sweetpeasmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,832 
|
Post by sweetpeasmom on Oct 24, 2014 2:41:39 GMT
Needing some ideas here. This is for my son's football team. They are the 7th grade team but it is rec ball. This is their last year playing rec ball. Some will move on to play school ball and some will choose other things. Many of these boys have played together for many years (a few as long as 6). They had a huge season, went 8-0 in regular season. We are heading to playoffs and have a good chance of going all the way.
I'm team mom (for the last 3 years). I wanted to do something extra special for these boys for the end of the season gifts. 2 years ago, we gave them cinch bags w/the logo on it and an 11x14 print w/a head shot, team pic, and action shot on it. Last year they got a plastic water bottle w/their names on it filled with candy and a paracord bracelet.
The idea the coach and I came up with got shot down by 2 moms. It was a custom 8x8 book for each of the boys. It would need to be an all or nothing project as I didn't want 29 boys getting one and 3 not getting one.
The parents are going to have to chip in for these gifts b/c we did not get any sponsors this year as we have had in years past. So I am trying to keep the cost minimal.
Any suggestions for something really nice for 12/13 yo boys that won't break the bank?
|
|
|
|
Post by Basket1lady on Oct 24, 2014 2:49:57 GMT
Wow. You do a lot for team gifts. At the Varsity HS level here, only the senior players get a gift, which is a poster sized collage print that we have done at Costco. We have it framed and it comes out to be under $20 a player. But we do take that from sponsor money. We also have wooden football cutouts on stakes that we use at every home game. They line the ramp where the players march down to the field. All the players will take theirs home at the banquet. It cost us about $1 per football. I'll try to photoshop a photo without a name on it and post it here. Lowe's gave us scrap 1/4" plywood and I made up the names, numbers, laces, and such on my Cameo. They look great!
I love the idea of a photo book. It would be a ton of work, but a great keepsake.
|
|
sweetpeasmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,832
|
Post by sweetpeasmom on Oct 24, 2014 3:04:41 GMT
Our coach really loves our boys and wants them to be celebrated each year. The first year ds played, he was on a different team w/a different coach. They got their trophy from the rec dept and that was it. We got on this team the next year and it was like night and day all the way around.
We presented the coach with the book 2 years ago. He love love loved it. He actually wanted to do it for the boys that year but cost was an issue. So when I approached him about it, he was all for it. Most of the parents were all for it. But 2 moms said they thing the boys would prefer a memorabilia item vs a book. Maybe I'm a little skewed in my thinking b/c I'm a scrapbooker person.
|
|
|
|
Post by Basket1lady on Oct 24, 2014 3:14:00 GMT
Memorabilia... Our trophy shop has some nice plaques that look like pewter. They look much nicer than the standard trophy that kids usually get. There may be some ideas on Etsy, too.
|
|
|
|
Post by Basket1lady on Oct 24, 2014 3:42:50 GMT
Here is the footballs that we did for the kids. Like I said, we post them on the ramp where the players march down to the field. The kids LOVE them--after the first home game, they were all grabbing them to take home. But we had to get them back, as we still had many more games to go. They will get them at the banquet in December, as it looks like we will make the playoffs. They players names are above the lacing, but I took that off for privacy purposes. I used the varsity font that I found on dafont.com. I just removed the layers to make it simpler.  |
|
|
|
Post by scrappinjen on Oct 24, 2014 4:39:49 GMT
I am team mom as well. Last year I made ornaments for the boys and our cheer leaders. I don't know how to post a picture? Here is what I did. I bought 2" square pre cut blocks of wood (cube) by the bag at Hobby Lobby. I painted them our team colors and then put a screw eye in the top and bottom. From the top I added ribbon and from the bottom I added a key ring circle with a jingle bell on it. I bought the Christmas large box of silver bells and the key rings (split ring kind) in the jewelry area of Hobby Lobby. I shopped sales and used coupons so it was reasonably priced to make. On the four sides I used modge podge and added our team logo, the players number or a cheerleader with the girls first initial, the year, and their name. For the images I bought a digital file from an etsy store that was intended for bottle cap images. They are 1" so I was able to print and punch them out with my circle punch. I made them in stages and it went faster than I thought. The parents were thrilled with them. We made a similar version for the coaches as well. I hope the description made sense?! They were fun to make and looked great. I loved being able to personalize them for each of the kids.
