Top TEN gifts for HOCKEY fans and players (2020 hockey gift guide)

 ***Disclosure -This gift guide contains some products I own, some items that I received for free and a few affiliate links. Please be assured that the opinions in this blog are 100% my own, and I've only included items I think would make fantastic gifts for hockey fans and players. Also, if you make a purchase using one of my affiliate links, you will not pay any extra, but I may get a small commission on your purchase. Thank you!***

If you regularly read my blog, you know that I am a hockey mom to three hockey-loving boys. Every year, there are several hockey-related items on my Christmas shopping list, so today, I am sharing my top 10 gift ideas for hockey fans and hockey players. There really is something on this list for all ages and budgets.

1) Gongshow Gear - My kids and I LOVE this high quality clothing line, so it's no surprise it made my top ten list. This year, I let each of my boys pick his favourite piece of Gongshow clothing for this gift guide.

My oldest picked this awesome hoodie... The Statement Grey. It's warm and cozy, and the skate lace tie is a fantastic detail.

My youngest loves hats, and he was drawn to the great colours in this "Cold as Ice" hockey hat. (I love them too!)

My middle son (who is the fussiest when it comes to fashion) chose the "Toe Tiddy" grey and black hoodie. The zipper on the neck of this hoodie looks great... and the hockey lace tie makes it the perfect hoodie to wear to the rink. He loves his new hoodie!

My youngest is in "kids" sizes, but my boys are in "adult" sizes now. If you have a hockey lover on your list, I highly recommend checking out the fantastic clothing GongShow Gear has to offer.

2) Ollie Bots - These cute little wooden robots are made with love and tied together with hockey skate laces. The Ollie Bots project was started by my son's buddy and teammate (Oliver Smith) who sadly passed away at the age of 12 to a rare form of bone cancer. For a $20 donation, you can help raise funds and awareness for Ewing Sarcoma. Find out more here. 

3) NHL21 - If your hockey fan loves video games, you probably already have the latest version of this game on your Christmas shopping list. My boys are hoping to have the PS4 version under the tree, and if you have it on your list, you can order it here.

4) Hockey books - Books always make fantastic gifts, and hockey books are perfect for hockey fans. The Three Stars (below) looks like a good one!

5) Warm socks - Warm socks make great gifts and wonderful stocking stuffers for hockey moms and hockey dads. These ones are inexpensive and cute! (I ordered them for myself last year, and they are perfect for the rink.)

6) Microfibre Sports Towel - Great for sticking in a hockey bag for an after-game shower. I ordered the large one for my my oldest son for Christmas last year. Click here for the link to the one I purchased.

7) Hockey-themed labels and wall decals from Oliver's Labels - Personalized labels and wall decals make wonderful gifts for kids. I've recovered a lot of my boys clothes and sports equipment because of name labels. And, and how cute is this large jersey wall decal? Use my link, and save 10% with code: EastCoastMommy.

8) Summer Skates - My boys are huge fans of Summer Skates. They are comfortable, high quality, customizable, and stylish. The front of the sandals are made with REAL HOCKEY SKATE LACES, and you can add your favourite team or player name/number. They are perfect for summer, and we love them for hotel rooms too! (There are also Koozies available that make great stocking stuffers.)

9) Hockey games - Hockey  players are always looking for fun things to do "off ice", and Gongshow Gear has a variety of entertaining "saucer games" that are perfect for gifting this holiday season. My boys have the "sauceoff" game, and they love it!

10) Bags and Skate Guards from Pacific Rink - The hockey bags from Pacific Rink are the best around. They are high quality, stylish, and extremely well-thought out. They also have NEW skate guards that would make excellent stocking stuffers.

Any one of the these TEN products would make a wonderful gift for the hockey fan or hockey player on your Christmas list. My boys and I love all these products, and we've tried them all. If you have any questions, just let me know!

Happy shopping!

💗 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

A FANTASTIC Fundraising (and Holiday Gift) Idea for HOCKEY Fans

My boys are huge fans of Summer Skates. They are comfortable, high quality, customizable, and stylish. The front of the sandals are made with REAL HOCKEY SKATE LACES, and you can add your favourite team or player name/number. They are perfect for summer, and we love them for hotel rooms too! Summer skates make great custom gifts, and they also provide a fantastic opportunity for fundraising. I'm sharing all the information you need to know below.

*Disclosure - I was given Summer Skates for free in exchange for my honest review of the product. As always, the views expressed on this blog are 100% my own... and my whole family genuinely loves these sandals.

