Taylor Chabot, a senior at Prestonwood Christian Academy picks up a made to order mum at The Mum Shop in Allen, Texas, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
ALLEN — In the 1980s, high schooler Amy McCuiston spent hours crowded around the kitchen table with her mother and aunt, braiding ribbons for the intricate creations they sold at The Mum Shop.
Forty years later, McCuiston is the co-owner of the business, which operates out of an 18,000-square-foot facility in Allen and makes homecoming mums and garters for more than 80 schools in North Texas.
Employees hand craft mums at The Mum Shop in Allen, Texas, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
With high school football season in full swing, employees are working nights and weekends to keep up with demand. They’ll craft about 14,000 of the accessories over three months, going through 300,000 yards of ribbon and countless hot-glued custom trinkets. Depending on the design, McCuiston has sold mums that range in price from around $40 to more than $700.
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McCuiston said she meets more and more customers each year who are not Texas natives and are unfamiliar with the state’s homecoming traditions.
“They think it’s crazy at first,” McCuiston said. “But then they see the traditions and the way their kids react … you can’t deny school spirit.”
Collin County was the second fastest-growing county in the nation from 2024 to 2025, according to U.S. Census data. For McCuiston, that has translated into a 10% increase in orders each year, driven by school districts like Frisco ISD that have opened new high schools to keep up with that growth.
‘Absolutely crazy’
Michigan native Jeanine Lawson has lived in Texas for more than 20 years, but when homecoming season rolled around and fellow parents began shopping for mums, she was reminded how unique the state is.
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“We thought it was absolutely crazy because I see the ones that are four feet wide and probably cost $1,000,” Lawson said.
But as she did more research, she and other mothers who are originally from other states found smaller, less expensive mums — ones that their daughters can still walk in comfortably — and have jumped on board.
“It’s almost like a rite of passage,” Lawson said of Texas girls and their mums.
Amber Ashmore assembles a mum at The Mum Shop in Allen, Texas, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
Amber Ashmore, who works at The Mum Shop, said she has seen an uptick in custom orders, reflecting the diversity in students’ interests and extracurriculars as the suburbs have grown.
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She’s been able to create custom mums for a girl who loves anime and another who loves Spider-Man. The store sells charms to represent everything from tennis and track to robotics and orchestra.
Ashmore said the customization appeals to her because she loves “making things out of nothing.”
“Unlike other kinds of art it has to be wearable … but it can be kind of ridiculous because it’s a mum,” she said.
Items for sale are on display at The Mum Shop in Allen, Texas, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
Embracing tradition
Taylor Chabot, a senior at Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, will sport her pink and white mum decorated with a crucifix-patterned ribbon and cheerleading trinkets Friday. Chabot’s family moved to McKinney from the suburbs of Southern California about 10 years ago, and her parents run a company that helps fellow conservatives move to Texas.
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When she first moved, she didn’t understand why they were called mums — a vestige from when they were made from real chrysanthemums. Chabot said people in Texas were friendlier and more community-oriented than those she met in California, and the fanfare around mums and high school football were a testament to that.
Bella Li, a junior at Heritage High School in Frisco, picks up her mum from The Mum Shop in Allen, Texas, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
Bella Li, a junior at Frisco’s Heritage High School, is excited to wear her maroon and gold mum before homecoming on Thursday. Li was born in Dallas but her parents are Chinese immigrants who moved to Frisco for its A-rated schools and newer homes. Her parents had never heard of mums before, so Li learned about them from her peers.
“I never thought of it as weird,” Li said. “I never thought of it as just a Texas thing.”
Made to order mums are ready to be picked up at The Mum Shop in Allen, Texas, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
Anja Schlein/The Dallas Morning News
Sophia Freire, a senior at Wakeland High School in Frisco, said her mother, an immigrant from Brazil, also had “no clue” what mums were. Her friends who are native Texans encouraged her to participate in homecoming traditions. She attended Wakeland’s homecoming last month, and will accompany her date to Heritage High School’s dance this weekend.
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She’s seen firsthand how the tradition can become competitive in an affluent suburb like Frisco, with families spending exorbitant amounts of money on mums.
“Parents like to participate in everything. They like to outdo each other,” Freire said.
Even so, Freire said she wanted to make the most of her last year in high school, and bought a white and gold mum customized with a teddy bear wearing a graduation hat, her date’s name and a sticker of a caduceus, because she aspires to work in the medical field.
“I love having a mum,” Freire said. “I think I’m gonna show it to my kids someday.”
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