Sports Party Centrepiece Ideas

Customized centre pieces add a festive flair to parties and banquets. The one I am sharing today has a hockey theme, but it could easily work for any sports theme. I purchased some inexpensive items from the dollar store and created something simple and fun. Keep reading for all the DIY details.

I purchased some dollar store jewels, a glass container, and some battery operated tealights. The tealight under the jewels casts a lovely glow, and works well in a banquet setting. 

Just add a puck or ball, and you have a fun piece of decor.

You can also attach sports cards to the top of dowels and insert them into the container. 

I love using simple dollar store supplies to create something new and unique, and I think this is a really fun piece of DIY party decor, don't you?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Hockey Team Treats

All three of my boys play hockey, and it is a huge commitment -- in terms of both time and money. However, I am happy to support their endeavours because they are learning a lot of lessons that can only be learned from being part of a team. As our regular hockey season comes to an end, I thought it would be fun to make a few hockey team treats for my 7 year old to pass out to his teammates at his year end party. I designed some adorable printable tags, and you can download them for FREE below.

For my son, I used Picmonkey.com to design custom tags featuring his team logo. I love the personalized tags, but if you aren't comfortable designing them yourself, I made a generic tag that you can just print and use.

Here is the custom tag:

Here is the generic tag:

To download the generic tag: right-click on the picture below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4X6 photo.

I put packages of gum in cellophane bags and attached the tags with curling ribbon. Cute, right?

Are your kids on any teams? These team treats could easily be customized for any sport or activity. You could even use them for class treats or loot bags by changing the tag to say, "Thanks for being an 'Excel'lent friend."

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

DIY Hockey Canvas

As my active boys get older, it is getting more difficult to get them to sit still long enough to do something creative. However, the project I am sharing today is perfect for my hockey-loving sons. Check out this wonderful (and simple) DIY hockey canvas that kids can paint using their favorite team colours and dollar store supplies. It makes fantastic custom artwork for their rooms too!

To make the jersey artwork, start by painting a canvas a solid colour, and let it dry completely.

Then, add light coloured writing.

Finish by adding details/highlights in a darker colour.

I love that this project can be done inexpensively in any colours that the child chooses.

Check out the fantastic job my hockey-loving boys did on paintings for their rooms.

This is a great project to do on a rainy or snowy afternoon at home, and it would also be fun at an end-of-season team party or hockey-themed birthday party.

It would work for other sports too. The possibilities are endless! Do you have a sports fan that would love to make some artwork replicating their favorite jersey?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Simple DIY HOCKEY Party

All three of my boys are huge hockey fans, so it was no surprise that my oldest son chose a hockey theme for his 10th birthday party. Today, I am sharing the simple details from our DIY hockey party.

We rented a gym, and invited all our guests to join us for a morning of floor hockey. We asked everyone to wear their favorite jerseys. We also asked each person to bring his/her helmet, hockey gloves and hockey stick. I wanted to make sure no one got hurt!

I put together a "pin the puck on the ice" game, but the main party activity was floor hockey. I made a fantastic score board from dollar store foam core, and the kids enjoyed updating it. 

Of course, all the activity made the kids very hungry and thirsty, so we had a well stocked "canteen". I had tons of healthy snacks, "easy to grab" treats, water, and juice.

Of course, we had some easy DIY cakes too. I used a special pan to make a jersey cake (with my son's number) and a rectangular pan to make a "half ice" cake.

Here's another version of a hockey cake using the same "jersey" pan.

When the party was over, everyone left with a couple of party favours. We had some gum with a clever "I hope you had an 'EXCEL'lent time!" note, and the kids collected hockey cards from our prize punch. You can find the tutorial for the DIY prize punch here.

I have a feeling that this won't be our last hockey party. It was a huge success and a lot of fun.

Do you have a hockey fan in your house? What do you think of our simple DIY hockey party?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. By clicking on the link for the jersey pan, you can purchase the pan and support my blog. Thank you!

Simple Party Favor Ideas

I love a simple party favor, don't you? Today I am sharing the cute little loot bags that my son will be handing out at his hockey-themed party next week.

My son played on a hockey team called the "X" Men, so I thought it would be a cute play on words to hand out "Excel" gum with cute tags that say, "Thank you for coming to my party. I hope you had an 'EXCEL'lent time!" Cute, right?

I also made a prize punch (which you can read about here), and I filled the cups with hockey cards. Each of the party guests will have a chance to choose a cup of cards, and then he/she can spend some time at the party trading cards with their friends.

I think my son's friends are going to really like the cute party favors I have put together for them. Do you have a favorite loot bag idea?

♥ 
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

The Ultimate DIY Hockey Party

My boys eat, sleep, and breathe hockey... so when it came time for my oldest son to choose a theme for his 9th birthday party, his choice came as no surprise.  Today, I am sharing all the easy and inexpensive DIY details of my son's hockey party.

We started with a fun invitation that I created at Picmonkey.com (for free) using a photo of my son playing hockey.  I made the invite 4X6 so that I could easily have it printed for $0.15 an invite.

Then, we had to make sure we had lots of fun things for the kids to do.  The highlight was the big game of floor hockey with a homemade scoreboard, but I also had a "pin the puck on the rink" game and a "prize punch".  You can get all the hockey party game details here.

