Homecoming Mums: The story behind the Texas-sized tradition

Look up “homecoming mums” on social media and you'll turn up quite a variety of posts. High school girls from one end of Texas to the other use apps like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook to show off their mum-strosities, which can come with a steep price.

"Alexis, how much were your mums?" a creator asked in one video. 

"This one was $150, $875 and $75," her classmate responded. 

Some videos document what goes into making a mum and celebrate the final through reveals, dances, parades and more. Others poke fun at the tradition. 

As individual as each post is, they all come together to illustrate something that’s about more than just bells and bows.

"In Texas, homecoming mums are the perfect example of us wearing our hearts on our sleeves," said Amy Schultz, the woman who literally wrote the book on mums. "I think people who grew up with the tradition and value it from a young age understand this, but a mum is not one day. A mum is the anticipation of the mum. Then after that, the mum lives on the kid's wall in their bedroom. "

Her book Mumentous is full of original photos and mostly-true stories about this super-sized high school institution.

"I spent about a summer digging into old newspapers from not just from across Texas, but across the country," Schultz explained. "What was interesting to me was to go all the way back. So I took some I took different tracks. I looked at the start of football in America."

This is back in the 1910s and 1920s when social conventions were very formal. An invitation to, say, a dance typically included a corsage for the ladies.

"During this time in our country's history, chrysanthemums were all the rage. Brides were using them for their bridal bouquets. They're a fall flower and they're super hearty," said Schultz.

Along the way, homecoming became a fall mainstay at high schools.

"And so it was a natural marriage of football, dating conventions and floral availability," Schultz said.

Flash forward to the 1950s and '60s when Texas experienced a huge population boom and florists couldn’t fill all the orders with live mums, so they got the idea to make them out of artificial materials in advance.

"Then what started happening is the DIY movement as we know it. The very beginning of the DIY movement really started happening when large retail box stores started popping up," said Schultz. "Well, guess where they started? In Texas. Michael's was founded in Texas in the '70s, then Hobby Lobby's headquarters is in Oklahoma City. So the supply chain of artificial flowers basically started in North Texas."

That’s when mums met moms armed with hot glue guns and the mantra that everything’s bigger in Texas.

"I think that's a real call to action for Texans. It's a challenge, but also a reality that we embrace wholeheartedly in light-hearted, beautiful, unique ways that is just not true in other states," Schultz said. "The cultural influence on homecoming mums is why we see how big we could make a mum like we're Texans. That's what we do."

"My very first time I saw a mum, I was like, 'What the heck is that?'" laughed Bailey Hockett, a senior at Cinco Ranch High School in Katy.

On Homecoming Day, mum ribbons, flowers, boas and, of course, bells bring new life to the hallways of Cinco Ranch.

"(It's) lively. A little louder than normal. You can feel the energy. It's different," said Samuel Adedipe, associate principal. "They want everyone to see their mums. We want to see them."

Every school has guidelines for the mums and garters.

"Freshman and sophomore are usually maroon and white," shared junior Valerie Mendez. "It gets bigger as the grades go up. The junior is silver and senior is gold or pink."

"They are huge," added senior Jenna Jenkins, showing off her senior mum. "That's when you put on all the bells and whistles and all the lights. It's an excuse to kind of dress up and have fun."

"I think it's a good Texas tradition, like especially for seniors to have bigger mums to express their seniority and stuff," junior Camille Corrence weighed in. "I think it's just to show the Texas tradition."

Another trademark of Cinco Ranch mums is the bears, which you'll spot smack dab in the middle of the flowers.

The thing about rules is they’re made to be broken.

"I can make it my own," said junior Marlowe Williams. "I have my Batman (bear)."

"I kind of wanted to do something that went along with me to be original," said junior Madison Anderson. "So I asked to get a pop of purple just to make it pop. I thought it looked pretty cute."

Senior Mia Prevatt went all out with a massive Hello Kitty-themed mum.

"I've just always liked Hello Kitty. I have like a little one hanging in my car and this year my backpack is Hello Kitty and my keys. So I was like, 'Oh, that'd be cool if I had a Hello Kitty mum,'" she said. "It doesn't have to be traditional. Everybody thinks, 'Oh, I have to have certain colors or it has to be this way.' You can literally do whatever you want and just put it on there. As long as like you like it, people are going to like it either way because people don't really care."