1) A new ALL BLACK sandal just launched. I love this versatile option, don't you? I ordered a pair for myself, and my youngest is already trying to steal them from me. 😀

2) A new TRAGICALLY HIP sandal just launched. Aren't these awesome? I ordered a pair for my husband for Christmas... but shhhh... don't tell him.

3) Summer Skates has a pink "fight cancer" sandal. The sandals are super-cute, and a percentage of every sale goes to fight cancer at Princess Margaret Hospital. With their customers, Summer Skates has donated over $100,000 since 2014.

4) Summer Skates offers custom team orders. How fun would it be to have a set of custom team sandals? Here's what you need to know:

a) 12 pair minimum order per custom logo

b) $29.99 per custom pair (volume discounts start at 50 pairs)

c) Order needs to be submitted with Vector File Format (or a one-time $50 Vectorization Fee and Summer Skates will provide you a file for future use)

d) You must have the "Rights of Use" of the custom logo you are submitting with your order

e) Summer Skates will send a pre-production photo proof in 2-3 business days for approval

f) Once Approved, Summer Skates will ship in less than 15 business days guaranteed (usually avg 10 business days)

5) Summer skates offers a 25% online fundraising webstore. This is a great fundraising opportunity because it is EASY, and there are NO setup costs. You get a dedicated online store (e.g. here), which will allow you to sell your custom team sandals and koozies plus additional designs... which will allow you to reach a large audience of team members, family, and friends.

The fundraising team gets 25% of net proceeds.

6) KOOZIE (drink holders made with skate laces) make great stocking stuffers. They come in 2 packs, 4 packs and 6 packs.

7) You can get a FREE matching KOOZIE when you buy an NHL player sandal now. Who doesn't love getting something for free? It's a wonderful gift idea for a super fan! We have an array of Toronto Maple Leaf koozies in our house.

As a hockey mom to three boys, I've purchased a lot of hockey clothing over the years. Summer Skates really are the perfect gift for hockey fans. They are stylish, customizable, high-quality, and comfortable. (And as a mom, I love that they are washable. You can pop them in the washer and air dry them to get rid of stinky bacteria!) 

I highly encourage you to add them to your "gift to give" list this year. Let me know if you have any questions.

💗 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

PS (If you have questions about sizing, this chart should help.)

A Birthday Letter to my Oldest Boy on his 15th Birthday

Every year on my boys' birthdays, I write them letters letting them know how special they are to me. I think of the letters as written "snapshots" of the previous year, and I hope my words capture a little bit of my boys' personalities on paper. Today, I am sharing a birthday letter for my oldest son on his 15th birthday.

My sweet first born son,

It seems like only yesterday you were a baby in my arms, and now you are only a few years away from graduating high school. I honestly can not believe how quickly the years are flying by.

It's sad for me to see my little boy slipping away, but I couldn't be more proud of the young man that you are becoming. I am grateful every day that I get to be your mom.

• This year we lived through a pandemic, and you adapted to it perfectly. You missed your sports, but found other ways to fill your days. You played outside with your brothers, you organized a study group and homeschooled with your buddies, you learned to cook, you played guitar, and you travelled the Atlantic bubble with your family.
• You broke your arm in two places, and I couldn't believe you broke another bone (the third in three years). You were heartbroken (as was I), but you quickly turned your focus to the things you had control over. You focussed on your diet and fitness, you took a reffing course, and you continued to practice with your hockey team. Your positive attitude and strong work ethic make me so proud of you!
• Your brothers are your best buddies, you love your cousins, and you have tons of friends. 
• Peanut butter sandwiches, spaghetti, and steak are your favourite foods. You love the Toronto Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews is your favourite hockey player, and your hockey number is 34.

Happy birthday my darling boy. You may be turning into an adult, but you'll always be my first baby. I love you to the moon and back!

Love, 

Mom

xo

5 Plastic Bulb Ornament Ideas

Clear plastic bulbs are easy to find anywhere craft supplies are sold, and they are wonderful for making unique and personalized DIY ornaments. Adults and children can have a lot of fun creating ornaments with this versatile crafting material. Today, I am sharing 5 of my favourite plastic bulb ornament ideas.

1) Fill the bulb with tiny momentos - Include tiny trinkets that relate to something meaningful that happened in the current year. For 2020, I filled my bulb with an Amazon box, a little roll of toilet paper, and tiny mask.

2) Add a ribbon - This is a great ornament for a child to make. The child can cut a piece of ribbon equal to his/her height and place it in the ribbon. Then, they can add a tag that says "This ribbon is special and I'll tell you why. It's as long as I am high." The child can write their name, age, and height on the back of the tag.

