mums are a waste of time and money.

“I think people are overdoing it,” she said. “I see some of the girls at school wearing them and you can’t even see their shirt. That’s just crazy.”

Mercedes still has another year of school left, but is planning to have them mounted in a shadow box and displayed on a wall in her room.

Brandi Bissett, 17 went to her last homecoming event as a Texas high school student in October.

Her mum -- a collection of silver and white ribbons, silk flowers and a teddy bear glued to the center -- covered the entire front of her body.

The ribbons reached her ankles, and possibly hindered her ability to walk, though she never said either way, and unlike the mums her friends wore this year, Brandi’s didn’t have the miniature cowbells.

“Those things are too loud” she said.

Much like the dresses they wear to the big dance, Brandi said all the girls will critique or make comparisons to other mums,mostly to get ideas

“Mine had nine flowers,” she said. “My friends were surprised because it’s really big.”

Her mums of homecoming past have featured teddy bears with color guard flags or rifles.

The last mum featured a teddy bear with a mortarboard, and very special to Brandi.

"It's the senior mum," she said. "It wasn't like everyone else's."

So what happens after all the hard work, expense, and the initial reaction from friends roaming the halls of every Texas high school to those mums.

They are simply put away and rarely seen ever again.

Brandi said she plans to to keep all of hers as well.

“Those hold high school memories,” she said.

Image: Bryan Kirk, Patch staff