Hi,
I am the team Mom for my son's 4-year old soccer team and am looking for a cute and cheap idea for an end of season gift for them. There are only 5 kids on the team so I don't need to make/buy that much. Thanks for the ideas.
Thanks for all the great responses. My problem now is picking which idea to use.
Thanks again, W.
Do you have a team photo? That in a cute frame would be nice.
You could decorate the frame with each girls name using stickers
or stencils.
Or some nice Nalgene water bottles. Useful and enviromentally friendly.
Last year I bought water bottles in the team color. Then I had stickers made at a kiosk in the mall that makes personalized stickers. I had one sticker with the team name and the other with each girl's name. I affixed the stickers to the water bottles, they looked really cute and professional. I also ordered medals for each girl online, which were quite cheap. The total cost was only about $5 per girl and it was something practical they could use. Our parents contributed $10 per child to cover end of season gift plus coach's gift. I got the coach a gift certificate to a sporting goods store. Good luck!
I get so tired of the kids bringing home odds and ends that eventually end up strewn all over my house. We decided to do something different than goody bags. For my daughter's first soccer team, I took a clip art image from my computer. The image was of a little girl playing soccer. Microsoft word has tons of clipart. I made sure to add the girl's name, team, and even changed the hair color of the image to match the girl's haircolor! I then printed it out on iron on transfer paper. I purchased little canvas backpacks (you can find them through Oriental Trading Company or at Michaels, or Walmart) then ironed on each transfer to the backpack.
It is perfect to stuff overnight things, toys, or little goodies. I only spent $3 per girl.
I'm having all the boys draw a picture of themselves playing soccer and putting that on every other page. Then on the opposite page of the drawing, I'm putting one good picture of that child in action that I took throughout the season. The book was $9 at Michael's and the 9 pictures were 17 cents each from Costco. We are giving that to the coach.
I printed the same pictures, but as an 8X8 for each kid. AYSO gives out trophies, so that's all we are doing.
When my son was about this age, I bought snow globes at Walgreens. The ones that hold a picture in the middle. They're pretty cheap. And then using my computer I made a picture using clip art and the team name and year for one side. And, then the players name and number for the other side. It was really cute and the kids at that age loved it!
Hi W.:
The best gift ever from a parents viewpoint is a CD of picture from the games! We all viwed it together and the kids just loved it!!!
Here are some other ideas:
Scanning the team picture and printing it on t-shirts is cool or make your own banners. Since build a bear is such a craze how about ordering some little bears from a place like the oriental trading co and dressing them up in the team colors with the child's name on the back.
I must admit that for my children's teams I usually opt for somehting simple like a nice little party at a pic-nic table near the field were I set and decorate the table. Place all the trophies out (usually parents pay for those in our area) and I give the kids soccer tattos, goodie bags and a decorated ice cream cone from baskin robbins or carvel. The kid love it!!!
As far as trophies go the popular one for little one are the bobble head trophies. These ar a hit but since they are not toys fidn a place that will replace or fix them if they break. I have had the experience that young children treat them like toys and they break the minute they get them. I have been ucky enough to deal with a trophy business that has even replaced them at no cost.
I hope these suggestions help.
E.
Check Party City or Oriental Trading Company for soccer themed gifts. Soccer pencils, squishy soccer balls, stickers etc... to put in a goodie bag for example. You can also make cupcakes for them and decorate them to look like soccer balls. You can find frames for pictures in the soccer theme almost anywhere. Posters of their favorite players. CLick on some of the links for more ideas.
http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/search/processRequest.d...
http://www.partycity.com/cgi-bin/parties/show.cgi?thepart...
have you tried looking in Orientaltrading.com, they have a ton of cute soccer/sport inspired gifts. for exapmple, soccer straw cups, soccer key chains, soccer whistles, soccer banks, all at great prices.
just a thought
HI,
A great concept for a kids soccer team is to create a memory of the team for all to sign. It could simply be a picture of each player on the field with a border for teammates and coach to sign. Alternatively look at lettersthatwow.com/soccer where you can produce a low cost soccer signing print $8 customized with the child's name or coaches name.
LC
We didn't give gifts to the kids at the end of the season. We had a pizza party and the coach presented the kids with a trophy and said something nice about how their season went. You can get trophies for each of the kids for about $15 (the parents actually paid for this so it wasn't on the team mom!). The team mom did make cupcakes for the pizza party! Kids get so much junk now a days from birthday parties and the like that we just didn't feel it was necessary. Good Luck!!!
I made a photo book online on walgreen's site with photos I had taken over the season. It was pretty inexpensive and everyone loved it!
My sons are in football, but last year at the end of the season my youngest son received a large plastic cup with his name, #, and team on it. He loves it & still to this day will NOT let ANYONE else use it! You can get simple cups at the 99 cent store & some puffy paint or a paint pen. Quick, easy & inexpensive! That's what we moms like :)
I made treat bags from white paper sacks that I ran through the printed and printed black outine of soccer ball on it.
There are also those foam stickers in soccer (and other sport shapes).
Hi W.,
If you have collected pictures of the team during the season, make a little photo book for each of them on Shutterfly. You can make one for as little as $10 each and they are so much fun. I think even though they are young, it is still personable and something they will have to remember for a very long time.
Good luck!
-Char
How about something personalized with their name, team name, jersey number and year. Maybe write on a plastic mug or cup with paint in their team colors. Most likely you can find something at the 99 cent store.
Hi W.:
I know being a soccer mom is very time consuming. You sound like a dedicated mom,and a great sport. The boys are young, and while they may not show it,i'm sure they thought you were pretty kewl being a part of their team.I use to run from one side of the field to the other, when my sons were in soccer! I'd run and cheer for one, then half time,run and cheer for the other!! lol I think i'd put together some gift bags. Maybe throw in a couple coupons for ice cream,or mcdonalds,and some fun things,you could pick up at a party supply store. Kids love grab bags. I wish you and the boys the best.
