Dance Mom Survival Guide

2 of my daughters dance.

And if any of your kids dance then you know, recital time is here.  Recitals mean many things, makeup, hair, costumes, finding things for your kids to do backstage.  I've put together a simple recital guide.  Let's start from the top down.

Hair
I suck at hair. I'm horrible at it.  One of the best tips I recently received was to wet your daughter's hair before putting it in a ponytail.  I personally don't like the doughnut bun makers but, many people swear by them.  Pack extra hair supplies for backstage

Make-up
Unless you are told to buy a certain brand, I suggest getting it at the dollar store.  I get the girls' there.  They have  lipstick, eye shadow, blush, everything.  It's especially a great idea if you're only going to use it for recitals.  Make sure to pack extra for backstage, especially lipstick.

Costumes
Invest in a garment bag,  They make actually sell them at the dollar store too.  Put all your costumes on hangers and then put all the accessories (hair pieces, tights, etc) in a bag with the class labeled on it.  If you child has multiple dances a nude camisole leotard is a good idea.  This way they don't have to get completely naked when they change costumes.  

Shoes
Make sure they are clean.  I normally throw the ballet shoes in the washer.  (My girls' are canvas.  Do NOT do this with leather ballet shoes.)  Double check before you leave the house they have have 2 of each of their shoes.  We dump out dance bags and repack them before we leave.

I think that's everything to do with hair, makeup and costumes.  Your studio should give you a list of necessary supplies but, if I forgot anything let me know in the comments!

Now onto backstage stuff.  These tips will make the backstage moms SUPER happy.  I know that it would make me happy if all parents did this.  

Pack your kid some snacks and something to do.  Does your child have food allergies?  Let the backstage mom know!  Kids share snacks.  

Snack tips:

• Nothing sticky
• Nothing gooey
• Nothing messy
• Nothing greasy,  
• No colored drinks.  

Sunny and Mo have pretzels, crackers and water.  I don't pack chips (greasy fingers + expensive costumes = NO GOOD), or fruit snacks (if someone sits on it, it'll stick to their butt and be really hard to get off), or juice (juice = stains).  It's only 3ish hours.  If they can't survive on water and a couple snacks for that long then there's something wrong.  

Some other good options would be:

• Rice cakes
• Pumpkin seeds
• Popcorn (unbuttered)
• Hard granola bars

My best piece of advice if you're a backstage mom?  Chill out.  Clear your mind of anything that might bother or upset you.  The dressing rooms of recitals are loud, crazy, chaotic, and hectic.  I like to do my workout in the morning before the show and forget about everything that is weighing on my mind.

The most important thing tho?  Let your kids know that you're proud of them, let them know how well they did (even if they messed up), and show that you are their biggest supporter.  They will be nervous and possibly scared.  Before her first dance she told me that she wanted to go home and she didn't want to be there anymore.  Reassure them that everything will be okay.