Creating Mums to Make Homecoming Memories
Any Texan can tell you just how big homecoming is. From the larger-than-life football game and homecoming court to the dances, the list of homecoming traditions is endless. But one of the most iconic Southern customs is the homecoming mum.
While not exclusive to Texas, the state is well known for its massive, elaborate designs. Designed to look like a flower, today’s mums are full of braided ribbons, large bows, stuffed animals, bright colors, and just about anything else you could imagine.
The first homecoming mums can be traced back to the early 1900s, when they were nothing more than a flower pinned to a shirt with a few ribbons, and they’ve come a long way since.
Today, the art of making mums has become an important part of homecoming, often serving as a mother-daughter tradition.
Sabrina Rosser and Rayanne Good co-own RG Mums, one of many mum-making small businesses across the state. They are currently in their sixth homecoming season, and their business just keeps growing.
RG Mums started with two moms who loved crafting and wanted to experience making mums for their own daughters. As two Denton County natives who had simple pinned flowers at their own homecomings, they were excited to create mums for their kids.
Sabrina describes the tradition as a way for people to “showcase their personalities.” Whether it’s a few ribbons braided together or a mum that ends up being bigger than its wearer, every mum is unique to the person wearing it.
From the many local small businesses to the countless people who make mums for themselves, friends, or their children, the mum-making community has certainly grown.
Sabrina and Rayanne will be the first to tell you how supportive the industry is,
something they hope to continue fostering. Sabrina has been a board member of Mums-Inc.com for over two years, a community that has members all over Texas and highlights the sharing that happens between the business owners in order to keep the mum tradition alive.
“Most people don’t have tutorials for how to make the things they sell,” Sabrina said. “But we do.”
The pair offers tutorials, which can be found on the RG Mums YouTube page, because they understand the importance of the mother-daughter experience. They detail everything from different styles of braids to how to add sparkle to both mums and garters.
Sabrina’s biggest piece of advice for anyone making a mum is to embrace the fun of it.”It doesn’t have to be big,” she said. “It just has to be you.”
She also recommends starting early. Mums are custom pieces that take time to create. RG Mums begins accepting orders in February and closes orders for its largest designs in July. That timeline makes sense when you see the scale of some of their creations.
If you didn’t get your order in early, you can still get many mums, including their Designer Series, through the season at rgmums.com, and see some mums on display at Denton Florist.
At RG Mums, every design is a team effort. Sabrina and Rayanne share very similar design visions, making it easy for the two to divide and conquer as they sketch designs and develop new elements along the way.
After homecoming, another question arises. What do you do with your mum?
Sabrina likes to think of her daughter’s mums as yearbooks — something to hang on the wall or store in the closet and look back on years later to remember what mattered during that season of life.
Whether it’s highlighting clubs you’re a part of, Bible verses that are meaningful to you, or simply incorporating your favorite color, a mum is a unique way to capture who you are at that moment.
In a state where everything is said to be bigger, it’s no surprise that homecoming mums have become larger than life. But beneath the ribbons, bells, and glitter is a custom that has remained the same for more than a century — celebrating school spirit, community, and the people who make each homecoming memorable.
As homecoming season returns each fall, the minds behind RG Mums hope people remember that a mum doesn’t have to be the biggest or the most elaborate to be meaningful. Whether it’s handmade or custom-designed, the best mum is one that reflects the person wearing it. After all, long after the football game is over and the dance has ended, the mum remains a reminder of that moment in time.