Fellow senior Andrea Astorga agreed with Prevatt, adding that it's fun to see everyone's personalization.

"It's something different," she said. "Everyone looks excited because it's customized. You get to walk around with something that only you have."

Mums even help staff get into the homecoming spirit.

"It's just a fun time for all of us. We as staff, we love it. We love to see the kids engaging in the school," Adedipe said. "We have a diverse population and it's good to see kids who are not from Texas, who are not from the United States getting into it and putting their flavor into the mums."

What historically has been a pretty exclusive practice – one that centered around a boy asking a girl out and having the means to make or buy a mum – has evolved.

"Kids are really trying to figure out how to make this tradition more inclusive, which I find to be very heartwarming," said Schultz. "If there's anything that's being disruptive right now about the tradition, I actually think that's what it is." 

One example comes from Cinco Ranch, every member of the Cougar Stars dance team made mums and garters for students in the school’s special education program, including senior Ella Skagg’s little brother, who has Down syndrome.

"He got a garter from the Cougar Stars and he's loving it today," she shared. "He just was really excited just to be a part of it. I don't really know he knew what a garter was when he was getting one, but he was just like, 'Oh, this is really fun.'"

Marlowe Williams was part of the group handing the mums and garters out.

"It was very, very sweet. A lot of girls were crying. They saw how kind it was," Williams said. "There was this one little guy who was like, 'For me, really?' And he was so excited."

This was Williams' first year making a garter or mum, a project she admits seemed a little intimidating at first. But, along with her mom, she got help during a visit to the Cinco Ranch High School Band Booster Mum Room.

"We have everything from bears to ribbons to chains and Garlands, finished mums and finished garters, flowers, all sorts of stuff," listed off Heather Martin, who oversaw the mum room.

In the weeks leading up to homecoming, she taught classes every weekend, guiding students and parents through the process.

"There are so many options and so many ways to customize what you want that really the sky is open," said Martin.

In the mum room, class participants start by shopping. They choose a mum, trinkets, ribbons, braids and, since it’s for Cinco Ranch, bears.

"I tell people, even in class, there's no homecoming police. There's no mum police. So you make it however you want to make it and it will be the personalized, amazing creation that you put together," Martin said. "Whatever you come up with, it will be beautiful and wonderful and you will learn a lot in the process."

At one of her final classes of the 2023 homecoming season, Martin recounted the story of a junior who came in by himself. 

"He pulled things for himself for a garter and made his date a mum all by himself," she smiled. "It was very rewarding to see him with his finished mum at the end."

Usually, Martin said students came in with parents. 

"I love that," she said. "That's that that's so sweet to see. It's good, you know, quality bonding time."

That’s what drew first-time mum-maker Deilia Williams, who used to work at KHOU 11,  to the class, even though she was skeptical when Marlowe first pitched idea of building it on their own.

"'Oh, goodness. Can we just pay someone? Can I just write a check? Can I just give you money, please? I'm not doing this. I don't want to do this. This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen in my life,'" Deilia remembered thinking. 

 Ultimately, she gave in.

"I wanted to do something with my daughter because I only have two years left with her before she goes to college. When else am I going to stand in a room for 2 hours and do a craft with her uninterrupted by a phone? That I hold sacred. That is important to me," explained Deilia. "So we came in and we did it."

That change in heart inspired a change in perspective.

"Don't make me admit it. Yes. Yes, I love it," Deilia said, beaming. "It's so cool. It's like their little personalities just come to life. And it's not going to die. It's not like a boutonniere or corsage, which we all got back in the old days. It's going to live forever in a little memory box. And, you know, maybe 20 years from now, she pulls it out and goes, 'Me and Mom did this together.'"

Most schools don’t have a mum room. In fact, 2023 homecoming was the last one in operation for the Cinco Ranch mum room.

But not to worry. It truly is something anyone can do: Make those memories together while making a mum.

