Sometimes I just want

[WV_mom_of2]

to crawl into a hole and pull it closed behind me!

My dd is a senior this year. They ordered senior stuff(announcements, cap and gown, etc.) in Nov. I had just been laid off and didn't have the money that week to order. She said it wasn't a problem, the guy told them that they had extra time past the day that he was there to order. I called the company and spoke to a gentleman who told me that I had until Dec. 28 to place my order. I ask very specific questions while I had him on the phone. He assured me that I could still order until Dec. 28, that I could still get the discounted prices, that I could still send in the 80.00 deposit just like everyone else.

On Dec. 10 I wrote out a check for 80.00 and mailed my order form with the check. TODAY I get my order form and check back along with a letter stating that I had missed the Dec. 15 deadline and would now have to order either online or by phone. Ummmmm wait a darned minute! First of all the man told me the deadline was Dec. 28. But even if it WAS Dec. 15 they would have had my order before then. I have friends who live in the town where the company branch is located. We mail things back and forth all the time and it takes ONE day for mail to get there. They had 4 days to get it before the 15th. I then tried to call the phone number for the branch office and lo and behold......it's been disconnected! How about that????

So I tried the 800 number...not open on weekends. Then I go online. I can order everything at prices WAY above what I planned! Her cap, gown and tassle that should have cost me 27.95 is now 50.00. Her announcements that were 30.00 for 30 are now 37.50 for 25 and they will be different from everyone else's. I am so ticked off!

I sent a scalding email to the company but now I'm stumped. I have no option but to order her cap, gown and tassle and senior key from Jostens. My gut tells me to order everything else from another company though. I did find some great announcements online that we both love. They are more expensive but I talked her into going cheap on some other things to make up for it.

It just really irritates me when a company screws customers. I am going to call the 800 number first thing Monday and see what I can work out. IF they will let me have everything on my order form at the orginial prices I might go ahead and get from them. Otherwise they will lose my business. And I still have a kid to go through this with and I will use another company for all of his stuff!

[AmyBoz]

Aw, that stinks! I can totally understand why you'd be so frustrated! I hope they get your e-mail and get you some satisfaction!

[Lady_V]

I'm sorry you have to get frustrated about something that is suppose to be a happy event.

I would still get the cap, gown and tassel from the company the rest of the class is using... that way you know the colors and styles are exactly like everyone else (you don't want her to stand out and yellow at one place may not be yellow in another). I am not sure what a Senior Key is, but if it's part of the commencement, same thing... go with the same company.

Announcements??? Are those just announcements you send to your friends and family telling them she graduated?? How many do YOU need? A few ideas would be to take a picture of her in her cap & gown and make photo-postcards a lot of people do for the holidays... or, just go to a craft store and buy 5x7 paper with either a graduation theme, school colors, or just something you like (we did this for Diva's adoption announcement) and print them out yourself. We paid 20 cents per sheet.

[NikoSan999]

As far as the invitations and announcements went we went to Walmart to the bridal section of the stationary dept and they had tons of beautiful blank "whatever you want it to be"'. She was in 7th heaven. $20.

[pop goes the weasel]

As far as I'm concerned Jostens is a rip off JMHO. We have to order yearbooks from them or not get one. For a standard no frills book it's over 60 bucks and tey want the money now. You don't get the yearbook until JUne. If you want school pictures in the yearbook you have to have the school take them. We got one big picture, 3 5x7 and 9 wallest. They were over 30.00. We had a yearbook club in school but why would they want to teach the kids how to do this stuff and maybe help them in the future. That would be too easy. Ok I'm done ranting lol

[WV_mom_of2]

I have to order her cap and gown from Jostens, where everyone else gets them. It's a school rule.

A Senior key is a necklace, again has to come from Jostens.

We need 30 announcements, can make due with 25 if need to. I will be ordering these from somewhere. My kids don't get alot of extras and these are important to her and to me. I want something special that we can put in her memory book and that I can keep one of.

The other items were name cards, envelope seals, etc. We are going to find some type of stickers to use as envelope seals and I will look at name cards elsewhere. Business cards would work if I can find a place to print some.

[MyMelody]

Check eBay for envelope seals -- I searched using the words "graduation envelope seals" and found several results! For those name cards, you might check Vistaprint.com for their 250 free business cards offer. I think all you have to pay is shipping. The only thing is, if you don't like their free designs, the other ones are $19.95.

http://www.vistaprint.com

[Lora88]

The high school my son attended uses the same colors every year as most do my son saved his cap and gown and gave it a friend of his who graduated the next june The friend only had to buy the tassel with the year on it . This was great because the friend was really short of money . After all you only wear the thing once for a short time and after what do you do with it? I see them for sale all the time used check around the town

[NikoSan999]

D's was Jostens also. Must be a monopoly

[HisDaisy]

Try costco online for announcements and other items. They have great prices and you don't have to be a member to order from them. I had my wedding invitation made by them.

