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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.<\/p>\n
Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
ALLEN\u00a0\u2014 In the 1980s, high schooler Amy\u00a0McCuiston spent hours crowded around the kitchen table with her mother and aunt, braiding ribbons for the intricate creations they sold at The Mum Shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Forty years later, McCuiston is the co-owner of the business, which operates out of an 18,000-square-foot facility in Allen<\/a> and makes homecoming mums and garters for more than 80 schools in North Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Employees hand craft mums at The Mum Shop in Allen, Texas, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.<\/p>\n Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n With high school football season<\/a> in full swing, employees are working nights and weekends to keep up with demand. They\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n McCuiston said she meets more and more customers each year who are not Texas natives and are unfamiliar with the state\u2019s homecoming traditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey think it\u2019s crazy at first,\u201d McCuiston said. \u201cBut then they see the traditions and the way their kids react \u2026 you can\u2019t deny school spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n Collin County<\/a> was the second fastest-growing county<\/a> 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<\/a> ISD that have opened new high schools to keep up with that growth.<\/p>\n \u2018Absolutely crazy\u2019<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought it was absolutely crazy because I see the ones that are four feet wide and probably cost $1,000,\u201d Lawson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But as she did more research, she and other mothers who are originally from other states found smaller, less expensive mums \u2014 ones that their daughters can still walk in comfortably \u2014 and have jumped on board.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost like a rite of passage,\u201d Lawson said of Texas girls and their mums.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amber Ashmore assembles a mum at The Mum Shop in Allen, Texas, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.<\/p>\n Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Amber Ashmore, who works at The Mum Shop, said she has seen an\u00a0uptick in custom orders, reflecting the diversity in students\u2019 interests and extracurriculars as the suburbs have grown.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n She\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ashmore said the customization appeals to her because\u00a0she loves \u201cmaking things out of nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnlike other kinds of art it has to be wearable \u2026 but it can be kind of ridiculous because it\u2019s a mum,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Items for sale are on display at The Mum Shop in Allen, Texas, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.<\/p>\n Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Embracing tradition<\/p>\n Taylor Chabot, a senior at Prestonwood<\/a> Christian Academy in Plano<\/a>, will sport her pink and white mum decorated with a crucifix-patterned ribbon and cheerleading trinkets Friday. Chabot\u2019s family moved to McKinney<\/a> from the suburbs of Southern California about 10 years ago, and her parents run a company that helps fellow conservatives move to Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n When she first moved, she didn\u2019t understand why they were called mums \u2014 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Bella Li, a junior at Frisco\u2019s Heritage High School<\/a>, 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\u00a0Frisco for its A-rated schools and newer homes. Her parents had never heard of mums before, so Li learned about them from her peers.<\/p>\n \u201cI never thought of it as weird,\u201d Li said. \u201cI never thought of it as just a Texas thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Made to order mums are ready to be picked up at The Mum Shop in Allen, Texas, Tuesday, October 20, 2026.<\/p>\n Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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