"The bought mum wasn't as special to my daughter as the one that I made. Because, you know, you tell the mum maker all the things you want on it. But you know your child better than anyone else. And so when you make that for them, you can personalize it and it's just more special giving it to them," said Mary Brosch. "They appreciate it so much more because they either saw you work on it or maybe they helped you work on it because a lot of moms and daughters will do it together." 

That was exactly the motivation when Brosch and Callie Murphy founded Mum Moms, LLC. They made mums for their kids – Mary has three, Callie has five – and eventually started selling their creations.

"Last year, we had more than we could do and I just think we naturally were like, 'Let's just teach other people how to do this,'" Murphy said. "It's not as hard as people think that it is. It's confusing at first, but, I think, once you know a few basic things, it's not really that challenging. You just kind of need someone that's willing to come alongside and show you." 

So Murphy and Brosch act as the guides in a digital course sold through their website. It starts with a questionnaire.

"What are your school colors? What are the school traditions? Do freshmen wear school colors? Do seniors do gold and white?" said Brosch. "There's all these different things that a person might want to know before they even begin and go shopping."

That knowledge in hand, the course provides a detailed shopping guide and then a step-by-step tutorial on how to assemble this mum.

"We're giving you the framework, but you can be as creative within that framework as you want to be," Murphy said. "You can follow this exactly to a tee and you're gonna have a mum that you like at the end. Or if you want to change it up, you can change it up."

You can find supplies at just about any craft store in Texas, including those that specialize in mums, such as The Ribbon Source. 

"The best little hole wall ribbon source you can find in Houston," said owner Rita Wilder.

She opened up her own store after years working in wholesale with the intention of it being her retirement. Instead, she’s busier than ever, especially as schools get ready to start back up each fall.

"I do the schools, the booster clubs. I sell to the mum makers that make 50, 100, 200 mums. I sell to the mom that her son just asked a girl to come in here to get stuff to make their own. And, you know, a variety of everybody," Wilder said. 

The Ribbon Source is stacked and packed with just about anything an aspiring mum-maker could dream of.

"We do have where they can buy by the yard that's already cut. We do have some premade braids, a few of the little backings, so they can start assembling the background or the framework of their mum," said Wilder. "We do try to help them. But a lot of times they have in their mind, I want the big one that you can only see my head from."

Junior Amanie Flores wasn't looking to go quiet that big with her mum, but she was shopping for all the elements to help her mum outshine the others. 

"I just got to shop for the ribbons that I need, the colors I need, looking for things that will spruce it up just a little bit, make it all shiny," Flores said. "I'm trying to make mine look better than everybody else’s."

If you would rather skip the assembly, there are options -- and order forms.

"We actually start mum selling during August through October," said Edmund LeBlanc, Kroger produce & floral field merchandiser.

Kroger stores all over the state have displays in their floral department, serving the high schools in their neighborhood.

So, for example, the Cypresswood Kroger has supplies for CyFair, Cy Creek Cy Woods and Bridgeland. 

"Those are the colors represented behind us today," LeBlanc said, gesturing to the display behind him.

The goal is to make mums accessible to families in the community. All sizes. All price points.

"We do have trinkets. We have corsages, we have garters. And obviously the mums. So, yes, they can get a gamut of items right here. And if you look behind me, you can see all the trinkets and everything that's available for them right here," said LeBlanc.

This is just the starting point, though.

"Our customers are very unique and they want what they want, right? I have seen Whataburger mums. I have seen camouflage mums. This year is all about Barbie. So I'm telling you, there are Barbie customizable mums walking out this door today," LeBlanc laughed.

Kroger florists are trained mum-makers. LeBlanc shared the story of one florist named McKenna, who works at an Humble Kroger.

"I ask, 'So what got you into making these mums?' And she was like, 'You know what? When I went to high school, I had my experience. I knew what I wanted. Right? Now I'm at a Kroger and I have all these trinkets available to me, everything. So the mums that I do are special, they really come from a good place. That's why customers flock to me and I do my own signature on the mum, which is a Texas piece with a little diamond in the middle,'" recalled LeBlanc. "That's a signature mum so that people can say, 'Can I have the McKenna special?' And they bring it to life for them."

You can’t talk about signature mums without mentioning The Mum Queen.

