Congratulations @ChoatieMom !
On graduation dress/outfit, I am determined not to have P4Dad wear our wedding reception suit from stone age which he wore to both kids’ 5th, 8th, and P4Kid1’s high school graduation. We are going shopping tomorrow. That is my last chance as P4Kid2’s graduation is in a week.
For me, I planned to lose 30 lbs and buy a beautiful dress (or even fit into my reception dress …) but the plan did not pan out. So I found an ivory jacket and skirt set in my mom’s closet by St. John. My mom used to wear it to weddings when she was younger. So I will try that. I may look old like maybe the queen or queen mother, but I am old so I guess that is okay. 
@buuzn03 @Golfgr8 I agree that The Farm Table is a beautiful place to dine. We only found it after 3 years at NMH. We will have dinner there next weekend. I also enjoy dining at Gill Tavern in Gill, MA. It is close to NMH. That means driving in the pitch dark after dinner.
We usually stay at The Inn at Crumpin-Fox (right off Exit 28A on I-91) or The Centennial House B&B for NMH family weeekends. We liked China Gourmet off Exit 26 off I-91. There are more places in Greenfield but you have to know where you are going because eateries are scattered around rather than centralized.
@payn4ward - have someone Drive and treat yourself to one of their fancy cocktails ?
I totally overdressed for my kids’ graduation. It was hot as heck and even the head of school was wearing not much more than a sundress. But I had this stupid outfit that in my outdated mind was the right thing for a mother to wear to a high school graduation and, by golly, that’s was I was going to wear. In hindsight, I looked as ridiculous as my dad did at my high school graduation in what he called his “ice cream suit” (yellow with brown pinstripes - he loved it - and in all fairness, it WAS the 70s). Actually, I looked more ridiculous than he did. Sigh.
@twinsmama maybe we should start a “what to wear at graduation” thread to follow up on the “what to wear at drop off thread”…we will have come full circle!!!
@payn4ward (and others). Thanks for the NMH suggestions! We will be there just for lunch (quick up and back trip from Southborough) this time! I’ll file the dinner suggestions for the actual interview season, for sure!
You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m booking a stay there for the name alone. Sounds like something straight out of a fairy tale. ChoatieKid definitely picked the wrong school.
We’re with you, @itcannotbetrue —we didn’t do a single move-out. We let ChoatieKid and All Campus Storage handle that. (God bless ACS!). As for what to prepare for, be prepared for very, very tired kids who may sleep most of the first week home. And let them.
As for graduation dress, I planned to wear the same one I wore to Choate graduation but, on a shopping trip with my mom last week, found something perhaps the queen wouldn’t wear, so there’s something new hanging in my closet. It’s a bit dressy, but we’ve been told that parents should think about what photos will look like standing next to their grads in their brand new service uniforms, so I went with that.
@ChoatieMom
“Crumpin-Fox Club was conceived in 1969 as the “field of dreams” of David Berelson, who engaged the services of Roger Rulewich of Robert Trent Jones, Inc to locate a site that would accomodate a Pine Valley type golf course.
…
Our name was derived from the Bernardston-based Crump Soda Company that was sold in 1853 to Eli Fox; thus becoming the Crump & Fox Soda Company.”
from https://golfthefox.com/crumpin-fox/course/about-crumpin-fox
Didn’t know that till now. 
@payn4ward - now you are talking! Thanks for posting the link, too. Golf at Crumpin Fox then go to The Farm Table for dinner. They have the golf boards there, too. We use them when in AZ. Kids love it.
We stayed at the Crumpin Fox! Very rustic. Would stay there again — it has a lot of character.
Have also stayed at Crumpin Fox and we had our NMH graduation meal at the Deerfield Inn at Champney’s and it was delicious. They have quaint rooms there as well. About a 20 minute drive from NMH (and at Deerfield’s front door). For the kids, there is a Dunkin Donuts and an ice cream stand just off NMH campus (walkable). We never made it to Farm to Table or to the Yankee Candle store on the same property. If I had another Chimneykid, I would happily send them to NMH to right this wrong. We generally stayed in a nearby Hampton Inn (Greenfield maybe). Note to Hogger parents: rooms in the area book up far in advance of graduation. We booked in February as I recall.
And can we talk prize day/baccalaureate? What are different schools protocols? I loved NMH’s system. They sent letters in advance to parents notifying them that their child was scheduled to receive a prize/prizes but they could not specify which ones and instructing parents not to tell their children. Parents arrived early, were handed a list of prizes with no names attached, and seated in the balcony which is out of sight of the rest of the chapel where students were seated. This was great because you got to see your child receive awards and surprise them afterwards and you were spared sitting through a long prize ceremony if your child was not going to win anything. Prize day was underclassmen and Baccalaureate was for seniors. Chimneykid2 is scheduled to win a prize this year (shhh) at her teeny school but I am not sure what to do because she is a junior and it seems mostly just the parents of seniors attend Baccalaureate where the prize is to be awarded and if she sees us there it will also tip her off that she is in the running. Plus I am low on Queen Mum frocks! Curious how others have handled this if it has come up. Weighing the risk of embarrassing her vs the FOMO of missing her big moment.
Congrats on your stiudent’s prize @chemmchimney ! That ice cream stand by NMH is great!
For graduation dinners - The Farm Table does have private rooms for large parties and also alcoves with large tables for a large family. It’s across from Kringle candle (not Yankee Candle, but started by the same family I hear). The Champney’s restaurant at the Deerfield Inn is really good and they have private party spaces also. They also have a really good dill martini. Question for NMH folks: How is the French King Restaurant?
Thanks @Golfgr8! I had Kringle and 2nd guessed myself and replaced it! Too lazy to google. I don’t think we tried French King but it rings a bell.
Oh and at risk of hijacking the thread with hogger hints - Brattleboro is also a great town with lots of good restaurants just 20 minutes from NMH and about 15? from Putney. I grew up in the area. The old movie theater in town, Latchis, is now a hotel. There is a great microbrewery restaurant right next to the bridge in town (will look it up) and Sam’s is a famous shop for outdoor gear for those who need to pick up mittens and coats and ski gear.
@Golfgr8 I haven’t heard of French King either. Four years of BS parenting is not enough to know the area!
@chemmchimney Obviously, I can’t say if it’s the same, but we were also invited in advance for prizes. The first time, I thought I should go but couldn’t, and when I asked the school about it, they said most parents can’t come and it’s not a big deal and they only expect some local parents to show. So I was relieved of guilt and never saw prizes awarded until graduation. However, they did take pictures, and my favorite photo of my daughter from high school just might be the one with her wonderful 11th grade English teacher after that particular prize was awarded. And yes, that was a big fat unrepentant humblebrag. ?
@twinsmama we just had our Mercersberg visit and ate a late lunch at One North. The sandwiches there were delicious and the atmosphere is quite charming! I especially liked the seating in the window displays, so you could watch the “town” go by…just like sitting on your own porch! Mercersberg was a very cute little town. Thanks for the suggestions! Our next visit will include Romeo’s I think!
Tear jerker morming? A dad in Washington gave his daughter a video for a graduation gift. He made a video interview of her every first day of school since she started Kindergaren. From age 5 -18. What a great idea! Now, I wish I had done this for BS!! Has anyone seen or can anyone link the story on this? Thanks