Year 12 formal - HELP

Has anyone had experience going to a year 12 formal as a parent of a graduate? And I don't mean just turning up and getting the photos with the cool cars and red carpet and stuff, I mean paying big money to celebrate the formal with the kid. An invitation has been sent by the school and "all the parents are doing it"... 

You need to be a member of 1Eyed Eel to add comments!

Join 1Eyed Eel

Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • Mate, it will come and go, don't feel pressured into doing anything you're not comfortable with.

    My daughter is having her formal this year, no big money spent here, I'm saving money to further her education, other parents can throw parties for teenagers with limit experience with alcohol. The only thing I want to pick up off my lawn is leaves, not drunken teenagers. 

    I've arranged for a bouquet of flowers, and for my daughter and her friends to be driven to their formal in a friends Ford XYGT Falcon.

    • You couldn't have picked a better car to organise for her. I don't think I was clear, the school have actually sent a note and it's 120 bucks per student and parent and I don't want to do it. Seems like an absolute toss and an invasion on the kids' celebrations. But apparently I'm wrong to think like that. 

      • Tough one, your opinion is not wrong but what do you do? I'm paying $130.00 for just her, for that, she gets a dinner and a dance. Mate, you don't have a choice, it will be the worst $120 you never spent, you don't want your child to miss their first real milestone. 

         

        • No problem paying 120 for the kid, just don't want to pay 240 more for two adults

          • Mate I know, we needed to pay $130.00 per extra person, kids don't want their parents there anyway, my daughter is going on her own and she's happy. She would have paid me $130.00 for me or my wife not to go lol.

             

  • This reply was deleted.
    • I'm glad I don't have a memory of my parents sitting and dining at my year 12 formal. It's not really about the money, it's my gf's kid and I don't understand the purpose, surely if you asked kids the vote would be "no parents". Unheard of when I was 18, parents took photos then farked right off. 

  • Yeah na fuck that , how embarrassing for the poor kids.   It’s like extreme helicopter parenting and the school are cashing in on it .  What kind of school thinks it’s acceptable to wallop parents in the sky rocket to accompany their children to a school dance ?  So if I’m understanding correctly it’s a fee for the privilege of being there , or is it a fee for services ( as in you get dinner and drinks ) ? 

    • The adults pay 120 each for the same dinner and drinks as the kids. 

      • $120 for dinner and drinks isn’t bad . What’s the problem / question ? I thought you had to pay just to go watch them . I wouldn’t go myself but in this day and age I guess certain cultures wouldn’t allow their daughters to go without the father keeping an eye on her virginity .

        • Hey Wiz, I guess the problem is that I find the whole fucken thing weird, I'd find it hard to find more than 10 percent of young people who'd actually want their parents at their formal. I mean they have the graduation ceremony for that sort of celebration and that doesn't involve spending up money and watching kids try to socialise under our watchful eye. It's tantamount to going to Schoolies week with them in my opinion. I'm not the most social person and struggle to get primed for even a wedding, where you're actually invited by the actual people celebrating, not by their authoritarian overseers. It's a Catholic school by the way.. 

This reply was deleted.

Latest comments

LB replied to Yeah Man's discussion Just Our Luck
"Jenkins as well under the high ball. That is why I wouldn't pick him in Origin. He's playing well but has elements of his game that needs fixing before Origin. Like naming a whole bunch of Panthers has worked in Origin before."
1 minute ago
Muttman replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"Does the head of recruitment answer to O'Neill?"
2 minutes ago
Muttman replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"Ryles seems a very good coach to me. There's a cohesion and an urgency to this side. But (as I keep saying) he's being let down by R&R. Our roster is a mess."
3 minutes ago
Muttman replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"This!!"
4 minutes ago
Muttman replied to Yeah Man's discussion Just Our Luck
"Panthers were just off. They had a shocker all over the park.Talagi was the highlight for me. When the Bulldogs half goes to the line and draws the inside shoulder of the Panthers backrower, with a short pass to the Bulldogs edge who is coming back…"
6 minutes ago
The Captain replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"His agent wouldn't be doing his job if he wasn't having some unofficial chats and leaking this to the media - the kid just debuted and scored 2 tries in no time at all and put himself on all the highlight reels.
It's just a bit disappointing that…"
22 minutes ago
The Captain replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"It's way too early to make any proper judgement on Ryles coaching ability. We went with Ryles, in reality that's 3 years invested before we even have useful enough data to make a call on whether he's good, bad or average.
The time to question…"
30 minutes ago
LB replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"The thing about Ryles, that can be seen as a positive, is that he seems to not be completely his way or the high way. He brought in Nathan Brown to be someone he can talk to about what he should do. He had Eddie Jones in from time to time to offer…"
33 minutes ago
SuperEel 22 replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"Anyone wetting their pants over Twidle hasn't seen Cameron Bamblett play."
37 minutes ago
SuperEel 22 replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"You realise we have a head of recruitment, right? And that the head of recruitment is not O'Neill?"
38 minutes ago
LB replied to Yeah Man's discussion Just Our Luck
"So you were on record that Penrith only won due to the NRL rigging it with refs. They lose and it's NRL rigging it.
Which is it? They favour Penrith or don't? 😂😂😂😂"
38 minutes ago
SuperEel 22 replied to Joel K's discussion Bulldogs and Dolphins in talks with Apa Twidle
"This time last week no one was talking about Apa and what his contract situation is.
He debuts and scores 2 tries and he's immediately apparently talking to other clubs."
40 minutes ago
Parra-all-the-way replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"look, i think ryles can coach, i have seen the green shoots, but injuries and roster are not helping him, he needs time to clean it up and move it forward. Matto gone at the end of the year, suspect a few others will be released as well. Our junior…"
42 minutes ago
Mallee57 replied to Yeah Man's discussion Just Our Luck
"You can tell that game was rigged. NRL has almost total control over matches these days. It's like a pot luck dinner.."
44 minutes ago
Parra-all-the-way replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"yer, i would agree with that, he really needs to be coming off the bench with the 1, 2 punch with de silva. startr charlie or luca at 13 to start the game and take the heat out of it before the other two come on. I wonder if the high injury toll is…"
48 minutes ago
Mannah-Brow replied to fake midget pseudoachondroplasia's discussion Ryles coaching
"I think he is a good coach with the worst roster in the comp."
59 minutes ago
More…

Keaon done deal

As of Thursday, December 11, 2025, South Sydney Rabbitohs forwardKeaon Koloamatangi has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Parramatta Eels, but it is not yet officially announced by the clubs.  Soon to be announced.

Read more…
14 Replies · Reply by Poppa Jan 9
Views: 2287

 

<script src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<!-- Sidebar -->
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<script>// <![CDATA[
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
// ]]></script>