Hockey game
Hockey trip
Hockey for 3 days
Oh, what fun it is to play
A hundred miles away
Hey!
Hockey girls
Hockey boys
Mom and Dad front row
Road trips are a lot of fun
If you plan before you go!
(Sung to the tune of Jingle Bells)
Benjamin Franklin said it best, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." That's so true, especially when the hockey season rolls into the holiday season. But with a little pre-planning, this truly can be the most wonderful time of the year.
With an assist from veteran hockey mom Caroline Stanistreet and My Kids Play HockeyFacebook followers, here's a holiday game plan guaranteed to put a little more ho-ho-ho into your hockey-filled holidays.
- Arrange a car pool with other parents in your neighborhood, and if there isn't anyone super close, ask to join an existing group with the nearest family. The car pool can be for practices and for all the important "hour early" rule that many coaches require before home and away games. We found this extremely helpful during the annual home Thanksgiving tournament and an away post-Christmas tourney. Sometimes the parents wanted to do "take" and "bring home" the same day, giving each parent a full afternoon to wrap presents away from spying little eyes.
- Set aside time to make meals for the week that can be quickly thawed and heated up. Treat one day for "Fantasy Food Night," which is a fun term for takeout food that the kids choose. That way, you can spend your time decorating all those Christmas cookies you baked (wink wink).
- Squeeze in a little shopping while your kids are at practice, and take advantage of road games by shopping at a unique gift shop in another town.
- "We've kept our Christmas cookie-making tradition, but for the Christmas Eve dinner we now have it catered at our house to save time and stress." - Dennell Jurgensen, Apalachin, N.Y.
- "We switched our outdoor decorations and now just use projectors." - Brittany Shields, Hershey, Pa.
- "Our outdoor lights go up in September or October, but not turned on until December. Also, a lot of shopping was done during hockey trips at the outlets or malls." - Pam Munson, Baldwinsville, N.Y.
- "Instead of sending Christmas cards, we sent St. Patrick's Day cards. They were a huge hit." - Jennie Ayers Lynch, Camillus, N.Y.
- "If you can't do everything, just do the things you ENJOY doing. For the rest, play your hockey mom card: "We can't, the kids have hockey." - Julie Bennett, Fulton, N.Y.
And if you can't be home for the holidays? Just remember, as long as you are surrounded by family and friends, there's no holiday road that can't be enjoyed.
Editor's Note: Christie Casciano Burns' new book, "My Kids Play Hockey: Essential Advice For Every Hockey Parent" makes a great stocking stuffer.