ALL DRESSED UP WITH SOMEPLACE TO GO PROMGOERS GET READY TO LOOK THEIR BEST FOR THE BIG NIGHT STUDENTS GET READY FOR DANCE.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - Hair, nails, formal gowns, limos.

Oscar night? No, it's time for local high school students to pull out all the stops for winter formals.

Tickets alone for Canyon High's Feb. 5 bash at the Hyatt Valencia are $60 to $70.

Then there's the dress or tuxedo, the flowers, the photos, the hair, makeup and nails, the shoes and jewelry. Now you're in the hundreds of dollars, and students preparing for the big dance says its worth every penny.

``Going to dances is the finest part of going to high school,'' said Chris Bair, a junior at Canyon. ``When the dances come around you put that ahead of everything else.''

Bair, like many juniors and seniors, expects to pay close to $200 for the winter dance, scheduled after mid-terms.

``It's a special night. You want to look pretty,'' said Jen Boschma, a junior. ``Pretty much everyone gets their hair done.''

Boschma will pay anything over $100 on the dress she chooses and her parents expect to pick up the tab for all the extras.

``I really don't mind paying the expenses as long as it's within reason,'' said her mother, Wendy Boschma. ``Most people never get to go to formal things ever again.''

That doesn't mean she'll pull out the credit card should her daughter get carried away.

``When it gets really excessive, that's when I draw the line,'' she said. ``Renting a limo or going out to expensive dinners, another party or dessert afterwards gets a little outrageous.''

Kerry Rock, a senior at Canyon High School, plans to rent a limo with a group of friends.

``When you look back at your life, you can only say that you either missed it or that you did it,'' he said. ``Memories are more valuable than other stuff.''

Rock expects it to take about two months to pay the bills for the formal with checks from his part-time job with the Canyon Theater Guild.

``I didn't think that I spent so much,'' Rock said. ``You're only in high school once.''

Some partygoers are learning to be thrifty. They borrow and loan dresses and have friends do their hair and makeup.

Tiffany Werner got a discount on her maroon formal with its fancy sheer overlay, buying it from her mother's friend.

``Her daughter was a bridesmaid in a wedding but her dress was too small,'' said Werner, paying just $45 for an almost-new dress. ``It was nice.''

A little originality also helps cut costs. Rather than rent a limousine for the night, she and some friends borrowed a motorhome and decorated it with Christmas lights.

Jennifer Wind, 17, got her form-fitting black sparkly gown from a Jessica McClintock outlet for $25.

Some boys find they pick up the balance of the costs. But couples said they try to share expenses such as photographs.

Some of the boys have made money to pay for their tuxedos by wearing the one they plan to wear to school and passing out flyers about the formal wear company. As part of the deal, they get the tux of their choice, and cut their expenses by about a third.

When all else fails, students say they work overtime, look out for the best deals or rely on parents.

As Rock said, ``You do whatever you have to, but you don't miss the dance.''

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2 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Canyon High School students pose in the tuxedos and gowns they'll be wearing to the winter formal, to be held Feb. 5 at the Valencia Hilton.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News

(2 -- color) Canyon High School students Marcos Ballesteros and Jane Lin model their formal attire.