{"id":443580,"date":"2026-09-22T02:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T02:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/443580\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T02:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T02:06:10","slug":"mumflation-why-texas-homecoming-mums-are-costing-houston-families-more-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/443580\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Mumflation’: Why Texas Homecoming Mums Are Costing Houston Families More This Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Homecoming \"Homecoming Homecoming mum costs on the rise<\/a> <\/p>\n

Larger-than-life homecoming mums are a Texas tradition, but the rising cost of materials are having an impact this year. FOX 26’s Sakura Gray visited two mum-makers in Cypress about they’re trying to balance cost and quality.<\/p>\n

HOUSTON – Everything is bigger in Texas\u2014including the price tag for high school homecoming.<\/p>\n

If you have a high school student getting ready for homecoming season across Greater Houston, your wallet might already be feeling the squeeze. Parents and local artisans are reporting a sharp rise in the cost of homecoming mums.<\/p>\n

Here is what is driving the record-high costs and why families are still finding ways to keep this iconic Texas tradition alive.<\/p>\n

First Off: What is a Texas Homecoming Mum? <\/p>\n

The backstory:<\/p>\n

For those new to the Lone Star State, a homecoming\u00a0mum (short for chrysanthemum) is a massive, highly customized floral arrangement worn by students during homecoming week.<\/p>\n

What started in the 1930s as a simple, real chrysanthemum flower pinned to a lapel has evolved into an elaborate, multi-pound piece of wearable art.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Base: Silk flower heads mounted on heavy cardstock or chipboard backings.The Braids: Yards of woven satin and acetate ribbons falling past the knees, often braided into intricate patterns like the “Texas Diamond” or “Honeycomb.”The Swag: Plastic cowbells, mascot charms, plush animals, rhinestones, custom laser-cut acrylic names, and feather boas.The Tech: Battery-powered LED strip lights, Bluetooth speakers, and animated movement. <\/p>\n

Because mega-mums can weigh anywhere from five to 22 pounds, many students wear neck harnesses just to carry them throughout the school day and at the Friday night football game.<\/p>\n

1. Raw Supply Inflation Hits the Ribbon Aisle <\/p>\n

The primary ingredient in any mum is ribbon \u2014 and lots of it. A single custom mum can easily swallow 100 to 200 yards of specialty satin, metallic, and printed ribbon.<\/p>\n

Local craft shops and independent makers say wholesale prices for ribbon spools, plastic trinkets, and silk flower bases have climbed significantly year-over-year. As raw material costs go up, artisans have no choice but to adjust their base pricing to protect their bottom line.<\/p>\n

2. A Major Domestic Supplier Goes Under <\/p>\n

Making matters harder for Texas craft shops, one of the nation’s largest ribbon distributors\u2014\u00a0Lion Ribbon Company \u2014filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and liquidated its domestic woven ribbon business.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

Megan Armstrong, owner of Homecoming Mums by Two Sisters Bridal, says she is now paying anywhere from 33\u201335% more for ribbon as she has had to resort to another supplier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Cleaver, owner of The Mum Queen, says her mums have seen a $30 increase in price to make up for the increased cost of ribbon.<\/p>\n

3. Labor\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Mums are not mass-produced on a factory assembly line. Every single ribbon is cut, stapled, and hot-glued by hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whether families D-I-Y the project or choose to outsource via a local mum-maker, it’s a tradition that costs time and money.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How is this impacting the tradition? <\/p>\n

Despite the rising costs, Houston families aren’t abandoning the tradition. Instead, parents and students are finding creative ways to pivot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example: the rise of “budget mums.” Students can skip on the rhinestones and sparkly ribbon, which can be a major bulk of the cost. Incorporating more layering and braids can help the mum achieve that traditional look at a fraction of the price. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The Source: Information for this article is from interviews with: Elizabeth Cleaver, owner of The Mum Queen, Megan Armstrong, owner of Homecoming Mums by Two Sisters Bridal, and Angela Lafferty of Angela’s Homecoming Mums and More.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Houston<\/a>News<\/a>Top Stories<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Homecoming mum costs on the rise Larger-than-life homecoming mums are a Texas tradition, but the rising cost of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57,223,2053,216,393],"class_list":["post-443580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-tx","tag-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}