So, you’ve been a part of your
sorority for a semester or more, and you’ve entertained the idea of expanding
your sorority family, but that’s all you’ve done. That’s when you get the
unexpected call from your chapter’s VP of New Member Education, and you learn
one of your newest sisters wants you as her big sister. You are flattered and,
of course, you can’t refuse because in the past couple weeks you two have
formed a bond that transcends the normal bond of sisterhood. However, here’s
the catch: you’re absolutely unprepared and your funds are minimal. The panic
starts to sink in. How are you going to give your new little the Big/Little
week she deserves? Don’t worry you can do this, and without dropping $500 like
some big sisters (yours truly).
Don’t Fool Yourself:
First things first, give yourself a
little tough love and a reality check on what you can and cannot afford. If two
new members wants you as their big sister take a while to think this through.
If you believe you can pull it off, and make sure each girl gets the same
amount of swag then go for it. However, if you feel that picking up twins would
stretch you too thin then you’ll have to make the hard choice of picking up one
versus the other. It’s rough, but you need to have faith that your VP of New
Member Education will find another big sister that will be just as great for
the other new member.
Big/Little Shirts:
One of your biggest purchases you’ll
make is your Big/Little shirts especially if your buying shirts for your family
or picking up twins. If you can’t afford more than two shirts (I find shirts to
run around $40-$50 a piece) then do not hesitate to ask your big, g-big, twin,
etc. to pay for their own shirts. Also, keep in mind that your whole family
does not necessarily need shirts for you to get great pictures.
If you are picking up twins think
about making your own shirts with fabric and shirts bought at the fabric store
and puffy paint. Then you can just give your littles an IOU on official family
shirts for when you have adequate funds.
Secondly, be wary when picking
fabric for your letters. I know the store in which my chapter gets their
Big/Little shirts that Lilly Pulitzer fabric costs extra. Now I love Lilly just
as much as the next sorority girl, but if it costs extra that’s a no go. You
could find cheap Lilly fabric online at Etsy or other such sites. However, by
the time you order it and pay shipping you are basically paying the same amount
if not more then you would in the store. Save the Lilly for Christmas or
birthday gifts.
Also, pay attention to how much the
shirt itself costs. It is better to go for the cheaper shirt then to pay a few
extra dollars for the American Apparel v-neck. If you’re worried about how your
little will look in her shirt remember she’s your little; she’s going to look
great in anything!
Lastly, if you’re thinking about
getting embroidery on the back do the minimum. If the store charges per letter
get your monograms.* If the store charges in a range, for example 3-8 letters
is x-amount, then it’s okay to get “Big” or “Little” on the back.
After this your second expensive
thing will be your little’s craft box, but I’ll address that later. Now that
you know roughly how much your expensive things will cost you can budget. My
advice is to set a limit per little, for example $150 per little etc.
*Note:
When getting your little’s monogram make sure you have the correct monogram.
Unfortunately, when I picked up my little I got her middle name from Facebook
where she had spelled her name phonetically, and therefore; her middle initial was
wrong. Thankfully, I called the store in time and was able to change it.
It’s The Little Things:
If you are having a hard time
thinking of small cutesy things to get your little just think back to when your
big picked you up. What type of things did she get you? What types of things
did you wish she got you? What are the other bigs thinking about getting their
littles?
Now there are a few things that I
believe are totally worth spending the money to buy. The first is a car decal
with your letters on it. This is on the list because it fills your little with
pride for her letters. She will literally have her letters with her wherever
she goes, and that is a great thing. The second is a pad of stationary in
whatever design represents your sorority. This way whenever your little goes to
write a note to herself or one of her sisters or even to one of her Panhellenic
sisters it’s a little reminder that she joined the best sorority for her and that
she chose the best big sister in that sorority. Next, don’t forget to splurge a
little on sunglasses. They are actually relatively cheap, and let’s face it any
sister is cool wearing her shades with her letters on them. Lastly, get your
little a baseball cap with your letters on it. That way the days when she rolls
out of bed running late for class (because let’s face it we’ve all done it) she
can just throw up her hair, and slip her hat on. Call it
I-forgot-to-set-my-alarm chic.
Now the best place to buy all the
little treasures to give your little is going to be most likely Dollar
Tree/Store/General and the dollar section at Wal-Mart. Honestly, the things
that you can find there can be absolutely silly, but at the same time
absolutely magical. Some ideas are: tumblers, plastic crowns, glow sticks,
silly string, plastic jewelry, mugs, etc.* All of these things you can
customize for your little. Remember puffy paint is your best friend in this
area.
