Prom Decorating - Repurposing Christmas Decorations By Alyssa Anderson

The holiday season will soon be ending, which means there will be huge sales on decorations.

You might ask, "What does any holiday have to do with prom? You must be crazy." Hopefully this article will help change your tune.

The holidays are jam packed with different ways to decorate, but the one that sticks out are the use of lights. Christmas lights are essential to budget prom decorating. They can be used EVERYWHERE (no joke, we used tons for my prom and other event in college). They create the perfect mood lighting and mesh with any theme. If you are worried about energy costs, companies do make LED lights that use the smallest amount of energy. They also last forever, so a one-time upfront cost may save future proms from overspending. Wouldn't it be great to have an entirely GREEN prom? (We've only got one planet, let's make it last!)

Another plus of using lights is they can be reused for anything. Graduation follows prom, use them there. A back-to-school mixer would be great too. Or how about the Homecoming dance?

AND AFTER THIS SEASON, THEY WILL BE ON SALE! Snatch up some strings and store them until prom.

What else can we use?

Plain, round ornaments are simple but modern (the ball ones). Buy them in neutral colors (such as silver, gold, or white) so they can be used in any theme or make them color specific if you have your prom theme colors decided. Either way, they don't have to look Christmas-y. Tie a thin ribbon (any color, I like white) from the loop and cut long enough so it hangs pretty far. Cut various lengths and use to decorate windows, tables, or hang from the ceiling. They can even be used in a creative centerpiece, embedded in floral arrangements.

THEY WILL BE ON SALE TOO!

If you know your theme and there could possibly be ornaments centered around that theme, pick them up! The different shaped ones (similar to the balls) can be used for an Arabian Nights or Moroccan theme. I'm sure they make ornaments for almost anything by now. For example, there are moons and stars for a night theme. Easy, cheap, beautiful.

OTHER IDEAS:

- Ribbon can be used for anything
- Plain, solid wrapping paper or gift bags for Court gifts and personnel favors

Alyssa Anderson is a student and event planner at Eastern Illinois University. Her passion for event planning shows in her new business, Plan My Perfect Prom at http://planmyperfectprom.com. She has an entire toolkit for students and faculty planning prom. To find out what exactly she offers, visits http://planmyperfectprom.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alyssa_Anderson