To print the tags, I designed: click on the picture below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

3) Insert a photo - Nothing is more personal than a picture, so adding a photo to a clear bulb is a wonderful idea. A photo in a bulb makes a perfect gift and/or keepsake. 

4) Fill the bulb with candy - Candy is colourful and fun. I love the idea of filling a bulb with goodies. Last Christmas, I filled bulbs with Skittles and added a "May your days be Merry and Bright" gift tag. It's a cute secret Santa gift or stocking stuffer.

To print the tags I designed: click on the picture below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.

5) Create a keepsake - Find something sentimental, and pop it in a plastic bulb. Graduation tassels and baby hats are perfect options. I made these cute bulbs for my boys, and I hope someday they hang them on trees in their own homes.

Have you ever made a plastic bulb ornament? You can fill them with anything... paper, glitter, trinkets, ribbon, etc. 

You really are only limited by your imagination, which is what makes them so fun!

Let me know what you've made. I'm always looking for new ideas. 

💗 

Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

5 Ideas for Breakfast for Dinner

Dinnertime can be a challenge for busy families, so it's always fantastic to have quick meal ideas ready to go. Breakfast foods are easy to make and don't require a lot of ingredients, so breakfast for dinner is a wonderful mealtime solution. Today, I'm sharing FIVE of my favourite ideas for breakfast for dinner.

Quiche - Quiche is a wonderful family friendly supper idea. What's not to like about bacon mixed with egg and cheese? You can find my favorite SIMPLE bacon quiche recipe here. Add some fruit, a salad, or veggies... and you are good to go!

French Toast - French toast paired with fruit (and a bit of maple syrup) is one of my kids' favourite meals. 

To make French Toast, I like to use Brioche bread... but any bread works well. For each two pieces of bread, beat together: 1 egg, 1 tbsp milk, and a 1/8 tsp cinnamon. Then, dip the bread slices into the egg mixture, and cook them in a lightly buttered pan until they are brown on both sides. I serve them with a light dusting of powered sugar and real maple syrup.

Scrambled egg wraps - This is a simple option... and younger children love it. Scramble eggs, and pop them in a wrap with some grated cheese. I like adding some salsa... but that is optional.

For younger kids, these little clips from the dollar are great and make the wraps must easier for littles ones to eat.

Pancakes - Pancakes paired with fruit is another simple meal option that is popular with children and adults. I like to have homemade pancake mix in the pantry to make meal time even easier. You can find my favourite pantry pancake mix recipe here.

Egg in a Hole - This id something my dad used to make for me when I was a child, and it was always a favourite of mine. Now, I make it for you my family. Butter the bread, cut out the middle, and pop and egg in the middle. I love this simple breakfast for dinner meal idea!

Is your family a fan of "breakfast for dinner"? What are your favourites? If you haven't tried all of the ideas I'm sharing today, give them a try. I'd love to hear what you think.

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Find more family friendly recipes here.

5 Tips for Making School Lunches that Kids will Actually Eat

We're a couple of months into the new school year, and lunches are already starting to get a little boring. Am I right?!? Are you looking for a few fresh ideas? Today, I am sharing 5 tips for making school lunches that kids will actually eat.

1) Make snacks for lunch - My kids love things that are easy to grab and eat, and serving snacks for lunch works perfectly. Some people opt for fancy Bento boxes, but my older kids prefer a collection of individual dishes. It also makes it easy to hit all the different food groups and create a balanced lunch.

2) Make breakfast for lunch - My kids love breakfast foods, so taking french toast or pancakes in a thermos is always a popular lunch option. Cereal is a simple choice too!

3) Stock the freezer with homemade goodies - I love having individually wrapped goodies in the fridge ready to pop in the lunch boxes. My kids love taking homemade biscuits and cookies.

4) Mix up some smoothies - Smoothies are wonderful healthy options, but making them in the morning can be time consuming. Making them in bulk and freezing them in these jam jars is perfect. Check out the full "how to" here.

5) Include a sweet treat - A sweet treat is something for kids to look forward to receiving in their lunch box, and it can be a good motivator for encouraging them to eat the healthy items. In our house, the rule is that the cookie can't be eaten unless the other items are eaten too. Clever, right?!?

I love finding new, creative, and EASY ideas for kid's lunches, don't you? What are your favourite ways to add variety and fun to lunch boxes? It's a long school year, so I can use as much help as I can get! 

♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)