We were privileged to be able to see Hale Center Theater's production of A Christmas Carol this year. It is a tradition that we haven't been able to honor for the past few years. This was the twins' first year. It was great but a little disappointing. Kind of a Christmas Carol on speed. They actually had a 5:00 showing (our free tickets) and another 8:00 showing. So they kind of condensed it. Kind of bugged me. And Marley was not nearly as scary as in years' past. And the last ghost that used to be HUGE with enough room to store all the little beggar children under his cloak---you guessed it.....room for one. But all in all the kids had a fun time and the twins did not have nightmares.
What I would like to discuss here, however, isn't really the play per-se but the dress code. When Zach and Katie were little we went almost every year. And they were required to dress to the nines in their Christmas clothing complete with fancy shoes, coat, etc. Hillary was usually there too and was of course dressed to the nines along with my children. Same thing for the Nutcracker. You dress up. Period. End of discussion. Well, this year it was not the end of the discussion. My kids gave me SO MUCH CRAP for making them dress up. And I barely made them dress up, just nice Sunday clothes. No extremes. Unfortunately, the dressing up appears to be a tradition of the past. Most people showed up in jeans. This did not bode well for my sassy Katie who viciously hissed under her breath that I can't believe I made them dress up and that "she looked like a polygamist". (Not my fault she decided to wear her tennis shoes with her skirt and put that big swoop-de-dop in her hair!) Seriously. Probably 90% of the people were in jeans! Shame! I discussed with my children as they were complaining that it is proper tradition to dress up when attending the theatre or the ballet, especially while at a nice place like Capitol Theatre or Hale Center Theatre. I talked in a normal voice, not whispering as I delighted in watching the woman in front of me attempt to cover her jeans with her program (nice try lady-you can run but you can't hide!). What has happened to our society?
I am really looking for comments on this. Have I over-reacted? Do I give in to the current trend or continue to "set the example"? I will note that the workers all complimented my children on their dress. Katie just glared at me as it made it worse to call attention to that fact that they looked different. And Husband #1 Jim was not able to attend so patrons may have thought it wasn't my night. Let's hear it from ya'll. GO!
Happy St. Patrick's Day 2026
1 month ago
6 comments:
A couple of years ago we had season tickets to Capitol Theater's Broadway shows. Jeff and I always dressed up...but it was every extreme imaginable...from jeans to fancy gowns. It generally was teenagers/college kids in the jeans--but I saw a few adults in jeans also.
I've always thought you were supposed to dress up for those kind of things..but heaven forbid we look like polygs. hehe Tell Katie to wear braided pigtails next time and she'll be a shoe-in for the Herriman enclave.
Hmmm. It seems like sassy mama said, some people dress up, some people don't. But it does seem like you should try to look nice.
Katie reminds me of me as a teenager. Sorry Natalie.
our society is very laxed i feel. i remember always dressing up when I went to the play, and many other events. I think its sad how lazy the world is getting. I think dressing up for these types of events is great and we should continue to set the example. way to go natalie for putting your foot down. when I have children (if that happens) I will do the same thing even if we are the only dang people dressed up!
You should totally dress up! Well, I don't know if I'd wear a dress anymore, but at least dress pants. Never jeans! You're right, though, it is getting very lax, and that's sad. I think that's why I wouldn't wear a dress anymore, because I'd feel overdressed (and polygamist-y) next to all the jeans people.
I haven't been to A Christmas Carol for years, but I remember making a HUGE deal out of Hillary dressing up. There is NO way I would ever have let her go without wearing her fancy schmanzy Christmas attire. Lucky for me, dressing up for Hillary is NEVER a fight - that IS her thing. I never wore jeans. I think it's sad that the tradition is dropped. Truthfully, I think it's kind of a Utah thing to underdress. I think in other states it would be expected. Maybe not in Wyoming or Montana, but certainly New York! Let's keep the tradition alive!
So, I'm quite the jeans girl myself but... I think you should definately keep your kids dressing up! Keep teaching them respect and giving them culture. My son gives me a little hastle when I make him change his clothes to look a little nicer. I just let him know there are times it is more appropriate.
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