If your daughter is going through sorority recruitment, Bid Day is probably a day you have been anticipating for months.
You’ve helped her with college applications, took her on campus tours, made sure she found a roommate, designed her dorm room, and conquered move in day. You've probably heard more about sorority houses than you ever expected to, and now you anxiously hope that your daughter will find a home in one of those houses.
And then suddenly, it’s Bid Day.
It is exciting, emotional, chaotic and over way too quickly.
If this is your first Bid Day as a sorority mom, here are a few things every mom should know before heading to campus.
First Things First: Dress for the Day
Wear something nice, but comfortable for a long day in the August heat. We recommend a sundress paired with sandals or sneakers.
You will probably be outside, walking around campus and standing in the heat for much longer than you expect. Wear something comfortable and cute, but most importantly, something you can handle being in for several hours.
And plan ahead for the heat. Bring water. Wear comfortable shoes. Consider bringing a small portable fan (you will thank yourself later).
Bid Day can be a long day, so you want to be comfortable enough to actually enjoy it.
Charge Your Phone. Charge Your Camera.
Seriously.
Put your phone on the charger the night before. If you have a camera, charge that too. Bring a portable charger if you have one.
You are about to take, give or take, 400 pictures. And you should!
This is one of those days you will want to remember every moment. Take pictures of her running home, meeting her new sisters, hugging her friends, holding her bid card and standing in front of her new sorority house.
You will probably think you are taking too many pictures, or maybe your daughter thinks that. You aren't! There is no such thing as too many pictures on a Bid Day. She will be thankful she has them to look back on later.
Wear Her New Sorority Colors
One of our favorite Bid Day traditions is dressing in your daughter's new sorority colors.
You may not know exactly what she will be wearing when she receives her bid, so keep it simple. Once you know her sorority, change into her colors if you can. If you are confident that she will get a bid to her first choice, wear those colors (and bring another color option ... just in case of emergency)!
It is such a small thing, but we promise she will notice. And it makes for the cutest pictures!
Get Ready to be the Photographer!
Once you find your daughter, be her personal photographer for the next few hours if she wants you to! She may have an active sorority member doing this for her. If that's the case, let her run around with her new sisters!
If she seems a little lost, encourage her to jump in the group photo with the girls she may not know yet. One day, she will know them very well and will be glad they have a picture from bid day!
Document all the moments that she will want to remember, even if you're not with her. Take pictures of the sorority house. Take pictures when she is laughing and when she isn't paying attention. Take pictures of the house decked out in balloons for the bid day theme.
Most importantly, take your cues from her. Every girl's Bid Day looks different. She may want you by her side for every picture, or she may be ready to run off with her new friends the second she sees them. Either way, be excited for her. Let her know you're there, celebrate this moment with her, and give her the freedom to experience it however she wants to.
Be there for her in the way she needs you that day — whether that's behind the camera, cheering from the sidelines, or giving her a hug before she runs off with her new sisters.
Know When It's Time to Go
This might be the hardest part.
Every girl is different. Some daughters will want their moms around all afternoon. Others will be ready to run off with their new friends almost immediately.
At some point, you are going to have to let her go.
And that's okay. This is her day.
Once she is ready to go off with her new sisters, let her go have fun. Don't worry if she doesn't want you to follow her everywhere or if she suddenly seems much more interested in her new friends than in you.
If she needs you, she will let you know. Your job is to be there, take the pictures, give the hugs and let her experience this new chapter for herself.
What Actually Happens on Bid Day?
Every school does Bid Day a little differently, but the general order usually looks something like this.
1. She Receives Her Bid
Your daughter will receive her bid somewhere on campus, and you won't be with her for this part.
This is one of the hardest parts for moms because you are probably dying to know what is happening. Let her have her moment!
Hopefully, one of the first things she does is send you a picture of her bid card with the biggest smile you've seen on her all summer!
And if the reaction isn't what you expected, remember that everything happens for a reason.
If she is disappointed, reassure her. Let her know that she is exactly where she is meant to be and that there is so much ahead of her. Recruitment can be emotional, and sometimes the place you least expected becomes the place that feels most like home.
2. She Runs Home
After receiving her bid, she'll head to her new sorority house with her new pledge class.
This is when things get very exciting!
She'll likely be met by older members with Bid Day signs, shirts, jerseys and all the excitement that comes with welcoming a brand-new pledge class.
It will be high energy. It will probably be a little chaotic. And you may have absolutely no idea where she is for a few minutes. Don't panic!
Wait for her to come find you.
She may be completely overwhelmed by the excitement, so give her a minute to take everything in.
3. Find Her and Take ALL the Pictures
Once she comes to you, this is your moment.
Hug her. Tell her how proud you are. Take the pictures.
Get pictures with her new pledge class. Get pictures with her sorority sisters. Get pictures in front of the house. Get pictures with her Bid Day sign.
