Formal nights: 4 and 10 y/o boys

[Dmgmd50]

What should my 4 and 10 year old grandsons wear for dinner on the "formal" nights? We are going on a one week cruise on Celebrity Solstice.

[cb at sea]

At the very least, pants, and shirt and tie. If they have jackets, that would be nice. They realize many folks don't have suits for very young kids.

 

Or, on "formal" nights, sometimes the kid's clubs will take the kid's to eat somewhere, so they don't need to dress up.

[Mom2B&Z]

My 6.5 yo wears grey dress pants, a navy blazer, blue shirt and striped tie with leather loafers. My 4 yo wears khaki pants, an oxford dress shirt and leather shoes. Next year I hope to talk him into the tie!

It doesn't have to cost a lot to outfit the kids in formal wear. I bought DS1's outfit for a formal gala event and paid $20 for the jacket new at The Children's Place, pants were on sale and worn for Christmas, school pictures etc and were $15 on sale at Gymboree, the shirt was $7 from the Children's Place online blowout before Christmas, and I can't remember what I paid for the tie...it was on blow out too. DS2 gets DS1's hand-me-downs. Sometimes you can find great stuff at consignment stores too.

[elaine5]

long pants and a collared shirt are fine. For the 10 yr old, an oxford-type long sleeve shirt would be nice (and cheap to buy). Tie is nice, but not necessary. No need for a jacket, unless you have one or want an excuse to buy one.

But, for the 4 yr old, it is perfectly appropriate for him to wear a nice polo-syle shirt. I bought a little knit vest and popped that on top--it dresses up anything. Ifyou do not have functions where you would use dress shoes, tennis shoes are OK for their ages. I found black tennis shoes that blended in better and then we used them for school the next year.

But, as PP said, many times at least 1 formal night is also the BIG kids night where the kids eat dinner with the staff and have special events---so they might not even wear those clothes--I send my kids in long pants and polo shirts for those nights.

[lgionet]

I find it so cute when little boys dress up. Super cute for pictures. My son usually wears dress pants, dress shirt and a tie. This year I bought him a little vest. Can't wait to see him in it !

[Cruisinchristie]

For our first cruise a few years ago I bought tuxedos for my 2 boys (they were almost 5 and 7). I found them new on ebay for $15! Pants, shirt, jacket and tie. The quality was decent (not that they needed super quality for one night) They looked so handsome, felt very grown up, and our pictures were so nice with my husband in a tux and all of us dressed up!

 

Flash forward a few cruises and I can barely get them in a pair of black pants and shirt! It made for a very memorable first cruise though!

 

Have fun!

[Dmgmd50]

 

Flash forward a few cruises and I can barely get them in a pair of black pants and shirt! It made for a very memorable first cruise though!

 

Have fun!

 

I am sure I could not get my 10 year old to wear a tuxedo, let alone his father! I myself plan to wear a blue blazer with a tie.

 

And I am sure we will have fun.. Thx.

[onthelake]

Celebrity is a line where the expectations for adhering to the dress code is pretty high. For the boys, I always tell folks to go to resale/thrift shops. We recently sailed on Cunard and DS got a tailor-made tux at the Salvation Army store for $35. He will be wearing it for Prom this spring.

[5HappyCampers]

Check WalMart for their dress section. Usually around this time (prior to Easter) they put out dress pants with shirts and vest for under $20.00. They also are selling formal jackets and pants. These look great in photos and you didn't really spend to much money!:D