How to Plan a High School Homecoming Dance

Last Updated: August 18, 2022

If you work with your school’s student government association, you may find yourself involved in planning the homecoming dance. A school dance is a large event, and properly planning one means not only picking themes and decorations but balancing budgets, booking entertainment, and helping to coordinate a large number of volunteers. The planning process can be long, but if you make sure you have enough help, money, and time when you start, you can put on a successful homecoming dance.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Getting People Involved

1
Recruit volunteers. Planning a dance takes a lot of work so it is best to have a team of people to help. Form a committee of 5-10 volunteers who want to work on the homecoming dance.
- Get class officers involved. This is an easy way to help ensure all classes have an even voice in the decision-making process.
- Recruit from outside student government. If your organization allows, recruit from students across campus who are looking to get involved with leadership activities.
- Partner with other organizations such as pep groups or student leadership groups. This offers you more support from the student body as well as potential volunteers.
2
Create a basic to-do list. As the dance planning progresses this list may grow, but it will help your team to stay on task. Begin with:
- Date
- Theme
- Location
- Decorations
- DJ
- Photographer
- Refreshments
- Chaperons
- Budget
- Faculty Adviser
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3
Delegate. Once you have your volunteers, it's important to make sure they all know what jobs need to be done. Put certain people in charge of certain matters, and delegate what needs to be done to the right person.^{[1]
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- Some jobs, such as picking an adviser and a theme, should be done as a team. Others, such as getting quotes from venues and photographers, can be handled by an individual or a small sub-committee.
- Have groups to cover venue, entertainment, advertising and ticket sales, and decorating.
- Check in on a regular basis with your team. Ask “Have we completed this yet?” or “How are we doing with finding a DJ?” whenever your team meets to help keep everyone on task.
- Set up a check-in system so people can report their progress. Have a space where you can write out a large checklist of what needs to be done, or keep a shared calendar between your group so everyone can report on their progress.
4
Find a faculty adviser. Like other student groups, a homecoming committee will need a faculty adviser. If one is not pre-assigned, find a teacher who you trust or who comes well-recommended by other committee members.^{[2]
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- Your adviser should be involved with your committee’s plans. Keep them up to date with everything you do by having them attend planning meetings and providing them with meeting notes.
5
Recruit chaperones. Parent volunteers are an important not only for monitoring students, but for helping with set up and running the dance. Get a group of parent volunteers together to help on the evening of the dance.
- Check with your school to see how many chaperones they require per student. Many schools have their own guidelines, and it is important to comply with your own school’s regulations.
- Work with your school’s parent-teacher association to find volunteers. Ask to attend a meeting so that you can directly present the opportunity to them and pass around a sign-up list.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Planning the Dance Finances

1
Get quotes. If you are hiring a DJ, getting refreshments catered, getting professional help with the decorations, or hiring a professional photographer, start gathering quotes at least one month in advance.
- Ask about any surcharges or equipment fees, as well as hourly rates. Inquire about what your vendors will supply, and what you are expected to have. For example, check with your DJ to see if they provide the sound system, or if you will need to rent one from elsewhere.
- Contact at least three options for every vendor to ensure that you get competitive pricing.
2
Make your budget. Your budget will dictate much of what you can and cannot do. Talk to your student government treasurer to better understand how much money your committee has to spend on the dance.
- Ask your faculty adviser to verify the budget. See if the school will contribute anything outside of the student government money.
- Plan your budget to encompass everything you will need. Use the quotes you got from your vendors as well as budget plans and receipts from previous years to figure out what the dance will cost.
- Do not let your budget exceed the amount you have available. Revisit your budget often to ensure you are on track.
3
Fundraise. If your budget is not enough to cover the cost of the dance, create a fundraising plan with your committee. Explore multiple options both on and off campus.
- Host bake sales on campus during lunch periods as well as before and after school.
- Work with other student groups to raise money by hosting events such as a car wash. Events that let you reach out into your community give you more opportunities to bring in cash.
- Ask local restaurants if they offer fundraising nights. Some restaurants may offer programs that donate a certain percent of profits for the night to a student organization. Partner with a local eatery and spread the word via flyers, emails, and social media.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Planning the Dance Logistics

