So that's the hard work done, right? Well yes, kind of, but I thought I'd list a few things that it's good to do in the days running up to the prom.

The week of the prom

To look your absolute best, the following small actions can have a big impact.

Go to bed early every night that week
I know it's boring, but believe me, it'll do wonders for those dark shadows under your eyes and it'll mean you'll have tonnes of energy to devote to the prom.

Drink plenty of water
It's good for skin and good for energy levels too. Did you know that professional make-up artists can tell what famous actors and rock stars have been up to just from their skin? Being fully hydrated reduces the chance of your skin looking dull and being dry.

Avoid bread
Bread can make your stomach bloat and take a couple of days to go down. Cutting it out a few days before the prom would be a good idea if your one of the unlucky souls like me whose body just doesn't like bread. There's nothing worse than a stomach like a beach ball when you're wearing a posh prom frock…

If you've ordered a corsage, check the order is okay
It probably is, but finding out if there's a problem three days before the prom rather than on the day is much better.

Buy your prom date's present
This should always be done when you have a couple of hours to devote to it, rather than a last minute panic.

Buy a spare pair of tights/stockings and clear nail varnish
So many get laddered in the excitement of getting ready – spares can be an absolute godsend, and the nail varnish is for your emergency kit.

Things not to do in the run up to prom night

Change any part of your skin care regime
Don't go for a facial in the last week before the prom – it can bring you out in spots. Stick to tried and tested products so you can be certain you won't have any break outs that could have been avoided.

Go on a mad tanning spree
Either in the back garden or at the salon – everyone knows it's bad for you, and there's nothing attractive about lobster red…

Experiment with fake tans that stain skin
Any fake tans that are designed to last for a few days are not good to try three days before prom night. You don't want to end up going orange, and then scrubbing yourself like a mad thing for hours on end to get rid of it.

Good things to sort out the day before the prom

Check that every part of your prom outfit is clean, ironed, polished – whatever!
This goes for the lads especially – look at every single thing you are going to wear and see if it needs to be cleaned. If you're hiring a suit, you still need to check you have other things ready; complacency can lead to last minute panics as your limo is waiting outside.

Wash your hair the night before the prom
If you're having your hair put up, wash it the night before so it doesn't just slide out of your hair grips. If your hair tends to go fluffy or frizzy after being washed, a night's sleep can help to calm it down.

Pack your emergency kit
Yes, it may only be a few things as listed in the Prom Organiser e-book, but trust me, the day of the prom will whiz by, so getting it all together the day before is the way forwards.

Check camera batteries
Well, that's just common sense, right?

So all that's left for me to say here is have a fabulous time! And don't forget, we'd love to have more people writing about their prom – check out this post for details.

Anyone got any other tips for the lead up to the prom?

Warning: This post may contain material of a romantic nature. If you are offended by romantic gestures, look away now

A little while ago we had a comment that made me happy and broke my heart all at the same time (hey, I'm complicated).

"I want to ask a girl out to prom using a treasure hunt but I don't know what to write for clues!? I want to start from her locker and end it at the baseball field."

Awww, if that doesn't just melt your heart you're not human. Or maybe you're just too cool for that, but anyway, I felt it was time to give David some tips, and also add a few other ideas for cool ways to ask someone to be your prom date.

N.B. Even if you are already going out with someone and you plan to go to the prom with them, why not make a fuss of them and ask romantically anyway? No-one likes to be taken for granted, and if you do something romantic before the night, the prom will be even more special for the both of you (and you earn extra boyfriend/girlfriend points).

For the creative amongst you

1. The treasure hunt

Fix a starting point and an end point then walk a route between the two locations, making notes on any interesting features along the way. They should be things that either stand out when in sight (like a particular statue or poster or decoration of some kind) or are a well-known, commonly used location (e.g. the school canteen). Pick out a series of these locations that would lead your hunter naturally from one place to the next and then write a clue for each location. One could be "The next clue is at the feet of an old stone queen." if one of your locations is a statue of a queen.

Pick brightly coloured paper or card to write your clues on so that when your hunter is close having followed the last clue, they'll be able to spot the next one waiting for them. Choose a time of day that isn't too busy to make it less likely to be sabotaged by other people finding the clues instead.

If you really want to be creative, the clues could be rhyming riddles, or you could put clues in quirky places, one could be designed as a poster on a notice board for example, or you could ask someone to keep a clue in an envelope and only hand it over to the hunter who has solved the riddle. The more imaginative, the more impressed your chosen will be…

2. A sweet approach

Get the local cake/cookie/chocolate shop to decorate one of their tastiest treats with a message asking your chosen out to the prom with you. Get them to display it in the front window and either take the girl/boy with you 'window shopping' or send them a text message saying that they have something in the window of that shop waiting for them. The treat will speak for itself.

