Matric farewell: Yes, you can impress them but you can also think out of the box

At this time of the year, I am happy that my kids are off my hands – no spending of thousands on a matric dress, no teenage last-minute angst and, especially, no wondering what vehicle to acquire to make a head-turning entrance.

This latter part of the end-of-school silliness has become an expensive “arms race” as parents (because they put up their money) vie to outdo each other with the most awesome ride for their offspring.

Truth be told, I have been involved in a bit of that.

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For my son’s matric farewell, way back in 2006, I borrowed a Subaru STi – then the poster cars on many boys’ bedroom walls – from Subaru SA.

They offered to help tart up the car by putting his name, his blood group and a South African flag on the back window… just like a rally car (of course, at that time, Subaru was still a major force in the World Rally Championship).

It certainly worked: all the boys dumped their dates to get close to the Scoobie and listen to the offbeat burble from the flat-four turbo engine.

On another occasion, I chauffeured the children of colleagues to matric farewells in exotic supercars such as the Audi R8.

Go beyond the luxury cars

These days, though, even the awesome Audi would be passe… So I was surprised by my colleague Seelan’s account that his borrowed Ford Mustang still managed to turn heads in a car park full of hot BMWs.

What I do find amusing about matric farewells these days is here are those who realise that, if you’re clever, with a sense of humour, you can, effectively, make the Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royces and Ferraris disappear.

I love the guy who arrived in a Takealot delivery truck, trussed up in a cardboard box.

Then there were a few matriculants who arrived in ambulances and received a peck on the lips from their dates “to revive them”.

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Another dude who got a huge cheer from his mates at school arrived in a Toyota Hi-Ace taxi, complete with African traditional headgear… but he was white.

When it came to Platteland tradition, a couple of guys used Nissan 1400 bakkies to make a different entrance.

One arrived with a couple of sheep in the load box, while another had two large male relatives in the back… complete with a braai.

Who needs a billionaire’s wheels to steal the show?