As Homecoming approaches, more and more couples upload photos of their successful asks on social media, eliciting countless “AWW”s and “cute!!!!”s from their peers. Do you want to wallow in your room this Saturday night, or do you want 200-plus likes on a picture of you and your prospective date to the dance? Regardless of whichever option you prefer, here’s a short list of creative Homecoming-posals that are guaranteed to succeed!

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Surprise

You know that you’re hip, and we know that you’re hip, but you want to let the person of your dreams know that too. What better way to flaunt your unparalleled trendiness and incredible altruism than by doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge… to your crush! Because let’s be real: at this point, who hasn’t been challenged yet? Your prospective date is probably too scared to ruin a flawless outfit to take the initiative to actually do the Ice Bucket Challenge. Be a hero and douse him or her with a giant bucket of sub-zero, freezing water. The bigger and colder, the better!

(Bonus points if you dress up in a fox suit and dance to PSY’s Gangnam Style just to show that you’re extra cool.)

Pepperoni pizza, hold the cheesy

“I know this is cheesy, but… Homecoming?” We all have seen this terribly tragic ask before. This “punny” method of proving just how clever you are has become cliché faster than the time it will take the object of your affection to reject you and your soggy pizza. Instead of going through the trouble of lugging a huge box of pizza to school and facing the embarrassment from your peers in the aftermath of your rejection (read: your face pelted with mozzarella and tomato), just have the deliveryman bring it to the person’s own house. Better yet, fail to show up at all — anonymity just adds to the mystery. Arrive at the dance in a giant pizza costume to stand out against everyone else and reveal that it was you who sent the pizza. At this point, he or she will have fallen more in love with the idea of going with you than the reality of actually going with you that he or she will definitely say yes. Okay, so… maybe it’s not exactly the result that you wanted, but hey, at least you can count on getting a date.

Don’t know the address? No problem! You have so many resources available to you, like the student directory. Taking the time to conduct such thorough research will surely impress.

Roses are red, weeds are green

Roses? B-O-R-I-N-G. We recommend asking with weeds. They symbolize strength and resilience, just like your love. No matter how much he or she tries to push you away, you’ll always come back, strong as ever. Show your crush how persistent you really are by popping up everywhere, always with a new batch of weeds in your hand. Never take no for an answer, and you’ll eventually get a date.

Preemptive strike

Now, some of you might not need our previous three tips. You feel confident that your crush will accept your ask, and maybe he or she will. Or maybe you are just an awkward turtle who is too scared to talk to people in real life. In that case, just announce to your entire Facebook friends list that you two are going to the dance together. After all, it would have been all over social media anyway. Use this as a chance to impress by displaying your awe-inspiring organization skills and preemptively publicizing your budding relationship, all before even he or she knows! There’s no way you can be rejected once everyone knows.

Gallery • 9 Photos

Kathy Duan

Meilan Steimle (10) stands in front of Dobbins alone, waiting for her one true love to ask her out to Homecoming.