For the brave and dramatic amongst you

3. Wearing the message

Draft out your message such as "Em, will you be my prom date?" and have a set of t-shirts printed up with a word per t-shirt. Throw a party (or simply pick a lunchtime when you'll all be together), asking your closest friends to put the t-shirts on at a pre-arranged time and line up so your chosen can read the message. Make sure you pick *really* reliable friends who won't mess it up!

Tip: you could always have them numbered on the back so you could hide behind the line of people and see that they are in the right order without looking like you're doing it

4. A 'surprise' picnic for two

Ask a friend or even better, a reliable family member, to set up the perfect picnic for you in the local park. Take your chosen on a walk that just happens to stumble across this picnic just for you, then ask them to the prom. If they say no at least you'll still have a picnic to enjoy.

5. The classic 'say it with flowers' approach

Of course, there is always the big bunch of flowers or single rose with a note attached. If you want to be bold, and if you think your chosen will like being the centre of attention, you could have them delivered to your school.

6. Or say it with a big balloon instead

If you're asking a boy out it's perfectly acceptable to send flowers (this is the 21st century after all) but if you think he won't like it, you could send a big fancy balloon instead – and that will last longer and not need water…

7. Write it for all to see

Another idea if your chosen likes attention is to write your message on the board of your form room – but this is only for the bravest amongst you because it'll be horribly embarrassing if the answer is no!

For the shy (and perhaps a little geeky) amongst you

8. The coded message

If you and your chosen lean towards the geeky like I do, a coded message would be a great way to ask someone to the prom. If you're unsure of a good code to use, there are tonnes of places on the web that could help you. Or you could pick a book that you both like and provide a code based on finding words on particular pages. Now that's really geektastic

9. Make a little nook on the web

Set up a webpage (you could use a free blog provider like WordPress for example) with your message on it. You could password protect it and send a note to your chosen with the web page and password.

10. Sneaky digital pictures

Make some posters with your message on it (a word per poster) and place them in interesting locations. Ask to borrow your chosen's mobile phone, take a picture of them in reverse order and invite them to look at the most recent photos. This would only work if you're already good friends, as I would never advocate borrowing anyone's tech without permission, even for a romantic cause. They'll just get stressed and it won't put them in the best mood to say yes, will it?

Have you got any romantic tips to add on asking someone to the prom?

So there you have ten romantic ways to ask your chosen out to the prom, and even if you are shy and geeky there's no excuse to not be romantic.

Have you got any ideas to add? Or any sticking points on a scheme you're cooking up? Offer your ideas and ask your questions in the comments, we're here to help

The skinny on getting a prom date

Don’t let yourself be swept up in all the pressure of prom dates – life is stressful enough without worrying about this too. But if you are worried, maybe these will help.

Firstly, don’t leave it till the prom week! If you have your heart set on someone, ask earlier rather than later.

Secondly, if this person is someone you admire from afar but don’t actually know, don’t march up and ask them out to the prom out of nowhere (unless you are devastatingly gorgeous and everyone in your year is dying to go to the prom with you). Get to know your ideal date first, perhaps find out what clubs or activities they’re involved in and get involved with them yourself. I'm not saying stalk them and do all the same things as them – that’ll just scare them off. But if you just do one thing that they do, it will increase the odds of them saying yes!

Thirdly, don’t ask them to the prom in front of all of their friends. There is nothing worse than having an audience for asking someone out, and getting a prom date is no different.

Lastly, it doesn’t have to be someone from your school. If you are desperate to have a date and all options have fallen through, why not ask a friend who goes to another school? Or your next door neighbour. As long as you know them and they are trustworthy, why not ask them instead? Your school year is not the only place to find a prom date.

Remember: It’s more important to have fun on the night than have a date for the sake of having one. Asking someone random may backfire on you – be careful about who you ask…

Forming a prom posse

What if you’ve just broken up with your partner and have no intention of getting another date for the prom? Or what if the one you had your heart set on is already taken (or worse, said no)? What do you do?

Well, the most important thing is to not let it spoil the night. Don’t, whatever you do, cancel your prom outfit and sit in your room listing to Emo all night whilst your mates party away at the prom. Who cares if you don’t have a date?

Odds are that several of your friends won’t have dates either, so why not go as a posse? You could even make the decision to do that right at the beginning and get rid of all the pressure of finding a prom date. Then you can dance with whoever you like all night and who knows, you may have a better time than the ones worrying about their date…

Oh dear, this is a big one I suspect, and one that I imagine lots of people are worrying about, so let's start to tackle it. It may take more than one post, let's see…

I'd like you to imagine these two scenarios. These people are fictitious and bear no resemblance to anyone I know, by the way.