|
|
|
|
Post by Basket1lady on Oct 24, 2014 10:40:16 GMT
I am team mom as well. Last year I made ornaments for the boys and our cheer leaders. I don't know how to post a picture? Here is what I did. I bought 2" square pre cut blocks of wood (cube) by the bag at Hobby Lobby. I painted them our team colors and then put a screw eye in the top and bottom. From the top I added ribbon and from the bottom I added a key ring circle with a jingle bell on it. I bought the Christmas large box of silver bells and the key rings (split ring kind) in the jewelry area of Hobby Lobby. I shopped sales and used coupons so it was reasonably priced to make. On the four sides I used modge podge and added our team logo, the players number or a cheerleader with the girls first initial, the year, and their name. For the images I bought a digital file from an etsy store that was intended for bottle cap images. They are 1" so I was able to print and punch them out with my circle punch. I made them in stages and it went faster than I thought. The parents were thrilled with them. We made a similar version for the coaches as well. I hope the description made sense?! They were fun to make and looked great. I loved being able to personalize them for each of the kids. This is a great idea! I really like it. Drat... now I have another project... I love being the team mom. It's exhausting, but the kids are really appreciative and I like to support them. Those varsity players take some hard hits! This is my last year. I'm going to miss it! |
|
eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,252
Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
|
Post by eastcoastpea on Oct 24, 2014 11:23:39 GMT
Here is the footballs that we did for the kids. Like I said, we post them on the ramp where the players march down to the field. The kids LOVE them--after the first home game, they were all grabbing them to take home. But we had to get them back, as we still had many more games to go. They will get them at the banquet in December, as it looks like we will make the playoffs. They players names are above the lacing, but I took that off for privacy purposes. I used the varsity font that I found on dafont.com. I just removed the layers to make it simpler. Those are really nice. I can imagine how cool they are with the names on them. I can see why the boys wanted to take them home right away. Well done. |
|
eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,252
Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
|
Post by eastcoastpea on Oct 24, 2014 11:34:28 GMT
I am team mom as well. Last year I made ornaments for the boys and our cheer leaders. I don't know how to post a picture? Here is what I did. I bought 2" square pre cut blocks of wood (cube) by the bag at Hobby Lobby. I painted them our team colors and then put a screw eye in the top and bottom. From the top I added ribbon and from the bottom I added a key ring circle with a jingle bell on it. I bought the Christmas large box of silver bells and the key rings (split ring kind) in the jewelry area of Hobby Lobby. I shopped sales and used coupons so it was reasonably priced to make. On the four sides I used modge podge and added our team logo, the players number or a cheerleader with the girls first initial, the year, and their name. For the images I bought a digital file from an etsy store that was intended for bottle cap images. They are 1" so I was able to print and punch them out with my circle punch. I made them in stages and it went faster than I thought. The parents were thrilled with them. We made a similar version for the coaches as well. I hope the description made sense?! They were fun to make and looked great. I loved being able to personalize them for each of the kids. Sounds neat. What a thoughtful gift. I bet everyone loved them because they were so personalized. |
|
eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,252
Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
|
Post by eastcoastpea on Oct 24, 2014 11:45:15 GMT
Do you have candid photos and some video footage that you can combine together and make a DVD? I really liked the poster idea too. I'm surprised that a couple of the parents didn't go for the idea of the mini albums. It could have been like a mini yearbook and they could have written notes to each other in it next to the photos. Be sure to let us know what you end up doing.
|
|
|
|
Post by scrappinjen on Oct 24, 2014 11:54:37 GMT
We make a DVD as well. We just have everyone submit 5 photos of their player and then we have a dad who is an IMovie wonder-he turns it into a great slideshow pumped up with music like they use in the NfL. We ask that the parents reimburse the cost of the DVD's. This year I am making the photo ornaments the pea who always made gift for her grandma made a few years back. Our last game is tomorrow and then photos are due to be turned in for the DVD. I'll pick from those photos to make the ornaments.
|
|
PaperAngel
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,843
Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
|
Post by PaperAngel on Oct 24, 2014 13:50:54 GMT
A quick, relatively inexpensive, & meaningful keepsake is a team photo with a wide, smooth, white, acid-/lignin-free mat. (Note you can buy pre-cut photo mats in the wedding & framing sections of big box craft stores or simply adhere the photo onto cardstock cut to size). Have each boy sign his teammates' photo mats with an archival pen in a team color, then frame. It can be displayed next to their trophy at home.
|
|
sweetpeasmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,832
|
Post by sweetpeasmom on Oct 24, 2014 13:53:33 GMT
Our coach does a DVD. He had asked me to look into some really cool dog tags earlier this year. But they said we needed a min order of 50. I'm trying to see if there is any way to get an order less than that.
I'm going to suggest the ornament idea as well. I can make those through my business as well as a dog tag (but not as cool as the one the coach suggested).
|
|