Take pictures of the little details too.
Her bid card. Her new sorority letters. Her first Bid Day outfit. Her friends laughing together. The sorority house decked out in balloons. These are the things you will look back on years from now!
4. Hang Around for the Photos
After the initial excitement, the girls will usually spend a couple of hours taking pictures and celebrating with their new sisters.
Every school is different when it comes to how long parents stick around.
Our advice? Take your cues from everyone else.
If all of the other moms are still there, stay and enjoy it. If parents are starting to head out, that may be your cue too.
And if you have a friend with an older daughter at the school, ask her what she recommends. She will probably know exactly how the day typically goes.
Make Friends With the Other Moms
This is one of the best pieces of advice we can give you.
Talk to the other moms.
You are going to see these people again! Parents Weekend. Mom's Weekend. Dad's Weekend. Sorority events. Football games. Graduation.
And some of these moms could eventually be the parents of your daughter's closest friends.
You already have something in common, so don't be afraid to introduce yourself. Bid Day is the beginning of a new community for you too.
When She Leaves for the Chapter Celebration, It's Probably Time to Go
After a couple of hours of pictures and celebrating, your daughter will likely head off to a chapter-wide Bid Day celebration with her new sisters.
Give her one more big hug. Tell her you love her. Tell her to have the best time.
You may feel a little sad walking away. Actually, you definitely will.
You just spent months getting her ready to leave home, and now you are watching her walk into a brand-new life surrounded by people you don't know yet.
But there is something really special about knowing that she is starting this next chapter with a whole new group of friends who are already so excited to have her.
Staying Overnight? Get a Hotel
If you have a long drive home, we highly recommend getting a hotel.
Bid Day is exhausting. You will probably be outside most of the day, walking around campus, taking hundreds of pictures and feeling every possible emotion.
Don't make yourself drive several hours home immediately if you don't have to.
Stay the night, get some dinner, decompress and give yourself a little time to process the day.
You may be exhausted and feeling a little bittersweet about leaving your daughter, but you'll also probably be incredibly proud.
One More Bid Day Tradition: Get Her Sorority Merch
If it isn't too late in the day, Bid Day is the perfect time to pick up some of her new sorority letters.
College towns usually have plenty of options, and Bid Day bundles are especially fun because you can get several pieces at once.
If your daughter is attending TCU in Fort Worth, make a stop at LOCAL Design Studios + Gallery.
LOCAL Design Studios + Gallery
Located at 3610 W. Vickery Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, LOCAL is home to Lila + Hayes and several other local, women-owned businesses.
For Bid Day, you can shop an exclusive LH University sorority gift package designed to make the perfect gift for your daughter as she begins this new chapter.
The package includes:
- LH University Pima cotton sorority pajamas
- Matching embroidered tote
- Sorority bag twillie
- Sorority acrylic frame
-
Sorority cups
There will also be refreshments, champagne, cookies and lots of other sorority and TCU merch for moms to enjoy while they shop.
Friday 8/21: 10am - 3 pm
Saturday 8/22: 10am - 3 pm
Sunday 8/23: 9 am - 8 pm
Monday 8/24: 8 am - 12 pm
And if you want to make her gift even more special, you can have her pajamas embroidered at the event on Sunday from 3 pm until 6 pm.
It is the kind of gift she can take with her into college and actually use — and years from now, those pajamas may be one of the things that reminds her of the very beginning of her sorority experience!
This Bid Day bundle is a little different than others. It is thoughtfully curated with elevated, keepsake-worthy pieces she’ll actually use and love long after Bid Day. Instead of feeling like a collection of "filler" items, it's a gift she’ll genuinely treasure and use throughout college.
The Best Part of Bid Day
At the end of the day, Bid Day isn't really about the bid card, the pictures or even the sorority letters.
It's about watching your daughter find a place where she feels like she belongs.
She is beginning one of the most formative chapters of her life. She's meeting girls who may become lifelong friends, creating traditions of her own and building a home away from home.
And as a mom, you may leave campus feeling exhausted, emotional and maybe a little bit sad. You just watched your daughter take another big step toward growing up, and even when you're incredibly excited for her, there's something bittersweet about watching her walk away with a whole new group of friends.
But underneath all of those emotions is something even bigger: you get to watch your daughter begin some of the best years of her life.
So take the pictures. Wear her colors. Bring the fan. Make friends with the other moms. Buy the pajamas. Soak up every minute you can.
And when she's ready to run off with her new sisters, give her one more big hug, tell her how proud you are and let her go.
Because this is her moment. And as hard as it may be to watch her take that first step away from you, there is something so special about knowing she's walking toward a place where she already feels loved, welcomed and exactly where she's meant to be.
And don't worry, Mom — she'll always come back to you 🩵
(Coming from a former sorority girl myself, we always need our moms!)