"A little girl from Montgomery came in and ordered a mum from me. And she told me, 'Mrs. Cleaver, I'm going to put you on Instagram and I'm going to call you the Mum Queen,'" said Elizabeth Cleaver from behind her work desk. "And it's been that way ever since." 

What was the game room of Cleaver’s Spring home is now business headquarters where she and her staff braid, glue and shape mums of epic proportions.

"I'm not the mum maker for everybody," Cleaver said. "I had a little girl came in and she didn't want this and that. And I looked at and I said, 'Honey, I am not your mum maker. You need to find someone else to do it.'"

Cleaver’s creations are ornate, loaded with bling, sometimes the same size as the girls who will wear them. The basic details are all laid out on the order form: the base, the flowers, the ribbons, the bling, the braids, the trinkets and even acrylic cutouts, bears and bells.

"You can go as big as you want or you can go as long as you want, you know?" said Cleaver. "And the thing about it is and I tell them, 'I'll ask you questions. You're going to pick everything and I'm just going to make it pretty." 

As you’re doing the math in your head, adding everything up and wondering who could spend hundreds – sometimes more than $1000 – on a mum, the answer is a steady 400 to 500 a year, according to Cleaver.

For some mum-makers, business is seasonal. Not for Cleaver. She’s already ordered ribbon for next year’s homecoming season and she plans to start making some of her trademark braids in January. She'll start taking orders in February.

Interspersed between the descriptions of her creations, Cleaver likes to share the stories of the girls who inspired them, like the girl whose grandfather wanted to make sure she had the mum of her dreams, her best friend's daughter who wanted a cow-print mum and the girl who went Through the Lookingglass for her mum inspiration. 

"I don't usually do a theme mum," said Cleaver, "but I think I knocked that one out of the park."

If you can’t tell, as much as Cleaver loves the creativity she gets to pour into the mums, what she loves more is helping her clients get the mum of their dreams.

"Oh, yeah, that is the prize. That's the prize," she smiled. "When you come around that corner with their mum and they see what they have, they just go up for joy."

That's what motivates Cleaver and thousands of other mum-makers in the state. Yes, thousands. Schultz did the math.

"Wherever there's a high school that has a homecoming and has mums, let's say 3000, there's going to be a professional mum maker in that community. And if there's a professional mum maker in that community, she has a competitor because that's just the way it is," Schultz explained. "So what that means is there are at minimum 6,000 small businesses in the state of Texas devoted to homecoming mums."

It's an industry mostly of moms.

"There are so many primarily women-run businesses, small businesses, across the state of Texas that are helping to drive this tradition and shape the tradition," said Schultz. "These are superheroes in the mum world because they believe in it so much. They want everybody to, you know, dive in and have fun."

She's talking about women like Elizabeth Cleaver, like Rita Wilder, like Heather Martin, like Callie Murphy and Mary Brosch.

"I think that traditions are part of what makes a culture unique. And so I think they really believe that mums in Texas and football and family and community are inextricable," Schultz said. "I keep using the word 'defender' because they really believe in what they're doing. Sure, they're making money, but more importantly, they're keeping something special alive that they believe in. And that's spirit and passion for one's community."

Mums are so enmeshed in the fabric of Texas tradition, they inspired a traveling history exhibit based on Schultz’s book, which made its first stop in Grapevine this fall.

"I'm hoping it will stimulate feelings of nostalgia. I'm also hoping it will stimulate conversation about traditions and Texans and what it means to keep traditions alive and and yet at the same time allow them to evolve to reflect the current culture," said Schultz.

From the simplest crafts to the most elaborate creations, every homecoming mum is a unique expression of the individual wearing it. It's a canvas on which students paint their school spirit, their personalities and their memories. The diverse array of trinkets, colors and designs reflect the rich tapestry of high school life with its myriad of passions, interests and personalities.

But what's truly remarkable about homecoming mums is how they transcend individuality to become a unifying force. They may start as personal expressions, but they’re the threads that weave our stories together, reminding us that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves.

"You know, everything's bigger in Texas," shrugged Murphy.

Indeed, even the flowers that in full bloom take us back to our roots in our school, our town and our traditions.