Do not be afraid to ask your twin or
your big if they have anything that was crafted (without their name on it or
their name is easily removed) that they don’t mind parting with, so that you
can re-gift it to your little. Trust me, every sorority sister has that one
thing that someone made them that they really don’t want to keep. It also helps
if your big is about to graduate because as an alum I can tell you I passed
down a few things I knew I wouldn’t have room for in my adult life. Now if you
are missing a few key pieces that’s when your crafting will come in.
*Note: Do
NOT forget to pick up your candy, gift bag/basket, and tissue paper at these
sites! These will be your “fluffers”. It
will give your gifts a feeling of fullness and fill in any gaps you might have.
Craft Supplies:
Now if you’re having troubles coming
up with ideas for things to craft then navigate over to Pinterest! You can
follow Sisterhood Redefined, and find different craft inspirations for your
little.
Now there will be some supplies that
you will have to buy at Michael’s or A. C. Moore. It’s inevitable. I know my
sorority family just started the tradition of doing stools. Honestly, stools
really only cost $15, and a good thing about buying canvases at these stores is
that you can quite often find them in bulk packaging. Take advantage of this!
You never know when you’ll need to craft a gift again.
For other supplies such as paint and
that type of thing go ahead and just browse your fellow sisters’ craft boxes.
Most of the time in a chapter those sisters who are picking up at the same time
will often craft together. Take advantage of the things that your sisters have
in their craft boxes. It will save you a ton of money. Also, you do not
necessarily need spray paint. I will admit that it saves time, but you can just
as efficiently craft a stool with acrylic paint. You can also do a homemade
coloring book by printing off free coloring pages online, and you can make your
own coupon book for your little with coupons for a crafting dating or an ice
cream date.
Now if you were anything like me
when I first started crafting you may not be a savant. That’s okay! Practice
makes perfect, but if you’re still wary of your skills don’t be afraid to ask
advice or help from your more artistic sisters. I learned a lot about crafting
from one of my sisters who was an art major. If you are also in a time crunch
where you’re picking up without a break in between do not be afraid to ask for
help from your big, twin, or other sisters. When my little picked up we split
the crafting half and half. Of course afterwards I never wanted to see another
canvas again, but it was worth it.
Also, don’t be afraid to snoop and
stalk your little on Facebook to find out what her interests are, and ask her
friends what she really likes or obsessed over. You want your gifts to be
catered to who she is.
The Craft Box:
There is a simple way to put
together a craft box on a budget. Only really give her the necessary tools,
i.e. brushes, a few tubes of paint, something small to craft, fabric, a few
paint pens, ribbon, etc. Most of these things you can ask sisters if they have
and they don’t use. However, do not put already used paint or paint brushes.
Then it really looks cheap. Yes, the goal is to do this on a budget, but we
don’t want it to look like that.
Tips:
The first is my own opinion for
picking up a little, but you should at least do one special thing for your
little that week. My big had my twin and I do a voluntary (we volunteered)
scavenger hunt across campus. When I picked up my little, I ordered her a pizza
to be delivered to her with a special message. It’s those somewhat grand
gestures that make littles feel extra special.
If you find an idea on Pinterest
that you really like, but you feel like it’s out of your skill zone, and you
can’t print it off and modge podge it onto a canvas then just leave it.
Big/Little week is really not the time to start experimenting. Instead use the
experimenting for an activity that you can do with your new little.
Remember Big/Little week isn’t about
you, it’s about your little.
If you pick up twins make sure that
they each get equal amount of gifts. This is very important for building a
healthy and equal relationship between you and them.
Lastly, make that week as deceptive
as possible. That’s the whole fun of Big/Little week. Keep her guessing as to
who her big is that way when reveal happens she is totally surprised.
Big/Little week doesn’t have to
break your bank and it doesn’t have to be stressful. If you follow these tips
and tricks picking up your little will be the greatest and one of the cheapest
things you ever do.
But also remember, it’s not about
the gifts it’s about building that bond that goes beyond the normal bond of
sisterhood. Not only are you her big, but you’re her mentor and best friend.
Editor's Note: This post was written by one of our new writers, Alexis. Congratulate her in the comments on her first post!