Of course, we had a canteen full of hockey party food too.  We had pizza and lots of hockey-themed snacks.  You can get all the hockey party food details here.

And no party would be complete without a cool cake... am I right?  You can find the tutorial for our simple hockey cakes here.

This fun jersey cake would be fantastic too!

Then, when all the games were over and all the food was eaten, our guests left with an adorable and unique loot bag.  Each hockey player received a personalized hockey card holder and one of the birthday boy's homemade hockey cards.  You can find all the DIY details for our hockey card loot bags here.

It was a fantastic birthday party.  I loved that it was easy and inexpensive to put together, but all the DIY details made it fun and special.  Do you have a hockey fan that would like a hockey party like this one?

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)

Hockey Party Food

My boys are huge hockey fans, so it was no surprise that my oldest son chose "hockey" as the theme for his 9th birthday party.  It was a fantastic party, and today I am sharing the fun hockey party food we had at our party "canteen".

We had fruit and veggie trays, and we added some hockey themed treats.  We offered:

• Playoff Pizza
• Rink Chips
• Olympic Hockey Gold Coins
• Bulldog Bars (because my son plays for a team called the "Bulldogs")
• Hockey Pucks (aka Oreos)

The food table decor also added to the festivities.  We used a plastic tablecloth for a backdrop and added some hockey cards.  I also added a picture of my son playing hockey and one of him with the captain of his favorite team.  And, finally, I made a "canteen" sign from a piece of dollar store foam core with hockey tape around the edges.

And, of course, the most important food at a party is the cake.  You can find the tutorial for this awesome hockey cake here. 

I think this hockey party food is perfect for a hockey birthday, end of season team gathering, or Stanley Cup Final party.  Do you have a hockey fan in your home?

♥ 
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Hockey Party Games

Every birthday party needs fun games for the kids to play, so today I am sharing the fantastic DIY hockey party games our party guests played at my son's 9th birthday.

The best part about these games is that they are easy, inexpensive, and really fun.  They are guaranteed to add a special touch to any hockey themed party.

My son really wanted to play floor hockey with his friends, so I used a cardboard tri-fold make an easy and inexpensive scoreboard.  I even used some chalkboard stickers so that they could change the periods and scores with chalk.  The kids had a lot of fun with it.

I also made a "prize punch" using foam core and plastic cups from the dollar store.  The kids were able to choose a cup containing hockey cards, and then they were able to trade them with each other.  You can find the full tutorial for the DIY prize punch here.

Finally, I used a piece of bristol board to make a hockey version of "pin the tail on the donkey".  Our game was called "pin the puck on the ice".  I drew a rink on a piece of bristol board and added a team sticker to centre ice.  Then, I made some black circle "pucks" from a piece of construction paper. 

I believe that DIY elements make a party special, and these DIY hockey party games are easy and inexpensive to put together.  Of course, these games are great for a child's birthday, but they would also be fun at a year end team party, don't you think?

♥ 
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Simple DIY Hockey Cakes

I am not a professional cake decorator, but I love making simple cakes for my boys' birthdays.  Today, I am sharing the secrets behind the two easy hockey cakes I made for my oldest son's 9th birthday.

I made both of these cakes with cake mixes in 9X13 pans.  I greased the pans well to make sure they came out in one piece.  Also, I did a crumb coats, refrigerated the cakes, and then did final layers of icing.

For the first cake, I did a full ice surface, and I used the figures off my boys' tabletop hockey table (after washing them thoroughly, of course).

For the second cake, I did a partial ice surface, and I used some cake toppers I purchased from the bakery department at my local supermarket.

I think my boys' appreciate the time I spend making their cakes special, and I enjoy it too.  Do you prefer homemade or professional cakes for your children's cakes?

♥ 
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

DIY Prize Punch

When it comes to children's parties, the little "DIY" details are what make the event special. For my son's 9th birthday, I made this simple (and totally fun) DIY prize punch.  It was a big hit with the party guests. It is easy to make, and it uses supplies that you can buy inexpensively at the dollar store. 

To make your own DIY prize punch, you'll need:  

• a piece of foam core 
• tissue paper 
• plastic glasses
• tissue paper
• scissors
• a glue gun

Then:

1) Fill each cup with a little prize.  (My son's party had a hockey theme, so our cups contained hockey cards.) Any prize will work as long as it fits in the cups.

2) Cover each cup with two squares of tissue paper, and secure in place with hot glue. (I glued one on, secured it in place, and then glued on the second one.)

3) Use hot glue to secure the cups to the foam core.

That's it!  You can use a piece of ribbon to hang the board, or you can lean it against a wall.

You can use different colour cups and tissue paper to match the colours scheme of your party too.

I absolutely LOVE this idea, don't you?

With a small amount of effort, you will have a board full of prizes that can be claimed by choosing a cup and "poking" through the tissue paper.

Here's a fun carnival game prize punch I made for a carnival themed birthday party.

It would be fun for a Christmas countdown too.

Aren't these inexpensive DIY prize punches adorable?  I love that the prizes and colours can be customized to any party theme.

♥ 
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

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PS - If you are looking for some easy carnival games, you might want to check out this fantastic post (with tons of DIY carnival games made from recycled materials and dollar store supplies):