1
Choose a theme. At least one month before the dance, have a theme ready. Come up with five or six theme ideas as a committee, and have a vote across campus so that students can pick their favorite.
- Get approval from your staff adviser for any potential themes. Getting the theme cleared early on prevents later potential disapproval.
- Choose themes that fit the mood of the dance. If you want a more formal dance, an Old Hollywood theme might be more appropriate. If you want a more casual dance, something like Beach Luau may fit better.
2
Reserve a venue. Whether the dance is going to be at a local hotel or in the school gym, make sure you reserve a venue as early as possible. Filing a proper room reservation with your school ensures that you get the space you need.^{[3]
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- Make a copy of the venue contract or room reservation for your own records, so that you can reference it whenever you need it.
- Include all necessary facilities on your reservation. If you need the gym, the bathrooms, and the kitchen to store refreshments, make sure to list all of them.
3
Book your vendors. Get your DJ, photographer, and others booked as soon as the budget is set. Reserve any other equipment your vendors may need, such as sound systems, at this time, too.
- Work with your staff adviser to make sure all of the contracts are properly drawn up and include all the information your school needs.
- Keep copies of any contracts or agreements for your committee’s review.
4
Create a day-of plan. Before everything becomes too hectic with the rest of homecoming, make a detailed plan of how you want the day of the dance to work. Set your day-of plan a month in advance.
- Have a detailed floor plan of your location and how you want to decorate.
- Draw out where the DJ should go, where the ticket table is set up, where lights should be strung, and other details.
- Create a plan for coat-check. Decide where coats will be stored, where the table will be set, and how you will tag coats to keep them organized. Also make sure you have at least one volunteer to man the table and two to retrieve coats.
- Designate someone as the day-of coordinator.This person will communicate with the volunteers on the night of the dance and troubleshoot any problems that might come up.
5
Go shopping. Get all the supplies you need for decorating two to three weeks in advance. That way, you have plenty of time to find alternatives for something if you cannot find it locally. Shop for food the day of or the day before so that nothing goes bad.
- Check with local stores to see if they are willing to donate certain items or offer a discount to the school.
- Put larger items or perishable items on hold. Talk to your local market about reserving food trays in advance and picking them up the day of the dance. Do the same for larger decorative items that you might not be able to store easily on campus.
6
Sell tickets. Start selling tickets at least two weeks before the actual dance. Compliment sales with advertisements in the school announcements, as well as banners and posters across campus.
- Announce sales dates and ticket prices in advance in your school paper, during your school announcements, and on your school’s website as well as social media.
- Set up a table to sell before and after school for a half-hour to an hour, as well as during lunch periods.
- Create a volunteer schedule to make sure the table is staffed during all sales times. Work with your treasurer to get other volunteers, if need be.
- Order your cash box at least one week before you start selling tickets. Talk to your treasurer about whether the cash box will be provided by the student government association, the school administration, or from another source.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Setting Up the Dance

1
Prepare for the week before. Most schools lead up to their homecoming dance with a homecoming spirit week. Spirit weeks often involve many events, so make sure you know who and what will be available to you.
- Talk with your staff adviser about equipment such as tables and chairs. Make sure these are ready for you at least a few hours before the dance so that you can set up.
- Talk with school administration to make sure your vendors have designated areas to park, unload, and set up. Remember, those with heavy equipment will need to be close to the venue.
- Create a plan for the day of the dance. Work with your committee and any additional volunteers to assign duties such as setting up chairs and decorating. Make sure everyone knows their job well in advance.
2
Set up the venue. Give yourself and your volunteers at least six hours to set up the dance. Get decorations set up as much as possible before your vendors arrive.
- Have the DJ, photographer, and chaperons arrive early. Show the DJ the area where they will be working, and give the photographer a tour of the space.
- Delegate duties to the chaperons such as helping with coat check, monitoring the dance floor, or helping with crowd control. Show them where they need to be and put them in touch with the day-of coordinator.
3
Enjoy the dance. Make sure you and all of your volunteers have some time to enjoy the dance, as well. Build breaks into your volunteers’ schedules so that everyone has some time to have fun.
- For example, let a ticket-taker relieve your day-of coordinator for a while once everyone is in, or get a chaperone to stand in on coat-check while the coat attendants go dance.
- Your volunteers are students, as well. Give them time to enjoy their efforts.
4
Clean up the venue. As soon as the dance is over, start taking down decorations and cleaning. Find out what your school’s facilities services will take care of, and plan to do the rest with your volunteers.
- Facilities services often cover things like vacuuming, mopping, and bathroom cleaning. Decorations, tables, chairs, and equipment are often the homecoming committee’s responsibility.
- Bring extra cleaning supplies such as paper towels, trash bags, sponges, and cleaning solution. This will help take care of any smaller marks or scuffs around the venue.
- Make sure all trash gets to a designated trash area. Ask your school if you need to schedule a dumpster drop-off and pick-up for event clean-up.
- Try to recruit as much help as possible for clean up. It's also a good idea to have volunteers walk around during the event and pick up trash so there's less to do after.^{[4]
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  Expert Source
  
  Christina Millikin
  Professional Event Planner
  Expert Interview. 11 February 2020.}

Community Q&A

Question

How much funding can I ask my high school for?

Diana A.C.

Community Answer

The first step would be to speak to the principal or vice principal about who is in charge of handling the budget for a high school homecoming dance. Depending on who they say, you can make inquiries with that person on the homecoming dance budget and its limitations. Each high school is different, though, so rather than asking for a specific amount, see how much the school is working with in the first place.

Warnings

Do not leave everything to the last minute. Give yourself plenty of time to plan and take care of any conflict.

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