[frugalwarrior2]

Everyone uses Jostens which is why they feel it's ok to be that way. We did the cap and gown but that was all. We already had to get the ring and cap and gown thru them. Invites can be ordered anywhere.

[never2late]

Josten's was the company our school went through also. Fortunately if they paid their class dues all 4 years, their cap and gown were covered by the class itself. I was lucky in that both of my DD preferred to make their own, which was the case with most of their friends also. I don't think very many from our school order the announcements/invitations. I second the bridal section at Walmart. You can get plain invitations with envelopes for a really reasonable price and design and print them yourself. Some kids scanned their senior picture and put it on. My second DD printed hers on our computer and then hot-glued some decorative fake flowers in her school color on them. She is REALLY picky and really artistic - they turned out beautiful.

I hope that you'll be able to talk to someone at Josten's that can help you with it. (hugs)

[shortstack]

Take a deep breath mom. It will be ok ((HUGS))

I have been super frugal my whole life (to my family's pleasure lol) so I never got a class ring or class key when I graduated high school or college either one. My husband on the other hand got the Josten's Class Key and gave it to me when we were dating (yes we were high school sweethearts). It turned my neck green. I put it in my jewelry box and there it lays all these years later.
Might I suggest a nicer class key (unless she is set on getting the exact one everyone else is getting). Do you have a Zales near you? You can order specialized ones from them that are WAY nicer for around the same price:
http://www.zales.com/family/index.js...yle%7CNecklace

As for the announcements you should be able to order them from any place that sells bridal announcements or as someone on here suggested getting one made with her picture on it. That would kill 2 birds with one stone because you wouldn't have to worry about putting a copy of her senior class picture in them.
Here is a site that makes very classy graduation cards that wouldl have her picture on them (they are reasonably priced):
http://www.picturemeperfect.com/grad...uctcode=IGR-SJ

If worse comes to worse and you can't get her cap and gown because of the dealine, do you know anyone that has graduated in the last couple of years from her school? It should be the same cap and gown and maybe you can borrow one. The school office/guidance counselor may have an extra one or two to borrow in a situation like this as well.

((HUGS))
Being a parent is a very hard job.

Andrea

[krbshappy71]

I just went through a similar experience last year with my daughter. For the announcements, we purchased blank cards from Office Max, only picking up the minimum number we thought we would need. They were white with silver trim (her colors were black, silver, purple) We then typed up, just in Word, exactly what we wanted it to say. Then, emailed that file to Office Max. I dropped off our blank cards on the way home from work and they had them printed the same day. They were perfect! Later, a week or so after sending those out, we realized we had missed some people we wanted to add. Office Max still had our announcement on file, I called them up and asked them for more. They had on file the cards that we had used as well, and printed them. When I stopped in to pick them up they were just as perfect as the previous set. We used a purple gel pen for handwriting the addresses on the envelopes. I believe we spent $12 total on a set of 20 announcements which included the printing.

We only purchased the cap/gown/tassel from Jostens as well and I'm not sorry one bit, they try to sucker people in to blow way more than necessary. I'll save that money for her wedding, or first child, or some other main event in her life thank you very much.

I feel for you but please try not to beat yourself up about it, or money, or any of those feelings that you "should" be able to drop a grand on a graduation. You are being wise and planning for ALL the events and desires of your family's life, not just this one day.

Oh and for her reception? Family and VERY minimal friends over, we did pop and chips and a cake. ONE sheet cake from bakery and one homemade extra yummy chocolate cake. It was PLENTY of food and super cheap as we did liter pop on sale, only chips that were on sale, and people just drop in anyhow so don't feel you have to make a meal like my neighbors did, hahahahaa!! Hugs to you.

[MaryinFL]

I use vistaprint for most of my personal and business printing

They have a ton of designs.

You can get nameplates, invitations, announcements, notecards, memopads, etc

Just take note that if you order the free business cards they will have a tiny line on the back that says "business cards are free at vistaprint.com

If you sign up at their website they will send you email offers for free stuff all the time. The only thing I have noticed their advertising line on is the back of the free business cards. However, if you sign up at their website they will send you a free premium business card offer also