Hockey Moms, you’ve made it! The season is ending, and it’s nearly time for the kids’ last game, celebration and “tournament.” Pint-sized players and parents will both love our easy ideas to celebrate a great season
tgBeing a hockey mom is awesome! Far better than I even imagined. I loved the lessons my 6-year-old learned, both on and off the ice. He learned to listen to instructions from an amazing coach, as well as the consequences of not listening to that same amazing coach.
He learned what it feels like to work hard as a team and to try your best. He learned that the outcome and the score is not nearly as important as working together and playing hard.
We were really lucky with a great group of kids, parents and coaches that made those 8 a.m. games not really so bad!
Now it's time for our final game and the end-of-the-season tournament party. There will be pizza, trophies and snacks, but here are 10 fun ways that we are celebrating the memorable and wonderful hockey season we had together.
1. What's your team's colour? Buy tablecloths and decorations in your team's colours and decorate the dressing room or party room.
2. Frost cupcakes in team colours, or make a cool cake in a jersey shape!
3. Go team crazy! Maybe your child doesn't want to shave their jersey number on to the back of their hair like my son did, but you can buy coloured hair spray in team colours and spray on the player's hair!
4. Make memories! Get some sharpies and get the kids to sign each other's jerseys as a reminder of the new friends they made this year.
5. Don't forget the coaches! Make them wear a silly hat, spray their hair or get them to wear face paint for the last game! We bought our four coaches GREEN moustaches at the party store that they have to wear for the game and party!
6. Buy some fun noisemakers to cheer on the team for their last game! Clappers, cowbells and whistles are all available in colours at any party store. Celebrate with the other parents on the team. (Bring coffees too!)
7. Print some hockey colouring pages and give each child a homemade hockey colouring book (perfect for 4-7 year olds). You can even do some hockey crafts with the kids or get hockey temporary tattoos for the kids!
8. A keepsake: Print a team photo and mount in a frame with a matte. Get the kids to sign this for the coach!
9. Congratulate your child with a special dinner out, a small gift (like a book about hockey) or even a special hockey stick pendant like this one. It can be personalized with their name and hockey jersey number! It even makes a great Mother's Day gift for hockey moms!
10. Don't forget a small token of thanks for the coaches who volunteered this season. A $10 gift card to the Beer Store, Tim Hortons or gas station is a small thank you that will be appreciated. Have your child write them a special note or make a card like this.
What a season it has been. I'm sorry to see hockey for for this year, but I can't wait to get started again in September…think I've been bitten by the hockey bug?
How will you celebrate the end of hockey season with your child?
momstown originally published this article in 2014
