Every srat-star's favorite week is coming up. Future bigs across the nation are experiencing a whirlwind of struggles: empty bank accounts, almost blown secrets, a lack of creativity, and glitter found in some weird places. In the heat of the preparation and anticipation of Big/Little week, here's some last minute tips (because I know half of you are freaking out because you haven't started getting ready yet):
1. Don’t fill every basket to the rim with crafts. Sure, some canvases, picture frames, and various other pinterest crafts should be included. However, your little only has so much wall space. She would love to get more than just some paintings. Your little probably wants her favorite candy, a gift card or two to her favorite restaurants and stores, a nice candle, a soft blanket, and other things that have to be bought, rather than crafted. I know, I know, you probably spent half of your summer crafting, but try to focus on buying things for her, too.
2. Not every single thing in the baskets needs to have your sorority's letters on it. Yeah, your little is super duper excited to be in a sorority, but will she still be on that srat-high next year? If you want her to enjoy the gifts you give her for more than just her freshman year, don’t slap your sorority’s letters all over everything. Stick with the basics: t-shirts, a mug or tumbler, wooden letters, a keychain, some canvases, etc.
3. Wash the shirts (and anything else that needs to cleaned) with someone else's detergent or soap. You don’t want your little to track you down by smell. That sounds extremely creepy, but it happens. Shockingly, nothing gives the surprise away more than if your little recognizes that the t-shirts in her baskets smell exactly like the sheets on your bed.
4. Make sure there isn't cat hair or dog hair all over everything you give your little. Not only would this narrow down the list of potential bigs to those who have pets, therefore giving away the surprise (see number 3), but it would also gross your little out. No little wants to pull a black shirt out of her bag and find a layer of fur on top of the shirt. It's gross. Also, what if your little is allergic to your cat? Throw in a monogrammed box of tissues while you're at it.
5. Don’t put anything in the basket that will give away the secret. Aside from masking your scent/your pets, don't include certain things that would be a dead give away. If you and her have any inside jokes, don't write them on anything. If she loves one of the necklaces in your closet, don't give it to her. If there's pictures all over the place of your family in your unique stitch letter shirt, don't put one in her basket. Also, this should be a no-brainer, but do NOT put pictures of the two of you in her basket.
6. Lie, lie, then lie again. This is one of the only times when someone will thank you for lying to them, aside from if you're proposing to them. Tell your little anything necessary to make her feel like you aren't her big. Be misleading. Don't feel bad for lying, because they'll thank you in the end!
7. Don’t make every single thing a Lilly Pulitzer item. Some girls, including myself, hate Lilly. Try to limit yourself to maybe two Lilly-patterned items. Unless your little put how much they love Lilly on their info sheet...then you can fill it with Lilly Pulitzer.
8. Listen to the room colors/theme that your little put on her info sheet. Stalk her social media (or maybe even her parents') to find pictures of her room. Get her roommates to send you a picture of her room. Once you have the visual, remember the color scheme, the accent colors, the overall theme, and the amount of wall space/surface area she has. If her room is purple and brown, don't give her a bright orange blanket with lime green polka-dots on it. You know what? Whatever color her room may be, don't give her a bright orange blanket with lime green polka-dots on it.
9. Listen to the other things that she put on the info sheet. What are her favorite restaurants? Don't buy her a Chipotle gift card if she's a Moe's kind of girl. What kinds of movies does she like? Don't get her Paranormal Activity if she's into chick flicks. What is she allergic to? You get the picture.
10. Delete old pictures of your baskets. A lot of bigs pass down certain shirts and crafts from their big/little week. A lot of bigs have pictures of their baskets from their big/little week that have the items that they are passing down. Don't be that big that gives away the secret because your little stalked your Instagram and found your basket from last year. (And if you think they aren't stalking your Instagram, you're wrong).
11. Spoil her. She'll be looking through a room full of baskets to find her own. Make her want to only see her basket. Make everything in her basket something that she wants to brag about. Make her call her mom afterwards to tell her how perfect her big and her are for each other.
12. Be prepared to be what she'll need. A big is more than just another friend in the sorority. Upon big/little reveal, you need to prepare yourself to be everything for your little. In the coming years, she'll need a mentor, she'll need a support system, she'll need a babysitter, she'll need a study buddy, she'll need a shoulder to cry on, she'll need someone to watch that scary show on TV with, she'll need someone to force her to study, and she'll need a friend in the moments when she feels she has none. You will need to be all of that for her, plus some.
In short, don't go overboard with crafts, your letters, and Lilly Pulitzer. Don't do anything to give away the secret. Pay attention to what she wrote on her information sheet. Above all, treat her like royalty before she knows who you are.
Happy crafting!