Prom date scenario one:

Cathy likes a guy in her year, and decides that she'd like him to be her prom date. She spends the next three months breaking into a sweat whenever he walks into the room, can't look him in the eye and starts to run away when she sees him coming down the corridor. Finally, two days before the prom, she musters every last bit of courage, goes up to him and blurts out "Come to the prom with me!" whilst he and his mates gawp at her.

"Who are you?" he asks, and Cathy realises that whilst she has taken the time and trouble to discover his first, middle and last names, his birthday, what his favourite meal is, what he wants to do when he leaves school and where his birthmark is, he doesn't actually have a clue who she is.

Social death…. and all of his friends laugh at her. Poor Cathy.

Prom date scenario 2:

Cathy likes a guy in her year, and decides that she'd like him to be her prom date. As she doesn't know him very well, she finds out what his interests are and whether he has interests that overlap with her own. She hears that he's in the Film Club, and decides to go along to see if she likes it too. Not only does she find she loves Film Club, but it also gives her the opportunity to chat with this guy and strike up a friendship.

After a few weeks of getting to know him, Cathy waits until the end of a Film Club meeting when he's by himself asks if he has a date for the prom that's in a couple of months time. He smiles and says "Not yet…."

So what does this boil down to?

Okay, so both are fictional (and the latter is a bit too Twilight for my liking), but which one do you think is more likely to lead to Cathy getting to go to the prom with this guy?

Things that increase the odds of your ideal prom date saying 'yes'

I guess what I'm trying to point out is that there are a few factors that will increase your success when asking someone to be your prom date.

1. He/she knows who you are
2. You have a common interest and have spoken to each other prior to asking about the prom
3. There isn't an audience at the time of asking

That last one is important. Groups of friends do weird things to people… no-one wants to be embarrassed – about anything actually  – and if there is even a chance that saying yes would make them seem like a muppet, your ideal date will say no, even though they might have been tempted. Give them a chance to respond without a gaggle of people around them.

Of course, they might say no for a thousand different reasons, and if the hottest person in your year runs up to you and asks to be your date the day before the prom, you might not care if you have nothing in common and don't even know what their surname is. But the odds are that they won't, hence this little bit of advice.

Have you asked your ideal prom date who they're going with yet?

Got any advice to share? Let us know in the comments – and if you've had a success, we can all cheer you on ?

For some, school sucks. And if school sucks, it's likely that the school prom might not be something you're feeling over the moon about. It may seem strange to blog about this on a site which is dedicated to the sheer fantastic brilliance that is the school prom (hey, we're optimistic, positive people) but I feel it's important.

So what is freaking you out about your school prom?

Let's take a moment to roll over this upcoming glitzy school prom and see what's on its dirty underbelly… or in other words, let's look at the prom stuff that is freaking you out.

Why? Well, I want to find out what you're worrying about, because when I know that, I can figure out how to address those specific worries, and give you advice and tips that might help. Sure, I can think of lots of things that you might be worrying about, but seeing as this is a blog, and you can 'talk' back to me, why not start a conversation?

Then when all these worries are dragged out into the bright daylight, we can all look at them, figure out how to make it better and then get on with being all excited again. Sound good?

Twenty school prom worries

So, let's kick things off with twenty things that might be worrying you about the school prom. These are just off the top of my head…

1. I will look awful in my prom dress / black tie
2. Everyone will laugh at me when I arrive
3. Someone else will be wearing the same prom dress as me (and look better in it)
4. I will trip up in front of everyone as I arrive
5. I'll look awful in all the photos
6. [insert name of ex] will be there with new boyfriend/girlfriend [delete as appropriate] (and be really happy with them)
7. The people who bully me in class will bully me at the prom and ruin it
8. My prom date will be a complete muppet
9. I'll be asked to dance by someone awful
10. I won't be asked to dance at all
11. I'll have to dance at some point
12. My friends will think my date is awful
13. My friends will like my date too much (and dance with them all night)
14. My parents will expect me home straight afterwards, when all my friends are staying out
15. My parents will insist on dropping me off in the family car
16. I'll get nervous and my skin will go all blotchy
17. I'll get a spot the size of Cornwall on my nose
18. I'll choke on a chunk of sausage roll in front of everyone else
19. The person in my year who has a crush on me (not mutual) will harass me all night
20. I won't have anyone to talk to / hang out with and so I'll have to hide in the corner all night

What are your prom worries?

Now it's your turn! What are you worrying about? Let me know in the comments so I can figure out how to help you – and if we have enough responses, I might start a regular slot. You don't have to give your real name, just a real worry. And if you're just too shy, drop me a line through the comment form.

P.S. If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe by email so you don't miss the follow-up.